Compass

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fishfoxey

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Hi Sorry for what may be a dumb question, but had to remove the plate holding my compass and taped underneath to the side was a short metal rod, red on one end, green on the other, can someone please let me know what this is and is it crucial that it remains in that position thanks. Pic attached
 

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fishfoxey said:
Hi Sorry for what may be a dumb question, but had to remove the plate holding my compass and taped underneath to the side was a short metal rod, red on one end, green on the other, can someone please let me know what this is and is it crucial that it remains in that position thanks. Pic attached
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That will be for correcting the compass to compensate for magnetic influences.

If you compass had been corrected you should have left it exactly where it was.
 
It fell off when i picked it up but i put new tape on to stick it back, do i need to do anything else? TBF not 100% sure if it went back in exact spot though!!
 
If you have a GPS compare the headings of the compass and GPS on various headings when next out and about.
Make a note of differences on the various headings and use this as a compass 'deviation' table.
Just in case you need to rely on your compass one day- it is the only bit of kit that will not break down and will serve you well in a crisis provided you understand its vagaries.
 
Poignard said:
That will be for correcting the compass to compensate for magnetic influences.

If you compass had been corrected you should have left it exactly where it was.
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What? Held on by a bit of tape? Agree that it is a corrector but think that it needs to be set up again. —— But then again, it’s a motor boat I think and probably has a plotter and when did you last use your compass for navigation? I do but know that it is wildly at variance to the digital options. Just saying ?.
 
Portland Billy said:
If you have a GPS compare the headings of the compass and GPS on various headings when next out and about.
Make a note of differences on the various headings and use this as a compass 'deviation' table.
Just in case you need to rely on your compass one day- it is the only bit of kit that will not break down and will serve you well in a crisis provided you understand its vagaries.
Click to expand...
That will only work if there’s no current or tidal stream flowing. There are better, quicker and arguably easier ways to swing the compass.
 
The current or tidal stream would need to be pretty strong to make much difference in a compass only graduated in 5 degree segments.
 
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