Mysteries of the chart next door . . .

It sometimes happens that a client wants to see their home or favorite port centered on the wall mural, but the chart just doesn’t cooperate.  Murphy’s Mural Law sometimes has the client’s high interest area of the chart right next to the edge of the chart.

So the simple solution is to locate the chart that is next to the area and match up the edges.

But not so fast! 

Even though the two charts may have the same scale, such as 1:80,000, the treatment of the land and sea in one chart may vary significantly in the adjoining chart. 

For example, I have been working with a client who needed a little more area at the edge of NOAA Chart 13290.  The adjoining chart was NOAA 13293, so it sounds simple right?  Just add the new area you need from the adjoining chart.  That, however, does not always work.

Take a look at a side-by-side view of the identical area in the overlapping portions of those two charts.  NOAA 13290 has more color in the water than 13293, while 13293 has many more land contour lines than 13290.  We could join the two charts via Photoshop, but the result would look odd and be disappointing. 

The best bet is to work off of one chart, or take a separate chart view for a different wall.  I have found that most people think of the separate walls in your home or office as separate canvases, and dramatic changes between walls is not at all objectionable; in fact, it looks good.

With our 12-year history of making nautical charts and nautical chart murals work together to give our clients the results they want, we can help find an answer to most any challenging mural scenario.