Maybe you already knew this, but I've been looking for it for a while now.
NOAA website has low-res, ( 85dpi,) versions of navigational charts, and aerial photography free for the downloading! Charts are clearly marked, ( Not For Navigation,) but are a great resource for planning trips, especially for us shore-bound fishermen. Also great for reference when reading Reel-Timers fish reports from unfamiliar areas.
I'm not the " Code Warrior," type, so you'll have to type the address into your web browser yourself:
http://mapindex.nos.noaa.gov/
To get to the charts, click the underlined link, " Find Maps."
Getting the actual charts is a little confusing. After you zoom in to the area you
want, change the top button to, " Find Data," then click the map again. All the charts available for downloading will then be listed. Right click on the green, " Gif," icon, and select, "Open in new browser window." Save it to a file on your hard drive, and you'll have it for permanent reference, printing etc.
Finally, we got something back for all those tax dollars!
Big thanks to Ken Anderson of Anderson Survey in Hanson, MA, who put me onto this while I was training him on some software yesterday. He's a sometimes striper hound, so if you meet him on the water, say thanks.
Don't forget to bookmark!
Jay