Buying charts

Where can I buy ARCS charts?

First you need to decide whether you want to buy via the ARCS Skipper service or the ARCS Navigator service. Remember that the actual charts are identical under both. The two services differ mainly in terms of how you keep charts updated. See the Charts page for details. They also differ in terms of pricing. Commercial ships must use Navigator (Skipper will not meet the SOLAS requirements). Most leisure yachtsmen will prefer Skipper, which is cheaper for small chart collections and does not enforce updating. However, some yachtsmen with large chart collections may find Navigator appropriate. Once you have decided, see the two items below for specific details on buying via Skipper and Navigator. back

Where can I buy ARCS charts via the Skipper service?

Please refer to the UKHO website. This provides lists of distributors in the UK and worldwide. A number of distributors sell online. Many will ship internationally.

Some find the UHKO's site a little difficult to navigate, so we offer the following guidance:

The cheapest option (£80) is to use the pre-selected ARCS Skipper Folios which each contain about 10 charts of a particular area, mostly in the UK & Ireland, the Baltic, the Mediterranean and the Caribbean. You can check here whether any of these folios gives you the coverage you need.

If not, you need to build your own folio choosing the charts you want. £100 lets you select any 10 charts from the entire ARCS collection. In the past it was also possible to buy individual charts, but this option seems to have been withdrawn. This catalogue lets you search for charts and even gives you a thumbnail image of each chart so you can be sure you are getting what you want. On the opening page, we find it best to select 'Commercial’ (rather than 'Leisure'),  'Full' and 'Yes'. On the next page you can choose 'Search by Chart Number' to check that a given chart (eg, 2037, or 2) gives you the coverage you expect. [Note, just put the number, like 2037 rather than SC2037. The SC prefix denotes a 'Small Craft' paper version, whereas all the digital charts are taken from the 'full' versions which don't have prefixes.]

To find other relevant charts, try the 'Search using World Map' option. Click to zoom in on your region. For example, Area 2 covers the Bristol Channel and corresponds to Admiralty Folio 2 which is a folio of 42 charts of that area intended for commercial shipping. Click the coloured icon to the right of a given chart name to see the thumbnail image. Click the 'i' button to get details of scale, etc.

If you use this method to record the numbers of the charts you want, you can then send the list through to an ARCS dealer by email.

When ordering, remember that it is the ARCS Skipper service that you want, not Navigator. The above catalogue search site, strictly speaking, is for ARCS Navigator. There is an equivalent for ARCS Skipper, but at time of writing it was not working. But it doesn't matter because all you are doing is using the catalogue to find the chart numbers, which are the same for both Skipper and Navigator. back

Where can I buy ARCS charts via the Navigator service?

The UKHO website provides lists of distributors worldwide. A number of distributors sell online. Many will ship internationally.

To select charts use the catalogue, in the same way as described in the Skipper section above. Record the numbers of the charts you want and send the list through to your chosen dealer by email. When ordering, remember that it is the ARCS Navigator service that you want, not Skipper. Note that pre-selected folios are not available for Navigator.

It is important to understand that Navigator is more like an annual subscription than an outright purchase. It is designed to enforce updating so as to meet SOLAS requirements. If you do not renew your subscription your charts will expire after 12 months and you will NOT BE ABLE TO OPEN THEM. PassagePlus will warn you as you approach the subscription renewal date. back

Where can I buy NZMariner charts?

NZMariner charts were previously distributed on CD via retailers. They are now available free of charge and can be downloaded here. The charts file is usually replaced annually around August. The update file is replaced monthly and provides the cumulative updates since the last charts file. back

Where can I buy Seafarer RNC charts?

The AHS website shows the distribution network. Charts come in local, regional or national packs. An interactive chart index is available. Prices were substantially reduced on 1 July 2008. back

I have seen something called the Admiralty Chart Pack for around £50. Can I use this with PassagePlus?

No. Be very careful. Some distributors do not describe the products precisely. Most likely what you see here is a chart pack for the Admiralty RYA Chart Plotter, which will not work on a Mac. The product name you should look for is 'ARCS Skipper' (or 'ARCS Navigator' if you choose to use the Navigator service). back

Does PassagePlus work with the ARCS Navigator series?

Yes. You can use either Skipper or Navigator or both. Most leisure yachtsmen will probably find Skipper more appropriate, but those with very large chart collections might prefer Navigator. The Charts page explains the differences. back

How do I get a User Permit and/or a Serial Number?

We will send them to you when you buy PassagePlus. back

What's the difference between the User Permit and the Serial Number?

You use your User Permit (16 characters) and PIN (4 digits) when buying ARCS or Seafarer RNC  charts from a distributor. The distributor will use them to generate a unique key (called a Chart Permit) for each chart you buy. The Chart Permit allows you to unlock that chart from the CD.

Note, for NZMariner charts you do not need a User Permit and you do not need to worry about Chart Permits. Everything is included in the downloaded 'CD' and will be handled automatically. You are automatically permitted to open every chart in the NZ collection.

The Serial Number (a long string of characters) is used to switch PassagePlus from demo mode into full mode. You will not be able to open charts that you buy from a retailer until you have entered your Serial Number. back

I have lost my User Permit

Open PassagePlus and select  'Chart Service Licences' from the 'Help' menu. Your User Permit and PIN are displayed. back

My chart permits were sent to me on a floppy

Most distributors are aware of the fact that recent Macs (and increasingly PCs) do not have floppy drives. The chart permits are provided in small text files which can easily be sent to you as an attachment to an email or an IM. When you buy charts, make sure that the distributor agrees to use a method that is suitable for you. There will be two files, one ending in '.scp', '.cht' or '.upd' and the other ending in '.lcn'. Both are only a few hundred bytes. back

I urgently need chart permits and do not have access to email

If necessary, the distributor can read chart permits to you over the telephone or radio and you can key them in one at a time in the Chart Manager. Each permit is 35 or 42 characters long (depending on the chart service) and you must key it in exactly. Obviously it is far quicker and less error-prone to use the normal method where all the permits are provided in a single file that is read in automatically, but the manual method can be useful in an emergency. back

Installing and updating charts

Can I download chart data rather than relying on CDs?

For Seafarer RNC: No

For NZMariner: Yes. In fact chart data and updates are now delivered ONLY online. Physical CDs are no longer used.

For ARCS: Yes. The physical CDs will still be mailed to you, but you can download Chart CDs and Update CDs via FTP from the UKHO's site:

URL: ftp://ukho.gov.uk

Username: ukhopublic

Password: Public12345

If you use downloaded data rather than physical CDs, remember that when PassagePlus asks you to insert a CD you instead need to click the button "Find folder on HD instead of CD" and navigate to the place where you have saved the downloaded data on your hard drive. back

My CD drive stutters when installing or updating charts

PassagePlus copies the latest chart catalogue from the CD to your hard drive. The catalogue contains several hundred very small files. We believe the stuttering is related to either error-checking or file system caching in connection with these small files, but we are not certain. We have found that stuttering tends to occur when the machine has been running for a long time without restarting; it may also occur when CDs are dirty. We find that restarting the computer before you do an install session and keeping the CDs clean are the best cures. These precautions are well worthwhile—the catalogue loads in only 20 seconds or so normally, but can take several minutes if the CD drive stutters. back