ghostlymoron
Well-Known Member
This has been asked many times on here. The answer is always have it professionally repaired.
compass fluid
- Thread starter dylanwinter
- Start date
dylanwinter
Well-Known Member
it is only there for aesthetics
never use a compass in anger
I have two GPS devices and a hand bearing compass so if I am navigating then one of those is fired up
so the answer is..... I am not going to take it out schlep it off to a pro and then swallow the £100 a bill
rather put a nice picture of a mirror offshore over the empty space
D
VicS
Well-Known Member
No makers name on it ?
or on the card ?
People thought you wre asking a serious question and were trying to give you the best advice
Thats not so !
take it off , chuckit in the nearest skip and put a mirror in its place !
Or a picture of your dog!
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dylanwinter
Well-Known Member
prv
Well-Known Member
In that case, how about opening it up, removing the card, and replacing with a plastic goldfish in the fluid of your choice?
Pete
Norman_E
Well-Known Member
I refilled two Plastimo compasses, one by using the original oil from the pair, and the other with baby oil. The latter is pretty inert and very unlikely to do any damage to the card or the seals, and would be my choice for any compass refill, regardless of make.
dylanwinter
Well-Known Member
the simplest and quickest thing will be to undo the screw on the top and splash some stuff in
all I asked was what stuff to splash in?
the best suggestions so far was to pull a sample of the existing stuff out
try mixing it with gin or cooking alcohol
I had naievely assumed, until now, that there was a simple answer and that all compasses had the same fluid in them
D
I should like to apologise to anyone who is offended at the idea that the compass has gone the way of the sextant and is now a bit of quaint and laregly redundant gear you keep hanging around the boat because you like the look of it
all I asked was what stuff to splash in?
the best suggestions so far was to pull a sample of the existing stuff out
try mixing it with gin or cooking alcohol
I had naievely assumed, until now, that there was a simple answer and that all compasses had the same fluid in them
D
I should like to apologise to anyone who is offended at the idea that the compass has gone the way of the sextant and is now a bit of quaint and laregly redundant gear you keep hanging around the boat because you like the look of it
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johnalison
Well-Known Member
Apology accepted.
AntarcticPilot
Well-Known Member
Your apology is accepted, but the magnetic compass does provide a backup independent of electrical supply. OK, your hand bearing compass does the same - but without a fixed reference to the boat's head. There has been at least one MAIB report on a boat that got lost precisely because there wasn't a fixed relation between the compass and the boat's head! OK, there were a lot of other factors in that case (including the idea that you could "shield" a compass from interference by putting it in a metal box!), but the primary reason they got lost was because the compass didn't have any fixed reference to the boat, and they ended up following it the wrong way.
I've got at least three compasses aboard, not counting the compass app in my mobile phone, all independent of each other. A flux-gate, which is the one I mainly use, a bulkhead one, which is remains as a backup and a hand bearing compass. And, of course, I've got GPS.
If you've got a bulkhead steering compass, I'd say that it was prudent to ensure it remained in working order as a backup, if nothing else.
I'd second all those who say be careful - filling it with the wrong fluid can potentially wreck it, and the right fluid may vary even within a single maker's range. Further, although the horror stories about the letters and numbers immediately falling off are perfectly true, slower modes of failure are also possible, so even if it looks OK, it may well fail later when a seal dissolves or a diaphragm breaks.
JumbleDuck
Well-Known Member
snap of compass
can anyone say what it is
It looks to me like a Sestrel which has been fitted back to front. What does it look like from inside the cabin?
dylanwinter
Well-Known Member
that would be a good one if it has been fitted back to front
the inside of the cabin is lined with ply
I shall have a better look at it next time I am on the boat
now you mention it the compass does look a bit weird
the previous owner was more of a fettler than a sailor
he is a plumber - I have never had such a leak proof boat before
not a drop in the bilges around the keel stubs and nothing in through any of the windows
He really loved his stickers though
the boat was/is plastered with them
D
VicS
Well-Known Member
So that you can see where you've come from ??
I suspect its a surface mount one rather than a flush/ porthole type .... photo too poor to say for ceratin.
If its a Sestrel the name will be on the card wont it ?
JumbleDuck
Well-Known Member
Ah-ha. The Sestrel compass is more or less flush on the business side and has a cylindrical projection on the other side. So if someone was lining a bulkhead with plywood, and didn't want the bother of a hole/cover, he might just mount the compass the wrong way round and cover its face.
So that you can see where you've come from ??
I quite often look at the inside of my nasty Plastimo bulkhead compass (brand new Sestrel in a box awaiting fitting) to check the course someone else is steering or to keep an eye on what wind and tide are doing when we're anchored. What I really want is a telltale compass above my bunk, but I haven't found one yet.
I'd have to check - I'm away from home - but I think the bulkhead one only says "Sestrel" on the name plate, not the card.
Gwylan
Well-Known Member
Fine until our cousins turn off or turn up the GPS or it gets hacked by someone.
And an urban myth hint - if your GPS suddenly gets very accuate expect to shortly be on the receiving end of 'incoming'.
dylanwinter
Well-Known Member
I still have the hand bearing compass
and the yanks turning off GPS is not anywhere near my top ten list of worries
comes a long way below cancer, expensive restaurant meals split 50 50 with a man who loves lobster and a world shortage of Maltesers
D
Bobc
Well-Known Member
Stick some lamp oil in it.
If it doesn't work, nothng lost.
If it doesn't work, nothng lost.
SiteSurfer
Well-Known Member
....shudder.
JumbleDuck
Well-Known Member
Who would drive the buses in Valletta?
AntarcticPilot
Well-Known Member
My Pladtimo is quite deliberately mounted to be visible and readable from the "Owner's" cabin. Never used it like that, but in principle useful
