Overview

The Garmin BlueChart g3 Vision HD VUS008R is a coastal electronic chart covering Cape Romain through St. Augustine, including Charleston, Savannah, and Jacksonville, with the St. John's River charted up to the Clay County line. It loads on compatible Garmin chartplotters and adds detailed coastal navigation data plus fishing-friendly bottom detail like up to 1 foot contours and depth range shading.

This chart includes integrated Garmin and Navionics data, plus mapping layers that help you interpret the bottom and shoreline quickly. Auto Guidance uses your chosen depth and overhead clearance to calculate a suggested path, and NOAA raster cartography is available as an optional download through the ActiveCaptain app for a paper-chart look on supported systems.

It is a solid fit for crews running the ICW, inlet hopping, or working nearshore structure between the South Carolina and North Florida coasts, where clean depth detail and marina approach context matter.

Key features

• Coverage for the VUS008R region: Cape Romain through St. Augustine, including Charleston, Savannah, and Jacksonville, plus the St. John's River to the Clay County line
• Two delivery formats available: preprogrammed microSD/SD card or downloadable chart
• Integrated Garmin and Navionics data for updated coastal detail and familiar chart presentation
• Auto Guidance route suggestions using your entered depth and overhead clearance (planning aid only)
• High-resolution relief shading that uses color and shadow to make bottom structure easier to read than contour lines alone
• Depth range shading with up to 10 depth ranges so you can highlight a target depth band
• Up to 1 foot contours for tighter bottom definition around channels, flats, creeks, and marina basins
• Shallow water shading option to highlight water you want to avoid based on a user-set depth
• Extra visual layers where available, including 3D MarinerEye and FishEye views plus aerial and satellite imagery overlays
• NOAA raster cartography available as a free downloadable feature through the ActiveCaptain app (supported devices)

Variants

This chart is offered in multiple configurations. The chart coverage stays the same for VUS008R, and the main difference is how you receive and load the chart.

The formats vary between a preprogrammed microSD/SD card and a downloadable version that you install to a microSD/SD card using Garmin Express. Plan on using one chart per card so the plotter can read it cleanly.

• 010-C0709-00: Format microSD/SD. Insert the chart card in the chartplotter card slot to access the VUS008R mapping layers on the water.
• 010-D0537-00: Format Download. Download the chart with Garmin Express to a microSD/SD card, then use that card in the chartplotter for navigation.

Compatibility and fit

Confirm your Garmin unit supports BlueChart g3 Vision charts and has a microSD or SD card slot available for chart data. If your boat has more than one helm, make sure the display you want to use is the one with the card slot, or that your setup supports sharing chart data the way you intend.

Installation and setup

For the card version, power the chartplotter down, insert the card fully, and restart the unit so it indexes the chart. For the download version, install the chart to a microSD/SD card using Garmin Express on a computer, then insert that card into the chartplotter.

Some optional layers and views are delivered through the ActiveCaptain app on supported systems. If you use those features, it helps to handle the downloads dockside on a stable internet connection, then run the chartplotter off the boat network as normal.

On-board use

Depth range shading and the tight contour detail are especially useful when you are picking through shifting shallows, lining up creek entrances, or finding bottom edges for fishing. For route suggestions, Auto Guidance can speed up planning, but it is still on you to verify every leg against real conditions, local notices, and what you see on the water.