Last time out in Arwen I fell abruptly and managed to bash my kneecap. My poor old steering compass took the brunt of the fall and somehow, and somewhat inexplicably, the sealing ring around it came off. The actual compass glass ball remained intact and works. So a quick scrap away along the ring of old sealant and a quick dash to the marine chandler for some new stuff, now sees the compass repaired and functioning again. I also broke the clip that holds it in place and that has been successfully superglued. Now I have to fix it back on the boat but I want to find a new position for it. I am thinking of mounting it on the centre case cap but I wonder if the lead in the centreboard will affect it; or the screws that hold the centre case cap down. I guess the only way is to hold it in place and use another hand held compass to check the deviation on this one. So it's time to go testing!
Lead and stainless steel are non-magnetic and won't affect your compass.
ReplyDeleteYup but there is Lord knows what else lying around that area as well! Anyway, I checked and all is fine. I used silicon bronze screws not brass or anything else and the fixings are all stainless. And it looks much better where it is now as well. Are you well?
ReplyDeleteSteve
I'm very well, Steve, thanks for asking. I've been thinking about retiring sometime in the next year. I'm planning on designing and building a travel trailer and doing some traveling around the country.
ReplyDeleteAh retirement! Four years off perhaps? Still love teaching and working with teenagers is an immense privilege but it gets harder each year and my thinking gets slower......
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