Map and charts for kayaking

You usually want, and perhaps even should, have some form of map or chart with you when you're out paddling. The terrain map (green map) and nautical chart are by far the most common among paddlers. Both types have advantages and disadvantages. On the nautical charts and boating charts there are all dots, joints, lighthouses, lighthouse sectors, bottom conditions that are not on the land maps. On the terrain maps there is more country information; houses, villages, elevation curves and more.

Like so many other things, it tends to be an either-or discussion where one is the only thing that can be used and the other is almost completely unusable 🙂 For paddling, both work perfectly and it's more a matter of habit which one chooses. However, I think that many people have an easier time with the terrain maps because it is usually easier to find campsites on them and see where there are/are not houses, in addition, most people also do land activities and are thus used to the maps.

The biggest advantage of the charts is in areas where there are a lot of dots & lighthouses and other things that help with navigation. You can certainly use the depth and ground markings to see where it might get messy, but otherwise it is usually enough that it is marked as water and you can get there by kayak... For more advanced and accurate navigation it is of course better with as much info as possible and then it's great with four sectors, four characters and more.

both charts and land maps
When we are out, one of us often has a chart and the other a terrain map. It will be a good combination where both can help with navigation and we get the advantages from the different types.

laminate
We have previously printed out a lot of maps from the terrain map on CD where we added some campsites, water bodies and other things. We have printed these double-sided on a3 which we then laminated, they last a long time then and are easy to have under the deck lines directly without a case. Quite smooth, but now we have more and more switched to larger Tyvek sheets.

skala
Which scale should you have then? The terrain map and most charts are by default at a scale of 1:50000. So 1cm on the map is 500 meters in reality. It goes a long way and you get a lot of detail. There are more detailed maps, but they are hardly needed except for special conditions. There are also rougher maps, scale 1:100000 is quite common and that can go a long way, especially on longer paddling trips where you may not be meandering among the smallest islands and may not want to carry or change map sheets all the time.. I think a overview in scale 1:250000 is good for rough planning. Then it's nice if the maps you use the most have the same scale so you don't have to think about it. A quick look at the map and you know approximately how far it is to the next headland without thinking and measuring.

durable thief maps
In the last 5-10 years, there have been a lot of maps in the plastic material Tvyvek. Tyvek is insanely durable even in thin thicknesses and is almost impossible to tear. Tyvek can also withstand being folded an almost infinite number of times. Nowadays there are both charts and maps of large parts of Sweden. Utekartan has had Tyvekkartor for quite a while and Calazo has just started. We've had our Tyveksjökorts all over the west coast for 4-5 years, I think, and they hold up great. They are quite large sheets so they have to be folded to fit into map cases. As a rule, there are printed maps on both sides, which means that you cover really large areas on each sheet, which gives both fewer map sheets to take out, but also less shelf space at home 🙂

net maps
Now it is also possible to print detailed maps from e.g. Hitta.se and Eniro.se. With a little tinkering, you can cover large areas here. Eniro also has charts. However, it can be a bit tricky to get it to the right scale and so on, but for shorter trips or as an overview it can definitely be good enough.

map case
If the maps are not laminated, they need to be protected in some form of case. There are all sorts of sizes and variations on that theme. We use cases that are a little more than A3 in size. The ones we use now are from Sealline and feel really sturdy, but Ortlieb and NRS also make nice map cases (which, however, yellow quite quickly). We also usually have the Tyvek maps in the cases, not because they need to be protected, it's easier to keep them organized there than under the deck lines. The map cases have good attachment points that make them easy to attach and remove.

Check for maps at Outdoorexperten