Here is a brilliant tip that I borrowed from Mark during our stay on Clarke Island while in the Broken Group. :idea: Mark had brought along these nifty laminated charts which he created himself off his printer. I don’t recall what he was using as a source for his charts but since I already had Bluechart software, I decided to give it a try. He also used a grease pencil for denoting POIs, campsites, etc… 
I used a home laminator and 3 mil ‘Heatseal’ pouches which were thick but flexible enough so that they wouldn’t be difficult to handle on the deck of a boat. I gave up on the larger charts/mapcase a few trips back as I found them to be somewhat bulky and required constant adjustment during trips. These compact (6”x9”) laminated versions are waterproof and will provide a valuable aid alongside my GPS.
The laminating pouches were letter size meaning that I could fit two Bluecharts in one pouch.
Prior to laminating, I used a single hole punch on each paper chart that would allow me to slip a carabiner through to attach to the deck rigging afterwards. The photo below shows the hole covered after lamination. Doing this initial step would create a watertight seal around the hole.
Using a razor knife, I cut each 9”x11 ½ ” pouch in half creating two separate charts
I then went back and used a slightly smaller single punch to create the permanent hole for the carabiner to slide through.
I ended up laminating 6 pouches (12 individual charts) for the entire Broken Group including the Pinkertons. The level of map detail ranges from .2 to .5 miles. Naturally, the number of charts will vary depending upon the selection of map scale.
The Bluechart detail comes through clear and is highly visible.
Once again, thanks to Mark for providing this great tip!!
I used a home laminator and 3 mil ‘Heatseal’ pouches which were thick but flexible enough so that they wouldn’t be difficult to handle on the deck of a boat. I gave up on the larger charts/mapcase a few trips back as I found them to be somewhat bulky and required constant adjustment during trips. These compact (6”x9”) laminated versions are waterproof and will provide a valuable aid alongside my GPS.
The laminating pouches were letter size meaning that I could fit two Bluecharts in one pouch.
Prior to laminating, I used a single hole punch on each paper chart that would allow me to slip a carabiner through to attach to the deck rigging afterwards. The photo below shows the hole covered after lamination. Doing this initial step would create a watertight seal around the hole.
Using a razor knife, I cut each 9”x11 ½ ” pouch in half creating two separate charts
I then went back and used a slightly smaller single punch to create the permanent hole for the carabiner to slide through.
I ended up laminating 6 pouches (12 individual charts) for the entire Broken Group including the Pinkertons. The level of map detail ranges from .2 to .5 miles. Naturally, the number of charts will vary depending upon the selection of map scale.
The Bluechart detail comes through clear and is highly visible.
Once again, thanks to Mark for providing this great tip!!
