Compass Recomendations Please

[Puffin]

Having recovered from the financial pain of buying my RIB am now whiling away the winter evenings by looking at a few gizmos to add to my pride and joy. Top of the list is a descent compass, whilst I have a chart plotter I don't like being reliant on it. (Also quite enjoy doing some good old fashioned navigation!) Can I have recomendations for a 6m RIB, the console is a Humber dual cruise consol, the space on the top is not quite horizontal and not hugely wide, looked at the plastimo 105 drilling template and it looked very tight.

Ta

[Trolli]

i got a plastimo and it's workin' pretty fine.

[SeaSkills]

There's a good chance that fitting a magnetic compass into a small console with loads of electronics around will give you a fair amount of deviation. Unless you particularly want to play with "old-fashioned" navigation, or you want to have an option that doesn't need a power source - have you thought about a fluxgate compass?

[jwalker]

I have a nice compass. I've had it for about 12 years. I keep it in a locker so it's still in good nick...

[alystra]

Originally Posted by SeaSkills

There's a good chance that fitting a magnetic compass into a small console with loads of electronics around will give you a fair amount of deviation. Unless you particularly want to play with "old-fashioned" navigation, or you want to have an option that doesn't need a power source - have you thought about a fluxgate compass?

I thought I would have problems with the electronics, but there is no discernable movement of the compass when I switch on all my electronics. (see pic) I've added a Garmin 550 plotter between the black label and the sounder since the picture was taken and still no problem.

The compass is American and specially made for powerboats, so it's very dead beat (compass-ese for steady). I bought it locally, but lost the box so can't remember the make. It has compensation magnets and I'm very pleased with it. A quick Google showed Ritchie has something similar.

Important that you get one for powerboat use. Others are not steady enough.
PS I made the wooden bit of the binnacle so the compass mounted level (but didn't get it quite right )

[JSP]

I'm limited on space so I'm thinking of getting A plastimo Iris 100 and keep it locked away for when the GPS goes Pete Tong
http://www.mailspeedmarine.com/hand-...ss666803.bhtml

[Zubenelgenubi]

Locked away where?
For a magnetic compass to be effective the binnacle must be such that any compensatory soft/hard iron correctors are already in position?

[J S]

Originally Posted by JSP

I'm limited on space so I'm thinking of getting A plastimo Iris 100 and keep it locked away for when the GPS goes Pete Tong
http://www.mailspeedmarine.com/hand-...ss666803.bhtml

Good compass but the brackets are rubbish they always fall out with the slightest chop. Every time i went out they would end up in the back of the boat rolling around. These have a better bracket with a clip http://www.mailspeedmarine.com/hand-...ss667393.bhtml

James

[SeaSkills]

Originally Posted by alystra

I thought I would have problems with the electronics, but there is no discernable movement of the compass when I switch on all my electronics.

That's quite impressive. Does that apply at all points of the compass?

I ran an Advanced exam earlier this year on a client's own boat, and he was getting up to 20 degrees deflection on East-West headings on his steering compass (largely from the speaker on his VHF) ... but didn't realise. When I switched his GPS off and asked him to navigate to the next waypoint on his compass he soon found out!

[nik]

This one is a ritchie and it has been out by 45 degrees.
I have tried adjusting it, but as I have discovered, I need a plastic screwdriver. It was bloody frustrating, every time I moved my metal screwdriver towards the compass, it swung around rendering any subtle adjustments impossible.