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Good seamanship calls
for up-to-date charts. Pilothouse S-O-S helps you bring the ordering
of new editions under strict management control, with no editions missed and
no unneeded charts ordered. Tell us which charts and books you want kept
up-to-date, and every month we will send the new editions that become
available -- without fail.
Why are current
editions important?
Just as you replace dirty
filters, leaky fire extinguishers, and worn-out towlines, it is good
seamanship to replace obsolete charts.
"The mariner bears the
responsibility for ensuring that charts are the current edition. The very
fact that a new edition has been prepared indicates that there have been
changes that cannot adequately be shown by hand corrections." (Bowditch,
article 349).
"An old edition of a
chart, or an uncorrected chart, is not safe to use." (Dutton,
article 519).
Good impressions.
A good well-documented
chart management program makes a good impression on people who are important
to you. Your customers, the Coast Guard, your insurance company, your
vetting organization, your classification society and trade association will
be favorably impressed by your Master Lists and other documentation that
show you are serious about chart maintenance.
Keeping up with
regulations.
Charts have always shown
not only visible, physical things like shoals, buoys and landmarks, but more
and more they also show regulatory information -- traffic lanes, anchorages,
security zones, restricted or prohibited areas, etc. Just look at the
amount of magenta ink on a recent chart.
With an obsolete chart you
could violate an important rule without knowing it.
Up-to-date charts --
it's the law!
As a result of the Sunset
Limited and other accidents the Coast Guard mandates current-edition and/or
currently corrected charts and navigational books for most commercial
vessels, including Uninspected Towing Vessels (CFR33 part 164).
The old way to obtain
current chart editions is wait for the Notices to Mariners, compare each
Notice to on-board inventory, write up a requisition, and then wait out the
lengthy approval process, and finally the writing and transmission of a
purchase order.
Pilothouse S-O-S
-- the easy way
With S-O-S you need to
give us a chart number only when you first enroll in the service, when you
add a vessel, or when you change a route. From that point on, we will watch
the Notices and other sources for you. When a new edition is printed, we'll
include it in your next monthly mailing.
S-O-S -- it isn't just
for charts.
Reference books that are
re-issued periodically can be put on your Master Lists. Light Lists, Coast
Pilots, Sailing Directions, Tide and Current Tables, CFRs, Almanacs, IMO
publications, Summaries of Corrections -- we'll watch all of these for you.
Special instructions
carefully followed.
Do you want us to phone,
fax, or e-mail before every mailing? Tell us! Do you want us to use a
blanket purchase order number? Tell us! Do you want us to mail to a
different address each month? Tell us!
We enter special notes and
instructions into each vessel's individual record. Our software prints out
these instructions on each month's Packing List, and yes, we do read the
Packing Lists!
Every package tracked.
Whether it goes by UPS,
Priority, FedEx, DHL, or any other method you specify, each package we send
has a unique bar code printed on the mailing label, which the carrier scans
at delivery. We track each package to make sure it is delivered.
Consolidated Billing
reduces your paperwork.
Whether you run one vessel
or a hundred, you receive one single S-O-S monthly fleet invoice,
with a single line item for every vessel. Each line is backed up by a
detailed packing list, with full descriptions of every chart and book sent.
Quantity discounts.
Every Consolidated Invoice
over a hundred dollars is discounted fifteen percent, regardless of the size
of individual vessel packing lists. S-O-S not only saves you work and time,
it saves you money.
Management Reports.
A useful byproduct of
keeping your chart inventories in our database is the ability to produce
reports that help you analyze and review your charts and publications
choices. The Master List is the basic document that spells out
wshich charts and pubs are to be maintained We recommend having a copy in
youe shore office and on board your vessel. To see an example, click here.
The Fleet Master List
gives you the total fleetwide number of each item that you have on
standing order. The Vessel Cross-Check Report presents all of the
individual Vessel Master Lists side-by-side, for easy comparison. In
addition, it lists all of the charts in your area of operation, those you
have and those you do not have, to highlight any charts missing from your
lists.
When you consider
turning over management of your chart inventories to an outside service, you
want to make sure that the service is reliable, that the fees are
reasonable, and that the contract is one you can live with. Please read on.
The Standing Order
Service contract.
We have no contract for
you to sign. We have never found one to be necessary. You come into the
service whenever you are ready, and you stay in it only as long as it meets
your needs. There is no minimum term, and there is no commitment.
Standing Order Service
fees.
We do not charge a service
fee. We simply charge standard or discounted prices for our charts and
books. The economies of predictable demand and efficient batch ordering pay
for the additional paperwork of running a subscription service.
Pilothouse experience
and reputation.
We have been in the chart
business since 1987, and have offered our S-O-S service during most of those
years. Our customers are the best source of information about our service,
and we are always pleased to provide you with references. Don't ask us, ask
them!
Learn more. Click
on one of these links.
Please call
us with your questions. We’ll be glad to discuss you fleet’s situation
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