Well, they're alive. The USCG made paper charts optional for US-flagged vessels in 2017. Most cruisers use chartplotters at the helm, and chart apps on phones o

Well, they're alive. The USCG made paper charts optional for US-flagged vessels in 2017. Most cruisers use chartplotters at the helm, and chart apps on phones or tablets for route planning. At this point, I tend to use my iPhone at the helm as well. The charts are updated more often, and the location and tracking are very accurate (with an external Bluetooth GPS). https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2017/07/18/2017-15056/equivalency-determination-for-marine-charts-charts-or-maps-publications-and-navigation https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2017/07/18/2017-15... https://www.dco.uscg.mil/Portals/9/DCO%20Documents/5p/5ps/NVIC/2016/NVIC_01-16_electronic_charts_and_publications.pdf https://www.dco.uscg.mil/Portals/9/DCO%20Documents/5p/5ps/NV...