ONWA K-Charts are the free electronic nautical charts ONWA provides for its own GPS chartplotters. For those who frequently sail on open water, K-Charts offer a simple alternative to commercial charts from brands like C-MAP MAX and Navionics+.
K-Charts are so-called vector maps, and show the following information:
- Depth colors (light blue = deeper, dark blue = shallow)
- Country information (which country you are approaching)
- Contours and depth contours
- Basic map information for safe orientation
In terms of functionality and timeliness, they are therefore not comparable to the chart sets from Navionics and C-MAP. For example, essential data for Dutch inland waterways, such as clearance heights and buoyage names, are missing, and the Marker Wadden Islands, for example, are not shown.
ONWA GPS plotter users can download a K-Chart map set for a specific area and upload it via a microSD card for activation in the ONWA GPS chartplotter. For more information, see Download K-Chart .
For Europe there are map sets for:
- the British Isles and Ireland
- the North Sea and Baltic Sea
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The current version for the European chart sets is version 3.2 from 2022. This makes the chart less suitable for waterways that are subject to frequent changes, such as those caused by tides/currents (e.g., the Wadden Sea) or wind farm construction. Users who want to know the latest information are therefore advised to also subscribe to a C_MAP or Navionics subscription (on their PC, tablet, or chartplotter).
Please note that, as with all other electronic nautical charts, K-Chart nautical charts are intended as a navigational aid and backup, not as an official primary source!