"The need for endless zooming/panning on a computer or plotter screen to obtain the same information that can be gleaned at a glance from a paper chart can really cloud the decision-making process..."

They are great in many respects. But this one huge failure of man-machine interface makes them - as yet - only a supplement to paper. The human eye and cognition system is very good at panning and zooming, using peripheral vision and a very rapid and complex decision process that cannot be replicated on a machine to zoom in on details of interest. These details may only become interesting when viewed in the context of the whole and therefore go unrecognized on the small window that is the chartplotter. Vector type electronic charts "declutter" when zoomed back, loosing little details like buoyage very quickly. You just cannot present the area of interest with sufficient detail on currently available chart plotters. Zooming and panning speed is improving, but even if instant is no replacement for eyes on paper. I spent the summer in the Canadian maritimes with several versions of electronic charts and no paper for most of it. The Canadians have made it extremely expensive to buy the paper chart sets, and difficult or impossible to print for yourself the electronic versions. So while every detail was available, it was frustratingly difficult to use.