FYI. My response is that Cap'n would expect me to spend $600/yr for charts to cover the US East Coast. I'd call that a deal breaker.

Rick Emerson
S/V One With The Wind, Baba 35

---

Rick,

Sorry about the runaround. I'll try and answer your questions.

1. No, CAPN version 8.0 hasn't been released yet. I understand the CDs are
being made but I haven't seen it. I have no answer on the shipping date.

2. You will be notified by mail or they will simply ship it out to you at
your registration address. You may want to touch base with them at:
800.637.4020 to make sure they have your correct info.

3. CAPN 8.0 will use NOAA ENC (S-57), NGA (formally NIMA) DNC (VPF), and US
Army Corps of Engineers IENC (S-57) vector charts. However, they have chosen
to use a proprietary format called system electronic navigational chart
(SENC) to distribute these charts through SoftChart International.
Government vector charts that are available on the Internet are raw data
that have to be converted to a format the navigation software can use.
SoftChart is doing the conversion as well as offering ENC, DNC, IENC, and
raster charts of a region and including 3-D bathymetric bottom contour
charts all for the same price as the old raster CDs ($199.00 per region).

In comparison, Nobeltech uses a proprietary chart format they call 'Passport
Charts' that are originally from Transas of Russia. Garmin plotters use a
proprietary format called 'Bluecharts' which are also based on the Transas
database. Both C-Map and Navionics vector charts are proprietary formats.
MaxSea uses a proprietary format called Mapmedia to distribute S-57 and
raster charts. However, these formats aren't official government charts and
as a result, there are questions of accuracy and updateability. Only
governments have the resources to produce and update navigational charts and
The CAPN only runs official government charts.

In fact, the director of SoftChart International was once the head of
cartography for NOAA and participated in the original development of the
first digital charts.

4. Updates for vector charts are included in the CD purchase for 1 year
after purchase.

5. No, you can't download NOAA vector charts and run them directly in The
CAPN. Upgrades to CAPN 8.0 were sold with the capability to use vector
format charts but not directly downloaded charts. Using unconverted S-57
format charts in a navigation software program would be too slow and
inaccurate to be practical. In addition, only 45% of the NOAA library is
currently available in vector format. As a result, a hybrid system that runs
both raster and vector charts seamlessly is necessary for safe navigation.

CAPN 8.0 will also have the ability to display raster charts as an overlay
on vector charts at various levels of transparency. This is particularly
useful in locations where vector data is either missing or of insufficient
scale.

6. Fugawi is a relatively new product and is half the price of The CAPN.
However, is has a lack of features and reliability that our customers prefer
and there is some question as to the quality of their tech support. This is
typical of low end software products. I understand the company is subsidized
by the Canadian government.

I'm sorry that downloading free charts from the Internet would be a "deal
breaker" for you as a CAPN user. It costs money to run a company and support
a sophisticated product like The CAPN. The marine market is a relatively
small business arena compared with other software markets. Personally,
knowing that a company and their highly regarded product is going to be
around next year gives me confidence in them. Our relationship with Nautical
Technologies and The CAPN goes back to 1994.

Please let me know if you have any further questions.

Fair winds _/)Steven Bowden

SeaTech Systems
Computerized Navigation & Communication
Sales: 800.444.2581 Support: 281.334.1174
Fax: 281.334.3320 www.sea-tech.com

Chosen by the US Coast Guard
Exclusive supplier to Bob Bitchin's legendary S/V Lost Soul

"A flare pistol makes a perfectly safe weapon aboard - you usually can't
find it and you can't hit anything with it if you do." - cap'n greybeard;}))


-----Original Message-----
From: Richard B. Emerson [mailto:pavilion # pinefields.com]
Sent: Tuesday, May 10, 2005 11:25 PM
To: navcom # sea-tech.com
Subject: Upgrade to Cap'n V8.0


Steve, Rick Emerson here - we've been playing "phone tag" between your
trip to Hawaii and my boat work. In fact, I'm headed back there today
(Wed.) but will be back on line Fri. into Sat. before heading out again
Sun.

I have three (deceptively) easy questions: 1) Is V8.0 finally released,
2) if it's released, how do I get my update (you may recall I bought an
update from you at the Philadelphia "Strictly Sail" show) and 3) where
is Cap'n on NOAA's vector charts available on line? On this last point,
I've been hearing that, in fact, Cap'n uses a proprietary format for
NOAA vector charts - that is, I can't download my updates from NOAA and
use them with Cap'n. Given I bought V8.0 with the expectation this would
be the case, it would pretty much be a deal breaker regarding further
purchases of Cap'n and a strong shove towards Fugawai, etc.

Rick Emerson
S/V One With The Wind, Baba 35



_/)..._/)..._/)
Browse Forum: http://list.sailjazz.com/read/?forum=baba
Get Help? http://www.sailjazz.com/forums/help/index.htm
To unsubscribe send a blank email to leave-baba-7798K@list.sailjazz.com
_/)...._/)...._/)...._/)

Received on Wed May 11 04:53:07 2005