Whether you're exploring new coastline or cruising your favorite bay, BlueChart Americas v7 contains the most detailed marine cartography around. These electronic nautical maps give you peace of mind when navigating offshore. Version 7 additions include rigs and artificial reefs for the East Coast and the Gulf of Mexico.

Main Features

Note: These functions of this product work with nearly all Garmin GPS units, excluding the GPS 100 family and panel mount aviation units.

With "Bluecharts" they have gotten to a level of detail (including multiple colors) that they look almost as good as a paper charts. The advantages of vector charts is that they take up much less room on your hard drive and run much faster on a PC. This is important when you are zooming in and out to see your depth or proximity to a wreck while moving on a boat.

I use mine with an eTrex Legend and am able to load most of the detail (depth, obstructions, nautical aids, etc) onto the handheld. For the full look of charts, I connect the GPS unit to my laptop. The package also includes tidal charts, which are much more detailed and accurate than the little tide chart booklets I used to use. Overall, it makes navigation a breeze...your boat is automatically represented on the chart and you have many simple tools to calculate distance/time to a given destination. It also incorporates additional information on Marinas and service locations.

The Garmin application the charts run on, "MapSource" allows you to easily switch between map types. I have "Americas Bluechart," "MetroGuide" (streetmaps), and "Tides and Marine Services," all without having to reconnnect the GPS unit.

The only hassle is the "Unlock" process, which is a bit time consuming and involves providing the Garmin website with a bunch of codes, including the serial number of my GPS unit to unlock a set of charts from the CD-ROM. I'm not sure, but I think it will only work with that specific unit, which worries me a bit as I am thinking about buying a second unit for backup.


Simply the best!   April 29, 2002
 45 out of 47 found this review helpful

I'll cut right to the chase--if you have a Garmin GPS unit that is MapSource compatible, and use it on the ocean, buy this CD! Garmin's Water Ways & Lights CD is a total joke compared to the BlueChart CD. The level of detail is an exact duplication of NOAA paper charts--very, very accurate and very, very detailed. I use this software with my GPSMAP 162, and the only drawback is that with the detail level set to high, it slows the screen redraw rate down considerably. but, when you're actually on the water, this isn't even noticeable. Bottom line--this is a great product.


you are selling an OLD version as NEw   June 8, 2005
 20 out of 25 found this review helpful

The current version of the software is 7. Why are you putting people's lives and property in danger selling old map data.


Nice maps -- "Must have" for boaters!   May 2, 2006
 20 out of 21 found this review helpful

I ordered this CD ROM at the end of April 2006. I received version 7.5 from Amazon.com. Garmin is now shipping v8.0 which is a free upgrade (install the 7.5 version, unlock your region, then order the free v8.0 upgrade CD ROM from Garmin's website.)

This map installs easily using the MapSource software on your PC. On the iQue, you can load both the City Select detailed maps and the BlueChart maps into the unit at the same time. If the BlueChart maps are loaded for an area that has the City Select maps loaded, the City Select maps are displayed by default. Switching between the two map sets can be very confusing at first, but is easy once you know the trick.

To switch map sets on the iQue 3600, go to map view. Press the menu button (second icon from the right at the very bottom of the screen), select Options then Preferences. Make sure that you have "Maps" selected in Preferences. Change the drop down box from "General" to "Detailed Maps." Now, here's the trick: Once your detailed maps are listed in the window, click the menu button again! Now you can enable all maps, disable all maps, enable only the BlueChart maps, or enable only the City Select maps.

If you're a boater, you should never leave home without your GPS (the Coast Guard can find you more easily if you provide them with your GPS coords if you get into trouble.) And, having a BlueChart map loaded into your GPS gives you buoy information, channel information, water depths, depth contour lines, etc., and much more! It's like having a NOAA chart in the palm (no pun intended) of your hand which also shows your exact location at all times.