There are few bodies of navigable water (where we might go for fun, anyway) that are not encapsulated in bound chart kits with helpful notes, and even, sometimes, helpful advertising.

With all the attention we've devoted in recent months to electronic charts and charting programs, we need to spend some ink on the paper versions and their presentation formats. The last time we took a close look was more than a decade ago.

Before going on, we have to repeat, for the umpteenth time, the admonition that no matter how sophisticated and backed-up your electronic navigation capabilities, you need to carry paper charts of the areas in which you sail. Moreover, you need to brush up on your dead-reckoning skills once in a while. If you have no dead-reckoning skills, you really should not go out of sight of things that…