That article talked about things that 'would happen by 1999' suggesting it is now way out of date - too much work for a GS to keep us informed I guess.
I read an article last year in I think SAIL, this is basically what it said:
NOAA charts were being converted steadily to a vector format, which would be free to download, and some of which is already available. However, the routes frequented by small boat sailors are not their top priority, rather commercial shipping routes that we do our best to avoid, so it may be a while before those charts are the standard for us small timers.
Another thing I read, which sounds like a bigger problem, is that many NOAA charts are less accurate than some of the commercial equivalents. The problem stems from the fact that a $70 GPS is far more accurate than the best navigation system in the world just two decades ago, so there are inherent errors in lat./long. in the compiled charts based on the navigational error in the surveying vessel. These errors do not show up if you are taking sightings on chart features, since they all have the same error, but do show up when you are using a lat./long. from a GPS and placing it on the chart. Couple that with the fact that the basic datum (model of the world to place the coordinates on, which is not an exact spheroid) used in charts of North America was changed 20 years ago from the NAD 27, a drawn up in 1927, to the WGS 84, which tied it into the rest of the world, and as a result was simpler and less accurate, and most importantly, different.
The problem is particularly acute in some areas of the Gulf of Mexico, which were last surveyed by the Royal Navy in the 19th century, who did a truly first class job with what they had, but...
Some commercial chart producers have taken old charts, and done something as simple as drive around the area on a jet ski with a handheld GPS, to produce charts that match GPS coordinates. Nigel Calder talks about finding these charts of the Bahamas the best available.
So how do we deal with this? The effective accuracy of GPS navigation is not as good as the error it reads you on the screen, because the chart was most likely made using slightly different coordinates. A chart plotter may nicely show you in the middle of a deep water channel when you are a couple of hundred yards off. So keeping visual separation from obstacles, and using sight bearings, is still important when it tricky waters. WAAS does not help, as the error is not in the GPS. US Navy warships, although backed by radar, will not go into port in fog using GPS alone. Once you have used a particular chart a few times, you may get a feel for how closely it matches the GPS.
So to go back to the original question, the best systems currently available still seem to be Maptech and Nobeltech, but since this is a very rapidly changing field, the Fugawi may be the best option very soon. I agree with the sentiment that NOAA charts should be available to those who paid for them.
Gareth
Freyja E35 #241 1972