I have a 1994 edition of Chapman Piloting. Is it outdated? Reason I ask is, my dad gave it to me for my birthday in 1995 when I got a racing dinghy, so it’s got some sentimental value. But I’m not going to hold onto a 7-lb book if it’s not useable.
Amazing how much less sentimental you get when you’re decluttering a 3-bedroom house of almost three decades of accumulation. I did get rid of the dinghy (and replaced it with um, shall we say, several kayaks). You know how it goes…
Some of the content will still be relevant and some won’t. Aids to Navigation, weather, tides, currents, lights, general piloting, sailing without electronics have not really changed at all, but anything concerning use of electronics will be hilariously outdated at this point.
One of my GPSs uses 13 year old discontinued maps and around the Chesapeake Bay frequently records tracks of my kayaking over land and walking on water.
Unless you are just using it for noncritical navigation such as kayaking where you are moving at around 3-4 mph, I wouldn’t trust it for the navigation of a larger boat where water depth is critical. Many land features such as water tanks, towers, and marinas may no longer be there and channels and markers may have shifted or been moved.
@rstevens15 I don’t think Chapman’s includes charts. I have an old version as well, maybe the same as the OP, and there were no charts included with mine. So no worries about that. Techniques for navigating without modern electronics haven’t changed, but the charts definitely would.
A great book. Not that much has changed. A few topics might need checking for updates. A wealth of information.