When the U.S. government announced the release of its entire digital chart library for free two years ago, it was a Canadian software company that first stepped forward to take advantage of the new resource.

Northport Systems Inc., which began making GPS mapping software, had already created products such as Fugawi Marine ENC and Fugawi Global Navigator for marine applications, so the appeal of the charts was obvious. Today, Fugawi Marine ENC remains one of the major offerings in the market and continues to add new functions and data sets far faster than many of its competitors.You might think of Marine ENC as the "Swiss Army knife" of navigation software. It is designed to view many different types of data, from topographic maps and satallite images to nautical charts and street data. It is also highly compatible across platforms, meaning you can use it on a computer, a PDA, or a portable GPS.

Fugawi is the perfect package for world adventurers who want different maps and charts to facilitate a wide range of hobbies: boating and canoeing, offshore and lake fishing, hiking and climbing. For those interested in viewing many types of cartography on many different devices, it is a very good option.

Viewed strictly as a marine package, however, Marine ENC is a mixed bag. While it offers many different data sets–including the ability to use Navionics charts with a card reader, as well as some rare international options–boaters who use only nautical charts may find the interface cluttered with information and options they never use. Furthermore, while the company offers first-rate tech support, many users may find themselves using it more than they would like, thanks to a difficult startup process.

In short, whether Fugawi suits your needs is going to depend largely on what you do with your boat and your life-style on land.

PURCHASING FUGAWI

We tested the latest version of Fugawi Marine ENC (4.5) because it is the Northport product that most directly targets the marine market, and it has an established base of users. Their other Fugawi product, Global Navigator, is a more general offering covering land, sea and air for use on a PC, handheld GPS or PDA. Even so, Marine ENC still contains many features for hikers, small boaters and lake fishermen, and its roots as a general mapping application are well in evidence. It even refers to nautical charts as "maps."

Fugawi Marine ENC is available as a boxed set, available directly from Northport Systems (see link below), or through retailers. The $279.95 set includes an installation CD, two Data Pack DVDs, a 40-page Getting Started Manual, and a Navionics Multi Card Reader with documentation. Our first impression was extremely positive. The software is professionally packaged and had us excited to try its features and the included "extras."

When you purchase Marine ENC, you choose one of four Fugawi Bonus Data Packs–U.S., Canada, Europe, or International. The U.S. pack includes all raster and vector charts from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, as well as vector charts from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers covering U.S. inland waterways.

Coastal water bathymetric data, elevation data, street overlay data and landmark data for the U.S., as well as a digital version of the MPC Boaters Directory and a world background map, were also included. The Canadian Data Pack is comparable. The Europe and International Data Packs include primarily street, landmark, and elevation data.

Note that the Data Packs are on DVD while the installation software is on CD, so your PC must have a DVD drive in order to read and import the charts.