Tin boats & Digital compass? Navigatorial Installation Quandry

[Mudplugger]

Wishing to have a back-up system on board, could the cognoscenti amongst you who sail steel hulled craft, give me some indication as to where to place the compass unit?...gut feeling tends towards on transom arch?, or granny bars?
Having yet to invest in chart plotter, not totally convinced that they represent good value! against a Laptop and suitable software. Pro's & Cons!? from those of you more technically competant in such matters? or do I build in a Pc? and go for big screen stuff?

 

[homa]

I believe the norm on a yacht is a few metres up the mast.

 

[rogerthebodger]

I am planning to fit my fluxgate compass under my stainless steel radar/solar panal support arch at the rear of my cockpit which will be approx 1.8 metre from the the nearest steel.

I cannot fir it on my aluminium mast sa I have tracks bath front and rear so the max distance from the steel deck woulf only be about 1 metre.

My main steering compass is mounted on my stainless steel steering pedestal which is only 1 metre from the steel deck but has good compensation built in.

 

[wingdiver]

Hi Tony
We used to have our fluxgate compass about 2.5m up the mast on our steel boat.
You could always get a sestrel moore and get it swung.
D

 

[KellysEye]

Although manufacturers recommend putting the compass up the mast it is not a good idea (the compass rolls), better to get a compass designed for steel. We have a steel boat and a KVH compass that I believe is used in American tanks.

 

[SlowlyButSurely]

Ours is mounted about 3 metres up the mast and works perfectly.

We also have a tillerpilot which has an internal fluxgate compass and that works perfectly too (in spite of all the dire warnings we were given that it would never work).

 

[barnaclephill]

Fluxgate in the Tillerpilot works fine just 40cm above the steel afterdeck.
The hand-bearing compass works accurately in the middle of the cockpit, at normal eye level.
The main compass has up to 30 degrees of error from something unknown I've modified in the boat, but will be adjusted/swung one day. Meanwhile I use the GPS mostly, but know that the other methods work fine.

 

[Mudplugger]

Thanks for all the help guy's, I'll try the compass on the granny bars & the Auto-pilot on the radar arch and hope it all works!