bulkhead angle for a new compass

sail sfbay · Jul 7, 2022

Compass installation on a bulkhead..........suggest building a fairing block (shim) out of teak or marine board as discussed in this link Richie Compass Installed on Bulkhead - Bing video OR install two short right angle stainless steel brackets with screw holes to attach a marine board to which you can mount a compass on and adjust angle to suit.

Lots of depth finders. I have Raymarine on my sailboat.

sail sfbay · Jul 8, 2022

Might consider a fixed mount or handheld GPS chartplotter with Navionics chart. Then you get mean low tide depth, heading and speed over ground). The only downside is you may not get a depth offset from your keel. Cheaper and easier to install than a bulkhead fabrication fairing block or marine board on brackets and thruhull and associated wiring plus separate instrument costs.

AaronD · Jul 9, 2022

brockangelo said:
Yep, a friend I just sailed with has got me considering using my iPad with the Garmin Glo 2. The Glo is a GPS device you pair over bluetooth, then can use the iPad just like a chartplotter. It seems like a pretty reasonable approach for my Cat 22, all things considered; and it likely just mean a month-to-month subscription to something like Navionics, so I could subscribe just for the summer when I can sail.

The Navionics Boating app is an annual subscription, but only ~$25/year, so very reasonable. We've been using it for years, and it's still worth the subscription as a backup to our plotter.

Grotto · Jul 9, 2022

Not to be negative With a proven solution (ipad) I still elected for a traditional chart plotter (fish finder) for only one reason. It was way better in the full sunlight. I have the navonics and active captain etc on my tablet. But for my situation which is running a dodgy inlet to get out to clear water, I didn’t want to have to struggle with seeing where I am and what my depth was. My $.02 all have plus’s and minus’s

Grotto · Jul 9, 2022

brockangelo said:
What chart plotter do you use and how did you mount it?

I use a Lowrance hook reveal 5 the transducer can be used thru-the-hull for depth and some sonar if you are interested (I just wanna see a big number greater than 5) and chart plotter to boot. Now I will say if you want to upgrade later to an autohelm this chart plotter does not support NMEA 2000 so no talking to the autohelm for me at this time. Pic is of older chart plotter but mount is the same.

Grotto · Jul 9, 2022

This is how I mounted my richey compass

AaronD · Jul 10, 2022

@Grotto’s is much prettier, but here’s mine. The Ritchie SR-2 compass and Hawkeye D10DX sounder have been working nicely at that angle for years (mostly on the other side, prior to the plotter install).

All except for last year. I couldn’t figure out why it was veering randomly; until my daughter asked about the stack of sticky-backed magnets I’d apparently dropped into a storage slot just inside the bulkhead :facepalm:

Hopefully you can ignore my sloppy gel coat work. A previous owner had cut out a hole and installed a motor-boat wheel on the bulkhead

. The plotter mostly (but not quite perfectly) fills that slot. And my skill with gel coat seems to be getting worse instead of better. It’s rough enough that the plotter’s gasket doesn’t seal well, and it leaked badly in the rain (dripping on my daughter’s head). Another task for next year.

AaronD · Jul 10, 2022

brockangelo said:
That looks pretty slick. What is the B&G plotter?

It's a B&G Vulcan 12R. I added it this year, and while we don't really know how to use it, we're happy with it thus far. My thought process:
Plotter pricing by size runs about:

5" : $300-600
7" : $500-700
9" : $800-1100
12" : $1700+

I crossed off 5" and 7" plotters, as I thought they'd be difficult to read from the tiller helm. Maybe different in a wheel boat with a binnacle, but I'm usually using it from 4+ feet away. That puts us in the $800+ range. But Defender had the Vulcan 12 (suggested retail $2k) for about $1100, only ~$150 difference from the 9". The 12" has a higher resolution display too, so it seemed like a win all around. I'm not sure why they discount the 12" so much more (below MSRP) than the other sizes, but I took it.

Other brands make good plotters too, but B&G concentrates on the sailing market, with features like sail steering if I ever added wind instruments and a compatible tiller pilot. Hope that's helpful.

Grotto · Jul 10, 2022

AaronD said:
It's a B&G Vulcan 12R. I added it this year, and while we don't really know how to use it, we're happy with it thus far. My thought process:
Plotter pricing by size runs about:

5" : $300-600

7" : $500-700

9" : $800-1100

12" : $1700+

I crossed off 5" and 7" plotters, as I thought they'd be difficult to read from the tiller helm. Maybe different in a wheel boat with a binnacle, but I'm usually using it from 4+ feet away. That puts us in the $800+ range. But Defender had the Vulcan 12 (suggested retail $2k) for about $1100, only ~$150 difference from the 9". The 12" has a higher resolution display too, so it seemed like a win all around. I'm not sure why they discount the 12" so much more (below MSRP) than the other sizes, but I took it.

Other brands make good plotters too, but B&G concentrates on the sailing market, with features like sail steering if I ever added wind instruments and a compatible tiller pilot. Hope that's helpful.

Man now I have plotter envy!!!

ShawnL · Jul 17, 2022

I bought a Garmin 010-01550-00 Striker 4 a couple of years ago. It was pretty cheap on amazon. I put a big blob of plumber's putty on the hull in the v-berth hatch and pressed the transducer into it. It's been fine ever since. Doesn't have chart-plotting, but I really appreciate the depth readout. I'll never use the fish-finding features, but I can tell if the bottom is rocky or muddy (to some extent) and see some of the underwater features. I have an OpenCPN chart-plotter on a raspberry pi, but generally just use navionics on my phone when we're out for the day.

Gene Neill · Jul 17, 2022

AaronD said:
It's a B&G Vulcan 12R. I added it this year, and while we don't really know how to use it, we're happy with it thus far. My thought process:
Plotter pricing by size runs about:

5" : $300-600

7" : $500-700

9" : $800-1100

12" : $1700+

I crossed off 5" and 7" plotters, as I thought they'd be difficult to read from the tiller helm. Maybe different in a wheel boat with a binnacle, but I'm usually using it from 4+ feet away. That puts us in the $800+ range. But Defender had the Vulcan 12 (suggested retail $2k) for about $1100, only ~$150 difference from the 9". The 12" has a higher resolution display too, so it seemed like a win all around. I'm not sure why they discount the 12" so much more (below MSRP) than the other sizes, but I took it.

Other brands make good plotters too, but B&G concentrates on the sailing market, with features like sail steering if I ever added wind instruments and a compatible tiller pilot. Hope that's helpful.

Dang, I thought my 7" Garmin was big. You were right though, it is very hard to read if you are sitting on the opposite side of the cockpit from it. Actually, make that "impossible" to read. Bigger is better for sure.

But no bulkhead-mount compass for me. We have the Garmin, plus two cell phones and a tablet, all with navionics. That's enough for me. We carry a handheld compass (or two) just in case of solar flare, EMP, nuclear war, alien invasion, etc...