compass refinish/ saildrive

[Jason L]

Hi all, I have two questions for you. First, the compass on my newly aquired O28 is glazed from UV and I can barely see through it. Is there any way short of sending it in to polish the glass? And second, The boat has a saildrive in it which remarkably runs well. It has been in fresh water since new. I realize parts for this motor are becoming more difficult to find and am considering selling it now and putting on an outboard to save future headache and salvage some storage space. My question is, how much is a reasonable asking price. Thanks for any replys in advance. Thanks Fred P, your info helped greatly.

 

[Paul Akers]

Compass

Any reputable compass shop will replace the dome and set the compass for you. It's probably a worthwhile investment at this point in time.

 

[Tom s/v GAIA]

Polish the dome with tooth paste ------

No joke, it works!!!!! ;D(smells good too!!!!!!!!!)Toms/v GAIA (on the hard)

 

[tom]

Look around

compasses can be pretty cheap. But I had an old compass and cleaned it up. Ordered a new dome from the manufacturer and filled it with mineral spirits from Lowe's hardware. I enjoyed messing with it. But realistically unless it is an expensive compass it's easier to order a new one. The old one's gimble and card is an interesting desk object. If the saildrive has a Volvo MD11C engine that is in good shape it might be worth a few thousand. The PO of my boat replaced the engine with a MD11C from a saildrive and he paid $3000.00. This unit was from a wrecked boat.

 

[Paul H]

Toothpaste Cure

Hey, does the toothpaste really fill in the crazing and odes it last. I'm in a similar fix with my compasses. I've got some Aqua Meters that I'm going to try injecting with compass fluid since there are no fill ports. Going to cover the hole in the diaphragm with a rubber tire patch and sealant .Paul HS/V Linda Belle95 H26

 

[Bruce]

Rubbing compound

I have used a fine rubbing compound on several compasses, and it works great. You can also use it on fogged ports and it will make them as good as new.