Help me choose a new compass

Kermit

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Jul 31, 2010
5,657
AquaCat 12.5 17342 Wateree Lake, SC
As y’all can see here my compass is shot. I wouldn’t feel the need for one on our lake but this one really makes our boat look bad. I’d like to get a nice one without spending too much over $200. SBO has what must be OMG nice ones. Amazon.com has some that seem to be reasonably priced. There’s got to be one that will tell me which direction I’m headed without costing a fortune. What say y’all?
 

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JRacer

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Aug 9, 2011
1,331
Beneteau 310 Cheney KS (Wichita)
I've always had the Plastimo Olympic 135's - Both on the J24, bulkhead mounted, and now on the B310, binnacle mounted. 135 may be a bit bigger than what you have there, can't tell - hard to read it ;-). But I think they have a smaller version available. Think you got your money's worth!
 
Sep 8, 2014
2,551
Catalina 22 Swing Keel San Diego
I like the Plastimo Mini Contest on my small boat. The Ritchie Navigator is nice but $$$ and huge. Even the Ritchie SR-2 Venture seemed too big. I did not want to make the previous mounting hole bigger, I actually used some thickened epoxy to make it slightly smaller. I think the Mini Contest 101 is the perfect size for 22 - 27 foot boats, IMO.
 
Nov 8, 2010
11,386
Beneteau First 36.7 & 260 Minneapolis MN & Bayfield WI
Hey froggy,

Even on a lake, if you’re not using a compass going upwind, you’re missing half of your flies!!
 
Aug 22, 2017
1,609
Hunter 26.5 West Palm Beach
Hey Kermit, I really like the Ritchie compasses, we can offer this Voyager to you for $182:
http://shop.hunterowners.com/prod.php?6105
I've always had good luck with Ritchie compasses. 30 years ago, I even had one on my Sunfish.

I currently have a (less expensive) V-537 explorer on my 212 & I'm happy with it. Unfortunately, that one is probably too small to fit the existing hole that needs to be filled on Kernit's 260. The explorer goes in a 3" hole.

When I bought my 212, the existing compass had a smashed ball. I was able to buy the same model of compass from Ritchie & just swap out the broken ball. That let me avoid prying loose gobs of 5200 that anchored the original compass housing into the bulkhead.

You often have a choice of 2 or 3 different card colors with the Ritche compasses. That is usually worth thinking about before an order is placed. A compass cover may also be worth thinking about.
 
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Likes: Alansails
Oct 28, 2013
678
Hunter 20 Lake Monroe
A compass cover may also be worth thinking about.
My thought too. Whatever compass you get I would suggest swapping the bulb out for a LED bulb if it comes with the old style incadescent bulb. I was appalled when I turned our compass light on for the first time and saw it was pulling more power than all the LED running lights combined! One 3 buck led wedge bulb solved that problem. Good luck Frog.

Sam
 

Rick D

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Jun 14, 2008
7,132
Hunter Legend 40.5 Shoreline Marina Long Beach CA
If you refurbish your old one you don't have to worry about cutting more fiberglass. I had mine serviced at Andrews Compass repair. http://www.andrewscompass.com/
Perfect, Justin! I had mine serviced about ten years locally, but the guy did large commercial ships and only did mine as a favor. I bookmarked that page.
 
Jul 27, 2011
4,989
Bavaria 38E Alamitos Bay
Andrews helped me w/ repair & parts for my Suunto binnacle compass, now 20 yr old. Great guy; very helpful.
 

Kermit

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Jul 31, 2010
5,657
AquaCat 12.5 17342 Wateree Lake, SC
Looks like refurbishing may not be possible and almost certainly not cost-effective. Right now I’m leaning toward ordering from SBO. The one I have is made by Aqua Meter. I can’t tell from the picture what model it is. The el-cheapo model (likely what it is) can’t be repaired. The better model will cost as much to repair as the one @Dave Groshong recommended.
 
Aug 1, 2011
3,972
Catalina 270 255 Wabamun. Welcome to the marina
I was gonna take a picture of the one on the iPhone, but my iPhone was busy.
 

Apex

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Jun 19, 2013
1,197
C&C 30 Elk Rapids
highly recommend SBO! This thread made me check offerings for a new mainsheet traveller I was looking at. Dave price matched sale price. THANKS DAVE.
 
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Likes: Dave Groshong
May 6, 2004
196
- - Potomac
Looks like refurbishing may not be possible and almost certainly not cost-effective. Right now I’m leaning toward ordering from SBO. The one I have is made by Aqua Meter. I can’t tell from the picture what model it is. The el-cheapo model (likely what it is) can’t be repaired. The better model will cost as much to repair as the one @Dave Groshong recommended.
Kermit, I bought the compass Dave recommended. It's not installed yet (I need a rainy Saturday to make a faring block) but I can tell you it's well made, well balanced and looks sharp. I don't see any downside to it.
 
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Likes: Kermit