Wind Speed indicators - Do we really need them?

With a tiller-steered boat such as mine, the only obvious place for a compass is central over the companionway, though my old Cirrus back in the '70s had one on a bulkhead to one side. Ordinarily, my current compass is no problem, but a combination of the dark night, my aging eyes and wind and spray across my face made it very hard.

My 38 has a compass either side of companionway .....

Previous owner had the UHD Garmin plotter installed below the stbd one ....

Sorry - best I can do from my archive - but you see the plotter right up under the compass :

OKYMKjBl.jpg


Needless to say - it shows ~10 deg different to portside compass !!
 
My 38 has a compass either side of companionway .....

Previous owner had the UHD Garmin plotter installed below the stbd one ....

Sorry - best I can do from my archive - but you see the plotter right up under the compass :

OKYMKjBl.jpg


Needless to say - it shows ~10 deg different to portside compass !!
Nothing that a few minutes/hours/weeks playing with the correcting magnets can’t put right. That would be the best place for compasses in some ways but the spaces on my boat are largely taken up with opening ports. A possible disadvantage might also be that crew wanting to sit on that side would block the view of the compasses. My boat is a bit smaller and the compass less distant.
 
Nothing that a few minutes/hours/weeks playing with the correcting magnets can’t put right. That would be the best place for compasses in some ways but the spaces on my boat are largely taken up with opening ports. A possible disadvantage might also be that crew wanting to sit on that side would block the view of the compasses. My boat is a bit smaller and the compass less distant.

TBH - can't be bothered to try sorting ... when sailing - I compare both compass to the GPS direction and just note the two and stay with the difference ....

Usually I'm using Autohelm anyway - being an old AH2000 with the compass dial top ... that shows a third figure !
 
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