For that reason, Easy View is best for simply planning at home when you want to peruse a library of charts without the hassle or cost of a stack of paper. It may also have use in certain applications as a simple backup or augmentation to more sophisticated navigation software.

The boater who would be most comfortable setting up and using Easy View would come from a profession that uses CAD software, perhaps an architect or engineer who owns a boat. Other users will likely find the interface a bit cumbersome and counterintuitive. If you are a CAD tweak, then Easy View's can-opener ability to read a huge variety of file formats is a plus: you can use it to open those GeoTIFF or AutoCAD files your friends send you. But most recreational boaters, who neither know nor care about these formats, would be better served by a simple, inexpensive marine-focused package.

SEACLEAR II

Unlike Easy View, SeaClear was created for boaters. In fact, it was created by Olle Soderholm, a Swedish recreational boater who was unhappy with the electronic charting choices available back in 1995. He makes it sound easy, but he literally "created his own package."

More than a decade later, SeaClear still has no commercial connection or support but its creator maintains the application in his spare time and makes small updates on a surprisingly regular basis.

One major update-SeaClear II-was created to run on Windows 2000 or XP, replacing SeaClear for Windows 95. For boaters on older Windows operating systems, versions are still available for download, which is a plus for boaters who are attached to their old (dare we say outdated?) equipment. So far, there is no version available that will run on Windows Vista.

THE DOWNLOAD

Since SeaClear is a free software application, it is only available for download from the Web (see link below). The download links are very clear, with choices available for your version of Windows. We downloaded the full install-about 2 megabytes-which included the English language manual. You can also choose to download the manual in other languages, including Spanish, French, German, Finnish, Dutch, and Hebrew.SEACLEARSeaClear allows limited control of the user interface through its Properties tab, but other packages offer more.

The installation puts four items in your Program directory: SeaClear II, which is the actual application; MapCal II, a program to help with chart installation; SeaClear II Manual, which is in PDF format; and a SeaClear II web link. Part of the download includes small-scale base charts for the world. This is not a chart set you can use-it shows only continents with no data-but it lets the program display a backdrop when you first hook up your GPS sensor and begin loading charts for your region.

In order to get up and running with SeaClear II, you need a few other items. Most importantly, you need raster charts in BSB/KAP or GEO/NOS format. SeaClear is designed to work with raster chart files only. Unlike many commercial applications, SeaClear does not include charts, nor does it include or display additional data files such as tides and currents, elevation maps, bathymetric data, street maps, or weather overlays. You can download BSB files from NOAA at no charge, or purchase regional CDs and DVDs inexpensively from several commercial sources.

You also need a mouse with a right button because SeaClear's functions are accessed via right-click menus. Although most mice now include a right-click button, we felt it was worth mentioning, just in case.

WORKING WITH CHARTS

One of the unusual features of SeaClear is that you can scan paper charts, calibrate the files, save them in PNG or BMP format and import them for viewing and navigation in SeaClear.