Do you have a compass??

[phester]

I've got a Ritchie mounted on the helm.....don't think it's a $400.00 model but it got me back to port one night. The launch started out "misty" but we still had a couple hundred ft. visibility. Two hours later you couldn't see five feet beyond the bow. My friend [not the saltiest of fishermen]was becoming increasingly nervous.... shining my 2million candle power spotlight all over the place into the dense fog. I told him to shut up, turn off that damn light and sit down. I knew I had to head ENE and at "some point" south. Keeping an eye on the water depth and compass, finally, and hour and a half later my friend says ,"look you idiot....it's the Connecticut shoreline!!" That was my clue to head south,180*. [Rob had sighted the oil rig platform for the Long Island lighting co. and thought it was Conn.] Turned south and in port 1/2 hour later. If I didn't have that compass I would have just set the hook and waited it out. I would have had NO clue, none- what-so-ever, on which way to go in fog like that.

[THEFERMANATOR]

When your in dense fog or black dark and have to go slow, the compass in your GPS will be of almost no use to you. When you get into the nasty stuff one time, you'll see how important a compass is to have. Also remember that one electrical spike or lightning strike near you can DESTROY ALL of your electronics in a flash. You compass will still work to get you home.

[macojoe]

Here on the arm pit of the country, I just say go west, you will hit land at some point!!
Well I no have a compass at all, so I guess I will have to get one, so I at least no were West is! I can remember when GPS first came out for boating, I got lost twice, cause I knew better then GPS, I would not trust it! Now I depend on it for every thing!

[cterrebonne]

where i fish there are so many oil rigs and obstructions in the water, rocks, jetties, etc, that if my gps failed following the compass in the dark would land me into somthing hard. also you can see the lights at the port and the flare for a good ways out. better than compass

[randlemanboater]

I figure if the GPS pukes out, I can at least find land again and maybe even MY inlet with my trusty compass. I wouldnt go out of site of land without one.

[cfelton]

My V came with an old Ritchie compass that has lost its oil. It still seems to work but I plan on replacing it someday. I mostly run in the Chowan river so I really dont need it .

[Pipe_Dream]

"Yes and I use it!"

I ran the PD for many years with only a compass, and later just a compass and depth finder. I kept notes with headings from ICW marker to marker to help get me home when conditions got thick.

[parishht]

Must be the Boy Scout in me that keeps saying "be prepaired".

From my scouting daus, orientiring was mandatory,
so a compass is second nature to me.

I like my GPS, but the compass and a map never lie.

[Geekie1]

Hey cfelton,

My V came with a Ritchie Helmsman compass. I had the same problem as you with the compass fluid leaking out. I went on the Ritchie website and downloaded a manual and the parts list. The manual was very general. There are 2 o-rings and a diaphragm to replace to stop it from leaking. The diaphragm is for expansion and contraction of the compass fluid. The 2 o-rings are for the fill screw and the top globe seal. The globe seal o-ring is the diameter of the top globe and is reached by taking out the retaining ring screws (about 8) on the top mounting flange. I didn't try to replace the top globe seal because if it was bad you would see the leakage. The leak was in the rubber diaphragm which is accessed by opening the bottom of the compass. All in all, it was a very easy job to replace these parts. When I opened the bottom of the compass, the problem with the diaphragm was old age, and the rubber was a gooey mess. The Ritchie compass fluid is available from West Marine and was about $15.00 a pint. A pint completely fills the compass. I used an ear syringe to shoot the fluid into the compass. The total to overhaul the compass was about $30.00. I use the compass so it was money well spent. To have a compass repaired professionally, I got estimates from $75 to $100.

Geek

[bigshrimpin]

If you are really worried, get ten $5 compasses and squirrel them around the boat . . . just in case your 2 GPS's and the other 9 compasses break. :)

I personally think having 2 GPS's (fixed and handheld) is enough, but that's my own personal preference. If both went out which has never happened to me (and I believe has an extremely small chance of happening) . . . a $5 compass in your ditch bag or on a key chain will work just fine. If all 3 failed . . . I think you'd be smart enough to find your way home. Sun rises in the east . . . you have an anchor and a cabin . . . to wait out the fog. If you're offshore 30 miles that might be another story, but 95% of the time you're close enough to land (in shallow enough water to throw anchor) if both GPS's and the $5 compass were to fail on a foggy day.