Hobie Cat Forums

Have any of you figured out a way to mount a compass on your AI where you can actually see it?

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Fly'n C Lion

I use a GPS and have one "page" which shows Velocity Made Good, Bearing, and Heading in easy to read very large letters. I never use a compass, although in my emergency bag, there is a compass.

Keith

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I sail: S FL, Key Largo, Everglades to Cape Romano, Ft Desoto, Cedar Key

"Any intelligent fool can make things bigger and more complex ... It takes a touch of genius and a lot of courage to move in the opposite direction." A. Einstein

you do realize that GPS Heading is not the same as magnetic or compass heading....right? GPS knows which way it's moving, but not which way your bow is oriented. You can't look at a GPS alone and know whether you are travelling in forward or in reverse, or in a fifteen degree crab.

I picked up a compass in a cool wristwatch, btw, if you are a gadget freak. It's a Casio Pathfinder Solar Triple Sensor, with compass, local tides, moon phase, altimeter, barometer, and a bunch of other good stuff for ocean living... My wife calls it my geek watch.
http://pathfinder.casio.com/watches/

It's a great excuse to buy a 'sailing' watch, ya know? Gotta have a compass. don't wanna put screw holes in the boat....etc.

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Island life in the Devil's Triangle:
http://2gringos.blogspot.com/

It is pretty simple, Gringo, with VMG (you have a destination) you are either making + speed (going toward your destination) or - speed (going away). If I am so lucky as to be able to hold to a route line, I don't care whether I am crabbing to get there or not--at least I am not being blown or drifting way off course which can happen if you rely on a compass. As I say, I have not used a compass in 15 yrs (when I started using a GPS.) Obviously, I have not missed it.

Everyone has their opinion on this. I don't want to get in a big argument, but there is a reason people use a gps in their car and for guiding sail boats all over the world.

Keith

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I sail: S FL, Key Largo, Everglades to Cape Romano, Ft Desoto, Cedar Key

"Any intelligent fool can make things bigger and more complex ... It takes a touch of genius and a lot of courage to move in the opposite direction." A. Einstein

Back to the original question-- some ideas here:
http://www.hobiecat.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=26&t=8363

Or you can simply mount it with bolts or velcro to the 8" hatch between your legs. Centerline of the boat is probably the best place.

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"You can avoid reality, but you cannot avoid the consequences of avoiding reality."
- Ayn Rand

Argue? I'm not arguing about GPS. I love em. Would be my first recommendation. But the man asked about compass heading. GPS doesn't measure that.

During 40 years in the ocean military and survey navigation business, I went from Loran C through radar transponder systems, to GPS P code GPS to Differential GPS. Got to work with all of them. Celestial and inertial, too.

I'm not saying GPS isn't the best navigation tool available. It is. I'm just saying it doesn't give you compass heading. I thought maybe a solar alternative that does give you heading would be of interest. Same cost. Watch does more.

Maybe I misunderstood.

By the way, I'm really not arguing with you. I just don't express myself well sometimes. I carry a Garmin GPSMap 60CSx with the southern bahamas chip in it. It's got a compass in it, too. Backs up my watch



around here we get a lot of "unsurveyed", and "numerous coral heads". charts are unreliable.

And the little lanyard secures to that button thingy just fine. Camera is on the other side.

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Island life in the Devil's Triangle:
http://2gringos.blogspot.com/

Gringo, in answer to your original question, Yakass posted an article on the subject on his website: http://yakass.net/articles/87-equipment ... ng-options

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I originally installed a 'flushmount' Ritchie compass on the front 'bulkhead' of my AI. Had to use a hole-saw but with some Marine-Goop and the back screw-on o-ring and nut, the compass was water-proof. Not leaking even when I had about two feet of water over the front of the kayak cockpit (submarining!). The stainless parts in the mast assembly did not affect the compass headings.
I subsequently mounted two Ritchie compasses on the bulkheads of my TI. Still waterproof and no compass errors from the stainless/aluminum parts of the TI.
I do use a GPS mounted on the TI also but it is very convenient to look toward my feet and see the heading on a compass dial.

Good point. You don't have to wear reading glasses, push any buttons or worry about batteries in a compass.

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Island life in the Devil's Triangle:
http://2gringos.blogspot.com/

Gringo,

I know that you have a TI. I installed a Dashmount Richie Compass in the center divider. True, that it is hard to see the exact digits from the seat. I usually look at the cardinal points (N,W,S,E) in relation to where they are on the compass. For the upcoming EC race I wired a 3 AAA cell flashlight into the lighting circuit. I did replace the 12V light with a single LED. She will run for days. If I had the forum picture thing figured out I would post some. maybe you can catch a glimpse on my latest You-Tube videos. http://www.youtube.com/user/dogslife23452

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Paul
DogsLife
2011 Adventure Island (Little Dog)
2010 Tandem Island (Big Dog: "We keep a leg up on the competition")
2001 Wilderness Systems Woodsman Kayak 14.5 (Blue Dog)

http://dogslifeadventures.blogspot.com/

Dogslife,

I did not notice any compass in that video, but you looked like you were ripping. Good video.

Keith

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I sail: S FL, Key Largo, Everglades to Cape Romano, Ft Desoto, Cedar Key

"Any intelligent fool can make things bigger and more complex ... It takes a touch of genius and a lot of courage to move in the opposite direction." A. Einstein

Sorry boys though I liked the video, it looked more like 15 knots wind than 30 knots to me. And on the subject of carrying a compass, I recently bought a Garmin 60CSx which I am learning to use, but have always had a divers wrist compass as a back-up stored below, but which is available at a moment's notice. The compass only has the cardinal marks and graduations of 15 degrees but is absolutely dependable with a very readable card and owes me nothing as I have owned it for more than 35 years since when I was a young hot-blooded cock-sure pirate....Pirate

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Master of the galleon 'Pirates Lot'

Hey thanks for all the suggestions, but I am not the guy looking for a TI compass. That's the original poster, Fly'n C Lion.

I have two compasses on the TI with me. My Casio solar powered pathfinder wristwatch gives me digital compass headings. It's solar powered. No battery issues at all, and my Garmin 60CSx GPS also has a digital compass in it. I live on a small, long, skinny island. VFR here is easy. Situational awareness is inherent in boating around here. Over the horizon navigation questions have not yet become an issue with our TI. So far, we have stayed within sight of land. As long as we keep track of which island we are looking at, we are fine.

I can wake up in the middle of the night, look at my Casio and push a button and almost instantly determine that the foot of the bed is still, indeed, oriented 6 degrees to the east of north. If I hop up to go let the dog out, I can look up at the Big Dipper ( Asa Major) and line up the two end points and follow that line to Polaris and know that my compass is still right and that the earths magnetic field has not reversed during the night. My magnetic environment is well established.

I also know how to determine compass heading using a standard analog wrist watch using the sun, if anyone is interested.

Thing is, I am well covered navigationally. If I was going to mount a dedicated compass in our TI I would buy one of the hand held things for Boy Scouts or hikers and use sticky backed velcro. I wouldn't cut any holes in this boat for anything. It's got enough leaks without my help.

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Island life in the Devil's Triangle:
http://2gringos.blogspot.com/

If you really want the toy Gringo purchase a Tissot sapphire crystal titanium case and band Touch watch which has just the most innovative inbuilt compass on the market. Mind you there is no back-light so don't get caught out after dark. Unbelievably it works within the steel hull of cruise ships allowing me to figure out which way is forward when deep down below...Pirate

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Master of the galleon 'Pirates Lot'

I looked at the Tissot, when I was replacing my no-longer-trusty Luminox dive watch last year. I forget now why I settled on the casio. The Pathfinder DOES have a substantial night light, by the way. It's got this cool feature you can turn on and off, too. With it on, you hold your forearm more or less horizontally and roll your wrist something like 40 deg. toward you. ( Like a toff shooting a cuff and looking at his Rolex) and the light pops on for a few seconds so you can read the time.

Except, if you toss and turn at night I gather it lights up the room in a series of flashes that make one's formerly tolerant spouse want to scream 'Incoming!!' and dive under the nearest suitable furniture. It's bright. You can also just press the button and keep it on, too. It would be easily be sufficient to illuminate your feet on a dark night. Assuming, of course, you are one of those people who always wanted illuminated feet.

I liked the sealed up tight for good nature of the waterproofness of it. 200 m rating. Solar charged, so I never have to mess around with the water-tight integrity of the factory o-ring seal. It charges in five minutes of direct sunlight, so here it basically stays topped up enough to arc weld with. I think the specs are that it will run for five months of total darkness on a full charge.

Just the ticket for a directionally challenged Chilean miner who wants to know what time it is and the barometric pressure!!

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Island life in the Devil's Triangle:
http://2gringos.blogspot.com/