compass brand

oldfish

Member
would like to know if any of you folks have installed a compass on your boat, what brand and where did you attach it?
Thanks
 
I took apart an old car compass, and glued the bubble, which had a flat bottom, to the deck with clear silicone. Its on the cockpit side of the coaming just aft of the serial number plate - this is a 1969 boat. Its lower than the coaming so not in the way of anything. I probable glued it on 20 years ago and its still tight to the deck, looks great and is accurate. It wasn't really accurate in a car because of compensation issues, especially in the rain with the wipers going. I'm sure you could find an old one on ebay and be set for less than $10. No compensation issues on a Sunfish.
 
I just looked at ebay, and identified my compass as an airguide brand. I have to up my cost estimate, the vintage compass market appears to be strong, so $15 for a low price old one, but a new one, made in China, can be had for less than $10.
 
For just bombing around, a car compass like that is probably fine. But if you are bombing around, you may not need a compass in the first place. For racing, the airguide compass' biggest issue would probably be that it likely jams when you are heeled over. - cars generally don't heel very much. For racing you'd also need lubber lines on the bubble at 45 degrees from center so you could read the compass while hiked, but if you wanted you could use skinny red tape or paint to add them.
 
would like to know if any of you folks have installed a compass on your boat, what brand and where did you attach it?
Thanks

I have three different brands of dinghy compasses sitting unused in my garage for at least the past decade, that I had completely forgotten about until this thread. I never could figure out how to attach them for my liking, and since I pretty much always sail Sunfish in sight of land I've never felt a particular urgency.

However, this in one compass I'd probably like to try. Anyone have any experience with this, or similar? www.sailtimerapp.com/
 
I have three different brands of dinghy compasses sitting unused in my garage for at least the past decade, that I had completely forgotten about until this thread. I never could figure out how to attach them for my liking, and since I pretty much always sail Sunfish in sight of land I've never felt a particular urgency.

However, this in one compass I'd probably like to try. Anyone have any experience with this, or similar? www.sailtimerapp.com/
I just bought a cheaper one to try out, as i am afraid it may go "splash"
 

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