The NOAA is something of a Johnny-come-lately in the world of charts.
The Dutch dominated the hydrography market and published many fine sea atlases in the 1600s; France and Britain next became major forces in chartmaking. Both established naval hydrographic offices, France in 1720 and Britain in 1795. The British contribution to hydrography was highlighted by the voyages of discovery made by Captain James Cook between 1768 and 1780, and Britain continued to lead the charting industry during the 19th century.
It's worth remembering that the Admiralty Hydrographer in 1795 was tasked with sorting thorough the huge existing mass of charts and information held by the Royal Navy - which had then been in existence for hundreds of years - "King's ships" first became a feature in around the 9th century, and these were in action many times before the Royal Navy was formally created in 1660 - merging with the Royal Scots Navy in 1707.
In all of this time, and in the centuries before, ships captains had written and rewritten their own books and pilotage notes, and you can still find texts taken from these . . and there are examples in maritime museums around Europe.