Bob423 Guides Publications

There are four Bob423 Guides publications: 


What’s new?
  • How to use the new Coast Guard Local Notices to Mariners Graphical Interface. Ever try finding Coast Guard notices for your next day’s cruise? The new graphical interface makes it easy.
  • Coast Guard to Eliminate 351 Buoys in the Northeast, why? The rest of the East Coast may be next. Get the details here.
  • Are you ready for a boat inspection in Florida? Florida has more requirements than the Coast Guard! See if your boat can pass an inspection by the Florida Wildlife Commission (FWC).
  • 173 hazard charts have been updated. The one constant on the ICW is change!
What’s still needed?
  • ICW Navigation Requires New Skills. You may have been around the world or cruised for 40 years, but if it’s your first time on the Atlantic ICW, you need to read the article in Chapter 10. All your experience still applies, of course, but there are nuances to navigating the ICW that apply more so here than anywhere else.
  • How to Read Bridge Height Boards. Sure, most have tic marks, but what about the ones that don’t?
  • The ICW Cruising Guide has expanded to over 300 pages to provide essential ICW information with over 500 links to additional online sources. The links are active in the eBook and Waterway Guide versions. An active link list is available on the download site at bobicw.blogspot.com or by accessing the QR code icon on the next page. No more Googling the links!
  • Technology never sleeps. All recommendations are updated to reflect the current state of the art.
  • Split screen basics, display Aqua Map and Navionics side by side on your iPad or Android tablet.
  • Crowd Sourcing Bathymetry comes to Aqua Map. Share your soundings with NOAA.
  • Want to anchor in Key West instead of opting for an expensive marina? I interviewed Stan Loveday, a Key West Bight City Marina Dockmaster, for advice on where to anchor that won’t result in your boat up on land after a wind. Stan regularly rescues boats that dragged and knows the ground conditions and tackle required for all the anchorages in the area. Share in his knowledge.
  • Max Parker of Zimmerman Marine continues his article on How to ICW-Proof Your Engine. Max Parker, head of yard operations at Zimmerman Marine, gives insight from 25 years of servicing ICW cruisers on maintaining our engines for trouble-free operation.
  • I cover the weather models most valuable to boaters and the apps that best display them. Two examples show the differences in predictions from weather fronts and during summer thunderstorms.
  • Aqua Map Master should be your first navigation app investment. You will find a coupon in the guide for 25% off the initial purchase price of Aqua Map charts, so be sure to take advantage of the offer if you don’t already have Aqua Map
What’s new?
  • How to use the new Coast Guard Local Notices to Mariners Graphical Interface. Ever try finding Coast Guard notices for your next day’s cruise? The new graphical interface makes it easy.
  • Coast Guard to Eliminate 351 Buoys in the Northeast, why? The rest of the East Coast may be next. Get the details here.
  • Are you ready for a boat inspection in Florida? Florida has more requirements than the Coast Guard! See if your boat can pass an inspection by the Florida Wildlife Commission (FWC).
  • 173 hazard charts have been updated. The one constant on the ICW is change!
What’s still needed?
  • ICW Navigation Requires New Skills. You may have been around the world or cruised for 40 years, but if it’s your first time on the Atlantic ICW, you need to read the article in Chapter 10. All your experience still applies, of course, but there are nuances to navigating the ICW that apply more so here than anywhere else.
  • How to Read Bridge Height Boards. Sure, most have tic marks, but what about the ones that don’t?
  • The ICW Cruising Guide has expanded to over 300 pages to provide essential ICW information with over 500 links to additional online sources. The links are active in the eBook and Waterway Guide versions. An active link list is available on the download site at bobicw.blogspot.com or by accessing the QR code icon on the next page. No more Googling the links!
  • Technology never sleeps. All recommendations are updated to reflect the current state of the art.
  • Split screen basics, display Aqua Map and Navionics side by side on your iPad or Android tablet.
  • Crowd Sourcing Bathymetry comes to Aqua Map. Share your soundings with NOAA.
  • Want to anchor in Key West instead of opting for an expensive marina? I interviewed Stan Loveday, a Key West Bight City Marina Dockmaster, for advice on where to anchor that won’t result in your boat up on land after a wind. Stan regularly rescues boats that dragged and knows the ground conditions and tackle required for all the anchorages in the area. Share in his knowledge.
  • Max Parker of Zimmerman Marine continues his article on How to ICW-Proof Your Engine. Max Parker, head of yard operations at Zimmerman Marine, gives insight from 25 years of servicing ICW cruisers on maintaining our engines for trouble-free operation.
  • I cover the weather models most valuable to boaters and the apps that best display them. Two examples show the differences in predictions from weather fronts and during summer thunderstorms.
  • Aqua Map Master should be your first navigation app investment. You will find a coupon in the guide for 25% off the initial purchase price of Aqua Map charts, so be sure to take advantage of the offer if you don’t already have Aqua Map

The 385 color charts in the chartbook cover the Atlantic Intracoastal Waterway (ICW) from Norfolk, Virginia to Key West, Florida, and also across Lake Okeechobee to Ft Myers, and major ICW inlets. Chart notes have been retained and, in most cases, inserted in appropriate locations on the chart or in some cases, compiled at the end of the chartbook for reference. In addition to a detailed Table of Contents ordered by mile marker, an index is provided at the end of the chartbook to allow finding charts by familiar location names.

The 29 NOAA charts used in this chartbook were current anywhere from 10/2022 to 11/2023, depending upon NOAA's schedule for sunsetting their paper chart format. Most of the charts used have been cancelled with the remaining due for cancellation in early 2024. A detailed list of NOAA chart numbers used and update level is included in the chartbook.

The charts are printed in color on 22 lb paper in 8.5 x 11 inch format with each page covering a 5 mile segment of the ICW. The coverage is continuous, there are no gaps except where noted in Contents below. The chartbook comes bound along the long edge but the inside margin has been extended to 1 inch to allow room for a spiral binding if desired from a store like Staples for less than $10. The chartbook totals 409 pages.

Contents:
  • Northern Approach to Norfolk VA
  • Norfolk VA to Albemarle Sound
  • Dismal Swamp to Albemarle Sound
  • Albemarle Sound to Key West, FL
  • St Lucie, FL to Ft Myers, FL (both the shore route and across Lake Okeechobee are included)
  • Ft Myers, FL to Matanzas Pass, FL
  • Matanzas Pass, FL to Key West, FL (not in 5 mile increments)
  • Inlets along the ICW (17 major inlets covered)
  • Compilation of chart messages appearing on charts)

The 2024 Long Island Sound Chartbook contains paper format charts (Raster Navigational Chart or RNC for short) for the Hudson River by New York City, through the East River, Long Island Sound, and on to Block Island. The northern and southern shores of the Sound are covered, including Fishers Island Sound, as are the bays around Shelter Island, Threemile Harbor, and Montauk. 28 National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) source charts were used, each with many detail insets, resulting in 204 pages of charts. These are the last charts that NOAA will publish in the area since NOAA decided to retire all RNC format charts by 2024.

Detailed insets are shown for select areas:
• Oyster Bay
• Cold Spring Bay
• Lloyd Bay
• Huntington Bay
• Northport Bay in 5 detail charts
• Port Jefferson in 4 detail charts
• Around Shelter Island in 6 detail charts
• Gardiners Bay in 6 detail charts
• New Haven in 4 charts
• Harlem River in 5 charts
• New London up the Thames River in 8 charts to Norwich
• Connecticut River in 6 charts to Hamburg Cover
• Housatonic River in 5 charts to Shelton

All NOAA Chart Notes have been converted to clear text and displayed
  • General area notes
  • Specific area notes
  • Tide and current tables
    • Dates of soundings (some are pre 1900s)
    • A chart finder graphic
    • Table of Contents
    • Index


  • The Atlantic Intracoastal Waterway Chartbook is a compilation of nine NOAA paper charts (RNC format) covering the ICW from Norfolk, Virginia to Miami, Florida.
  • Each page of the Chartbook shows a 5-mile segment of the ICW resulting in 239 pages of charts. All NOAA comments in insets are also included.
  • All charts have been updated by NOAA to 10/25/2022.
  • There are no gaps, every mile of the ICW is covered and the NOAA inset charts are also included for added detail in busy areas.
  • The book is published through Amazon which does not support spiral binding.
  • Staples will spiral bind your book on either the side as a book or at the top for a flip chart format for $8.00 (the margins allow for spiral binding)
  • I have a pending agreement with Landfall Navigation who will also sell the book and provide a spiral-bound version.
  • The book is printed by Amazon using 90 GSM white paper which is the same weight you can buy at Staples for your copier in the 20 to 24 lb range.
I would recommend you consider the ICW Cruising Guide by Bob423 as a companion publication. It focuses on the specific problem areas of the ICW along with lessons learned from 13 years of traveling the ICW (and 38 years of boating). My motto is “I make all the mistakes first so you don’t have to!” The book is available at Amazon.com by searching “ICW Cruising Guide” by Bob423. The Waterway Guide series of guidebooks are excellent in covering marinas and things to do along the ICW, both books are recommended.




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