Radar??? Yes/Maybe/No?? Advice?

[Christian Williams]

My Ritchie is a decoration used only to tell a helmsperson what course to steer. And if you want to see a guest sweat, watch them try to do it.

For checking the accuracy of the Ritchie I use the compass app on the iPhone, which is always there in an emergency. I enjoy finding that the iPhone, the Ritchie and the wheel pilot compass never agree. Yet we are always going in the same direction.

There is a lesson in that, socially: We don't have to agree to get there together.

Before departing for Hawaii I found, as I left the slip, that my compass was off 70 degrees. Hmmm. Of all the preps, I noticed this only while casting off the lines? Despite reliance on GPS, I would not want to go offshore without a real compass. I contemplated delay, investigation, telling everybody on the dock I was not indeed leaving, sorry about that. It was hot already and I was glad I had my helm umbrella up, which mounts on the binnacle. I tested the compass with a steel wrench. Yeah, it points at that, anyhow. After ten minutes I gave up and decided to depart with a busted compass, the heck with it all, are you a man or a rodent? Are you doing this or not? Are you turning back before leaving the slip?

In this moment of heroic self definition I took the umbrella down.

The compass straightened out.

The umbrella post is steel. Well then, off we go!
,

 

[paul culver]

With all of today's electronics the ship's compass and oil lantern have become considered as “when all else fails” equipment, apart from adding that traditional visual appeal. To ensure the reliability of the compass after equipment is installed in the binnacle area you could put the boat through a “swing the compass” exercise to determine the compass deviation pattern. The results could be tabulated on a compass deviation card. You could get the local magnetic variation, perhaps from the back-up paper charts we all carry? From there, all that's needed is “True Virtue Makes Dull Company” and behold, land-ho dead ahead !

Or perhaps battery-powered layers of redundancy with, of course, lots of fresh batteries.

 

[Neil Gallagher]

I'll second ConchyDug's comments and add to the hazards in the Western Gulf of Mexico. There are many unlit platforms that are hard to see on a clear night. Radar is a big help. The Coast Guard maintains a list of unlit obstructions which can be entered into your GPS for reference. I'd recommend have unlit obstructions entered into the GPS, then with Radar overlay they should be easier to see.

 

[David Grimm]

I have the Garmin 942xs with magnetic sd card door right above the compass. Anything close to the compass, phone, hand held vhf, binoculars, flashlight, will throw it off. When the alternator is cranking out some serious amps changing the batteries the autopilot shifts course as well. Somehow with the Garmin, Android Tablet and phone gps I was able to find Bermuda.

The compass is nice to reference when manning the helm. Not necessarily for the exact degree but for your own deviation.