I am assuming that Greg is referring to CHS electronic charts. When purchased from CHS, these charts come with one year of free updates. CHS processes updates every month. This is far more up to date than the paper charts which are not updated nearly as often. This would be particularly true if buying used charts. That said, some people like to have the paper charts to see the big picture which is not as easy with electronic charts. As Ralph Yost mentioned, it is important to have a backup when using electronic charts. Cheers, J.E. Fordyce Toronto ON Adagio I Kadey Krogen 48 Whaleback Currently stored at Brewerton NY on the Erie Canal