how do you sail your boat?

[wotayottie]

Reading the thread about compass adjusting, it occurred to me that not only had I never adjusted or swung the magnetic compass on my boat of 8 years, but I have never looked at it either. I navigate by comparing the track of the boat with the bearing to waypoint relayed on deck to a NASA repeater. If I want to know the heading of the boat I look at the pilot display of the heading off the fluxgate. If the electrics go down ( never happened in 30 years) then there are two battery powered gps on board plus lots of spare batteries. In short the magnetic compass is as redundant as the log, which latter has been replaced by the blanking plug for 3 years now.

I reckon that the ships magnetic compass has gone the way of the sextant into historical obscurity. Its redundant

 

[Mr Cassandra]

Same here,not had a magnetic compass for a couple years.

 

[Poignard]

I navigate by comparing the track of the boat with the bearing to waypoint relayed on deck to a NASA repeater.

How do you work out a course to steer allowing for the anticipated effect of cross tide and leeway?

 

[Sandy]

I check the compass against several local transits from time and have a rough deviation card drawn up against the GPS compass.

 

[mainsail1]

I still use the compass a lot, for example when asking a crew member to steer a particular course, when checking wind direction and when identifying objects on land.

 

[johnalison]

Offshore, I mostly steer by compass. I don't stare at it of course. I find something in the distance to focus on, such as a distant ship or a cloud, and refer back to the compass from time to time. I also have COG and SOG on display on a Graphic Repeater, along with course and distance to WP. Wind direction also comes into play, so steering is often a mixture of several functions, including boat speed when tacking. At night, I find the compass hard to read, and on the last passage I did in he dark, with a quartering F6, I mostly steered by wind angle.

 

[lw395]

When I'm sailing dinghies upwind, I'm forever looking at the compass to see how the wind is shifting and to be on the most useful tack.
So I tend to do that in yachts too.
I don't often do a formal course to steer.

 

[dunedin]

Magnetic Compass UV cover has been on for 99% of time under way. Generally steer to a visible island / rock / headland etc, selected with reference of BTW, and using wind angle.
Compass position is poor for helming from the rail, so when out of sight of any useful reference points can put large digital compass up on display above hatchway - much easier to see, day or night.
Useful emergency fallback only (along with the weight on a string as depth fallback -which is more useful)

 

[SimonFa]

When I do a CTS, usually top cross the channel, I use the true direction on the AT4000+ and the magnetic bearing I've calculated as well. If there's a big discrepancy, never has been, I check against the heading projection given by my Navionics app.

I then just glance down at both, occasionally and try to pick something in the distance.

I've usually got to where I intended to go.

 

[rptb1]

Offshore: steer with magnetic compass, dead reckoning, correct for tide, check occasionally with GPS
Inshore: landmarks and hand-bearing compass

 

[capnsensible]

Cant imagine sailing without regular routine look at the steering compass.

 

[dancrane]

Offshore: steer with magnetic compass, dead reckoning, correct for tide, check occasionally with GPS
Inshore: landmarks and hand-bearing compass

:encouragement: :encouragement: :encouragement:

Not having acquired a boat that needs either, I don't yet have a compass or electronic navigation aids. But assuming in the foreseeable future, my navigation will advance to infrequent trips offshore during decent weather, I find the prospect of using a compass, and even of referring to a paper chart, far more appealing than plotters and digital read-outs.

I spend all week benefiting from the cleverness and connectivity of computers, at work. Elsewhere, I'd rather work out how to drive to a new place by looking in advance at a map, rather than mindlessly obey satnav instructions en route. And being in the boat isn't somewhere that I want any high-tech at all - except for capturing pictures and video of the non-electronic business of sailing.

GPS for back-up, for fog or pitch darkness or those alarming moments of disorientation, yes, it'll be very reassuring...

...but to plan a coastal trip on a tablet, then steer for waypoints with half an eye on a computer screen? That's not what I call adventuring. Might as well be tamely approaching a roundabout waiting for a disembodied voice to tell you which exit. :disgust:

 

[rptb1]

...but to plan a coastal trip on a tablet, then steer for waypoints with half an eye on a computer screen? That's not what I call adventuring. Might as well be tamely approaching a roundabout waiting for a disembodied voice to tell you which exit. :disgust:

I can certainly appreciate your sentiment, and a boat can be a great getaway from tech, but for any small boat offshore sailor the ability to navigate using simple reliable tools seems to me to be very sensible as well. Put your :disgust: to good use!

I recommend listening to the Furled Sails podcast episodes with Marvin Creamer, who circumnavigated without even a compass or clock.

 

[maby]

It's pretty rare that we are out of sight of land, so it's mostly pilotage. On those rare occasions that we are out of sight, the compass on the autopilot is so inaccurate as to be unsafe and I do use the old magnetic ones. The autopilot compass is badly positioned (not by me) and cannot be adequately corrected - relocating it had been on my to-do list for the last three years!

 

[phanakapan]

Well I sailed around the world on a steel boat with a very poorly adjusted compass, also went to places where there was 20, 30 degrees of variation. Did use it but only by getting the boat sailing on the ‘pink line’ on the plotter, or a fairly decent wind angle, then using the compass/ a star/ some land to stay roughly on track. It was as much as 90 degrees out at times on some directions, I seem to remember sailing ‘due west’ all down the east coast of South Africa! Log entries would read ‘ cog 180, steering 90 compass!’

 

[TangaraToo]

For us it's about the fun of sailing rather than the destination so tend to steer to the wind to keep boat speed up. As long as we are going in roughly the right direction all is good. All I really need to know is where we are to avoid the shallow bits. I think the only time we put a waypoint in to the plotter is in calm conditions when we want mr autopilot to take over. Even then most of the time it's Mk1 eyeball and tweak the heading on auto pilot. The covers on the compasses are rarely removed these days. Sailing most direct line from A to B is just not for me on current boat as it does tend to cover the miles well. Previous boat was a lot slower on passage so then I did tend to plan best route to make sure I actually arrive at my destination in the available time.

 

[ctva]

How do you work out a course to steer allowing for the anticipated effect of cross tide and leeway?

GPS sets / chart plotters have cross track error (XTE) and rolling highway displays which cover this.

Like most on here, the main compass is rarely used. I sail with a chart plotter, hand bearing compass and Mk1 eyeball. Spare on the boat should the power fail are a handheld chartplotter, iPad and 2 iPhones all with full MM charts. Should GPS go down there is still the compass, paper charts and almanacs.

I think that covers all bases.

 

[TiggerToo]

keep looking at how the compass is swinging.... from time to time, not all the time, that is. If there are clouds, I pick a distant one on the horizon and steer to that for 5-10 min... then check the compass.

 

[Bobc]

Reading the thread about compass adjusting, it occurred to me that not only had I never adjusted or swung the magnetic compass on my boat of 8 years, but I have never looked at it either. I navigate by comparing the track of the boat with the bearing to waypoint relayed on deck to a NASA repeater. If I want to know the heading of the boat I look at the pilot display of the heading off the fluxgate. If the electrics go down ( never happened in 30 years) then there are two battery powered gps on board plus lots of spare batteries. In short the magnetic compass is as redundant as the log, which latter has been replaced by the blanking plug for 3 years now.

I reckon that the ships magnetic compass has gone the way of the sextant into historical obscurity. Its redundant

Yep. That's me too.

 

[temptress]

Offshore, I mostly steer by compass. I don't stare at it of course. I find something in the distance to focus on, such as a distant ship or a cloud, and refer back to the compass from time to time. I also have COG and SOG on display on a Graphic Repeater, along with course and distance to WP. Wind direction also comes into play, so steering is often a mixture of several functions, including boat speed when tacking. At night, I find the compass hard to read, and on the last passage I did in he dark, with a quartering F6, I mostly steered by wind angle.

Same here. On a longish trip say over 4 or 5 days at sea we only switch the plotter one in every 6 to 12 hour period to confirm position. Near a hazard maybe we keep it switched on but then again mark 1 eyeball is better.