Handbearing compass

[LONG_KEELER]

Will not work.
Not sure if this is true but I am told that there are 2 styles of binos. Asian & european. Asians have the lenses closer together as their eyes are closer together than europeans ( that is not being racist or anything it is an observed fact)
Europeans need binos with a wider viewing space between the 2 parts. I was given the binos as a prezzie & to use them I have to have them at maxm width. Made in Japan. This tilts the compass at 45 degrees to the horizontal. So that means that I have to tilt the binoculars & look through 1 lens with the other over my forehead.
Might be handy to have a third eye, but then I would have to stick the other lens up my bum.
So putting my head on gimbals would not work as the compass would always be at 45 degrees to my eye

I have a 7x50 Russian monocular which is literally a binocular sawn in half. It's still quite effective but rather heavy. You still need one really good eye though.

I

 

[johnalison]

While I agree that a hand held compass should be carried as a backup navigational instrument, the emphasis on collision avoidance seems wrong to me. It's too insensitive for that; I line up the target with objects on the boat, which I find much more sensitive. The very best hand bearing compass used from the unsteady platform of a boat is going to be accurate to a degree or so; my eye with appropriate sighting lines is much more accurate. The moon is half a degree across; it's easy to see angular changes much less than the width of the moon. The eye is a very accurate estimator of angles; it only lacks an absolute reference. Remedy that with sighting lines, and it's much more sensitive than a compass.

You’re doing well if you can take a bearing to anything like one degree from a small boat at sea. I can, in calm conditions, but this never happens when I actually need an accurate bearing. I’m not sure that sighting across the boat is very reliable, unless your autopilot is a lot better than mine, though I do it as a rough guide of course. I have always found that a change in an approaching vessel’s aspect is a better guide to the collision risk than its bearing, even if AIS has largely obviated the need for this skill.

 

[awol]

Will not work.
Not sure if this is true but I am told that there are 2 styles of binos. Asian & european. Asians have the lenses closer together as their eyes are closer together than europeans ( that is not being racist or anything it is an observed fact)
Europeans need binos with a wider viewing space between the 2 parts. I was given the binos as a prezzie & to use them I have to have them at maxm width. Made in Japan. This tilts the compass at 45 degrees to the horizontal. So that means that I have to tilt the binoculars & look through 1 lens with the other over my forehead.
Might be handy to have a third eye, but then I would have to stick the other lens up my bum.
So putting my head on gimbals would not work as the compass would always be at 45 degrees to my eye

Try using them upside down and tilt your head?

 

[dansaskip]

Use mine regularly for position fixing and for checking if on collision course. Sighting across the boat is not reliable , just try changing your course a bit and you will seen see that whereas a bearing will stay the same even if you change course.

 

[Daydream believer]

Try using them upside down and tilt your head?

Then I would be going ,when I should be coming. I doubt that will work but I will try it when I get to my boat. The first problem will be the head tilt, when the body is already trying to accomodate a boat that may be heeling over. Then as I said, the binos do not open wide enough, so that is an issue.