Tour Guides and Charts

This page has been added at the request of some of the readers of our web page.   We'll list all of the guidebooks, other printed books, printed charts and electronic charts we've used on this trip.  We'll also include a few words of editorial comments on the usefulness of each.  It may take us an update or two to get this list complete so please check below each time you log on. 

We have purchased most of our printed and electronic tools from Bluewater Books & Charts,  (800) 942-2583, www.bluewaterweb.com. This store is in Ft. Lauderdale and is one of the best resources for charts and guidebooks.  They can help you select navigation software (We use Nobeltec Visual Navigation Suite), and have almost everything in stock.  They have a great catalog--call to get a copy.  If you're in Ft. Lauderdale, be sure to visit--you could spend a day there.

Guide books

• Lakeland Boating's web page [www.lakelandboating.com].   Particularly their "captain's log" where they describe their trip from Chicago to Mobile on a day-by-day basis.
• Quimby's 1999 Cruising Guide -- a must-have.  Get the latest edition; it's worth it.
• The Tennessee River CruiseGuide by Fred. Myers.  (second edition).  -- another must-have.  Fred knows the river system better than anyone.  We have all of his books, and rely on them daily.
• Southern Waterway Guide-1999.  Great resource for all of Florida and the Gulf coast.
• The Great Circle Route by Skipper Bob.  A good resource and one of the few that deals with the whole Circle Route.  Not as much depth as many of the other guides.
• The Tenn-Tom Nitty-Gritty CruiseGuide by Fred Myers.   Another of Fred's great books.  Be sure to have it aboard.
• Tennessee River, Tenn-Tom Waterway, and Lower Tombigbee River by Marian, Thomas W., and W. J. Rumsey.  More of a textbook but a very useful with small area maps, loads of history, and useful commentary.
• Guide to Cruising Chesapeake Bay by Chesapeake Bay Magazine.
• Mid-Atlantic Waterway Guide by Intertec Publishing.
• Cruising the Cheaspeake by William H. Shellengerger.
• Cruising Guide to Eastern Florida, Third Edition by Claiborne S. Young.  This is one of Young's guides (we have several) and they are very useful.
• Yachtman's Guide to the Great Lakes by Seaway Publishing.
• Cruising Guide to the New England Coast by Roger F. Duncan, Paul W. Fenn, W. Wallace Fenn and John P. Ware.
• Cruising Guide to the Northeast's Inland Waterways, by Marian, Thomas W., and W. J. Rumsey.
• Lake Michigan Ports o' Call by Great Lakes Lakeland Boating.   This is the best series for the U.S. Great Lakes.
• Cruising Guide to Coastal North Carolina by Claiborne S. Young.
• Michigan Harbor Guide.  (Provided free by Michigan Department of Natural Resources.)
• Northern Waterway Guide by Intertec Publishing.
• Hungry Boaters Restaurant Guide by Ironwolf Productions.   This is one of our favorite guides to Western Florida.  Wish there was one like it for the other areas we passed.
• Cruising Guide to Coastal South Carolina and Georgia  by Claiborne S. Young. Another of Claiborne's really useful crusing guides.
• Embassy's Complete Boating Guide and Chartbook for Rhode Island, Massachusetts & New Hampshire by Embassy Marine Publishing.
• Cruising Guide to New York Waterways and Lake Champlain by Crhis W. Brown III and edited by Claiborne S. Young.
• Embassy's Complete Boating Guide & Chartbook to Long Island Sound by  Embassy Marine Publishing.
• Embassy Guide to the Atlantic Coast by Embassy Marine Publishing.
• Embassy's Complete Boating Guide to Florida's East Coast by Embassy Marine Publishing.
• Lakeland Boating Ports o' Call for Lake Huron by O'Meara-Brown Publications.
• Crusing Guides Ports for Georgian Bay, the North Channel and Lake Huron by Overleaf Design Ltd.  This is a Canadian book which focuses on Canadian ports.   It is a good as it gets but unfortunately doesn't cover U.S. ports.
• Small Craft Guide to the Trent-Severn Waterway by Canadian Department of Fisheries and Oceans.
• Intracoastal Waterway from Norfolk to Miami by Jan and Bill (honest!) Moeller. 
• Lakeland Boating Ports o' Call to Lakes Erie and St. Clair by O'Meara-Brown Publications.
• Crusing Guides Ports for Lake Ontario and the Thousand Islands by Overleaf Design Ltd.
• Marinas along the Intracoastal Waterway by Skipper Bob.   A casual publication that we found very useful.
• Crusing the New York Canal System by Skipper Bob.
• Ports Boating and Cottage Guide to the Trent-Severn and Lake Simcoe by Overleaf Designs, Ltd.
• Embassy Guide to the Gulf Coast by Embassy Marine Publishing.
• Crising Guide to the Northern Gulf Coast by Claibourne S. Young,

Other books

• AAA TourBooks for all of the states we pass through or along side.  We use them to provide us with landside information often not available from the marine guides.
• AAA Maps for all of the states we pass through or along side.
• Chapman Piloting by Elbert S. Maloney, 62nd Edition.
• Sailor's Weather Guide by Jeff Markell.
• Boatowner's Mechanical and Electrical Manual by Nigel Calder.   This book has great diagrams and drawings that form the basis of many common repairs, fixes, and upgrades.
• Reed's Nautical Almanac.
• Hunt's Highlights of Michigan by Mary and Don Hunt.  A nice companion book that provides background and information on towns we visited.
• Practical Pilot by Leonard Eyges.  Coastal navigation made easy.
• The Klutz Book of Knots by John Cassidy.  A great little knot book.  You need to know how to tie a few knots. Really!
• Great Lakes Waypoints for Lake Erie and Lake St. Clair by Dennis F. Whitaker.

Printed charts

• Chart No. 1.  United States of America Nautical Chart Symbols Abbreviations and Terms.  A must-have.  Helps read all other charts.
• Tennessee River Navigation Charts #2465, January 1997, U. S. Army Corps of Engineers.
• Tennessee-Tombigbee Waterway Charts, U. S. Army Corps of Engineers. 
• Lower Black Warrior-Tombigbee Waterway Charts, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.
• Ohio River Navigation Charts: Cairo, Illinois to Foster, Kentucky by U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.
• Cumberland River Navigation Charts: Smithland, Kentucky to Celina, Tennessee by U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.
• Upper Mississippi River Navigation Charts by U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.
• Charts of the Illinois Waterways by U.S. Army Corps of Engineers
• Recreational Chart 14786 New York State Barge Canal System by U.S. Department of Commerce, NOAA.
• Richardsons' Chartbook and Cruising Guide to Lake Michigan by Richardsons' Marine Publishing
• Richardsons' Chartbook and Cruising Guide to Lake Erie by Richardsons' Marine Publishing
• Richardsons' Chartbook and Cruising Guide to Lake Ontario by Richardsons' Marine Publishing
• Richardsons' Chartbook and Cruising Guide to Lake Huron by Richardsons' Marine Publishing
• Chartkit Jacksonville to Miami
• Small Craft Chart for the Trent-Severn Waterway (#'s 2022, 2023, 2024, 2025, 2028, 2029, 2031)  by Canadian Hudrographic Service.

Electronic charts (provided by the manufacturer on compact disks [CDs] )  We have electronic charts for as much of this trip as possible.  They allow us to always know our exact position and have been invaluable in assisting us in finding inlets, marinas, docks, etc.  They're expensive, but we found them worth the cost.

• Softchart, Region 12, Illinois River
• Softchart, Region 13, Lower Ohio River
• Softchart, Region 18, Cumberland River
• Softchart, Region 19,Tennessee River
• Softchart, Region 20, Tenn-Tom Waterway
• Maptech, Region 4, Chesapeake and Delaware Bays
• Maptech, Region 6, Norfolk, VA to Jacksonville, FL
• Maptech, Region 7, Florida East Coast
• Maptech, Region 8, Florida West Coast
• Maptech, Region 13, Lake Michigan
• Maptech, Region 17, Mobile, AL to the Mexican Border
• Maptech, Region 22, Lake Superior and Lake Huron (U.S. Waters)
• Maptech, Region 24, Lake Erie (U.S. Waters)
• Maptech, Region 26, Lake Ontario and Approaches

• Maptech, Region 28, Lake Huron including Georgian Bay and North Channel