Installing Compass
- Thread starter derfus
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^ ??? where would you put the compass? (I know you removed yours, but I'm still surprised you don't use it for racing) (do you have a tacktick?)
anyway, that's where mine is and I love it there... not sure why you need to shim it... the card will be visible, right? or it won't seal?
mine:
anyway, that's where mine is and I love it there... not sure why you need to shim it... the card will be visible, right? or it won't seal?
mine:
OK I'd like to say a few things about whiskey compasses. Do you really need one? I know it looks salty, but are you really going to set a course by a compass? Are you willing to have the compass swung annually? Will you make sure that there is no metal or electric current fields that will create significant compass error? Could one not put a GPS up and select the big numbers and have a better compass? Does standing to one side create a deviation anyway?
When you cut a large hole in the coaming, it weakens the hull and potentially creates a leakage problem. OK a lot of boats have them. Just some other things to think about. I don't need to explain how superior a course set with a GPS is, do I?
As far as racing goes, I can see all of the marks on a course before I even start. Buoy racing, as our club does it, is over a course of a few miles between legs of a triangle. Upwind, crosswind and downwind legs are created this way. No need for a compass.
When you cut a large hole in the coaming, it weakens the hull and potentially creates a leakage problem. OK a lot of boats have them. Just some other things to think about. I don't need to explain how superior a course set with a GPS is, do I?
As far as racing goes, I can see all of the marks on a course before I even start. Buoy racing, as our club does it, is over a course of a few miles between legs of a triangle. Upwind, crosswind and downwind legs are created this way. No need for a compass.
Works without batteries and looks kewl AND was installed before GPS.
Mine is mounted on a winch shim but I still had to cut a hole in the wall.
I guess it would depend on the use of your boat. I would be "lost" without a compass (pun intended...I stare at them for hours at a time) out in the middle of Lake Michigan, but on a small inland lake, do you need a compass? probably not(you wouldn't put one on a racing dinghy). I did teach my kids how to hold a heading with it though, which is useful. My tillerpilot has a flux gate, and John is right.....wander around on deck with something magnetic or ferrous and you'll think you're in the Bermuda triangle. The beauty is no batteries.
What can be better than ghosting along at night with the stars above and nothing more than the warm red glow from the compass lighting the cockpit??
Heathens
Heathens
Ok, That all makes sense for YOU, in Your area, and Your experience level.
But, IMHO, it is much wiser, for the OP to have a compass aboard, and consider electronic aids as extras. plus, my hand held gps, compass mode is only accurate when laying flat.
I really like the bulkhead mounting, with the built in Inclinometer and the side reference lines to hold course, its very helpful. Especially at night with its red light, vs having my eyes down on a gps..
and the bulkhead is fairly rigid, that one of the few areas on the boat that doesn't seem to flex... and I don't like the surface mount types since they seem to snag lines. and inside the cabin is doomed for magnetic interference. so I don't know where better to mount one than the bulkhead.
But 9" thick!!!
WoW, how big a hole are you going to cut?Can you return or sell your version and get a smaller model?
If I were going to get a compass today, this is what I'd choose.
http://www.westmarine.com/webapp/wc...?&cid=chanintel&ci_src=14110944&ci_sku=403944
OTOH, if you never sail out of sight of land, or in fog or rain. then I'd skip it entirely.
I agree with Oreana. These boats don't often sail out of sight of land, so you really don't need to keep your eyes fixed on the compass. I have two handheld gps's and a hand bearing compass. Since I've had this boat, I've only needed only the primary gps. It gets me on course, then I pick a point on the horizon and check the gps occasionally. If both gps's ever go out, the hand bearing compass will get me back. I hate cutting holes in the boat, 1) because you never know if the same size compass will be available when replacement is needed, and 2) the fewer holes, the fewer leaks.
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