Need a compass

[miken91945]

Have a 22' swing keel that I'm fixing up after years of non use. The old compass was foggy so I attempted to clear it and in the process the plastic parts broke. So now I have a 4 1/8" hole in my bulkhead. Seems like the only choices are smaller compass or cut a bigger hole for a bigger (more expensive) compass. I was impressed by the quality of the old (34 years) Plastimo compass. I would rather have a bigger compass than a smaller one, however they are quite a bit more money. The boat is not in the best shape so I find it hard to justify spending $200 on a compass that may not be used a lot, don't plan on any real off shore sailing, although it's possible to lose sight of land if I begin to really get adventurous. Also I would love to have a compass that could be read from inside the cabin but seems those are really hard to find.

[GordMay]

Greetings and welcome aboard the CF, miken91945.

[zeehag]

marine swap meets usually have one or two, as do salvage yards if they have a resale store.
second and third hand boat parts are also found online.
one example is minneys in costa mesa, or is it newport beach, kali--they do online business and have compasses

[lifeofreilly57]

Practical Sailor had an article on boat resale shops about 2 years ago, if you know someone who has a subscription you can get a copy or look it up online. It listed and rated the shops available at the time. It's worth a try.

[David M]

You could always make an adapter plate out of plastic for your bulkhead mounted compass. It would look pretty decent if done right.

[miken91945]

I went ahead and ordered a Ritchie SR-2 off the internet. I will only have to enlarge the hole a bit and I like that I will be able to see it from inside the cockpit plus it has LED lighting (also comes with front and back covers) so hopefully it will last a long time. Best price I could find online was $139.