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Old 15-02-2017, 09:24   #1
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Location: Tromsø, Norway
Boat: Långedrag steel, 1988, 40ft
Posts: 89
Ritchie compass (suitable for steel boats)

For sale very good condition Ritchie Globemaster compass, with iron spheres for compensation on steel boats or to be installed without spheres if not necessary. See here: https://ritchienavigation.com/resear...master-yb-500/ . We sell it because it didn't fit. Price 600 USD, can be discussed.

Cruising the Caribbean and later US coast, but can ship the item. For pictures and details send email to philipp.semenchuk at tutamail dot com.
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Old 21-02-2017, 20:38   #2
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Re: Ritchie compass (suitable for steel boats)

Why are you selling?
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Old 22-02-2017, 04:26   #3
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Re: Ritchie compass (suitable for steel boats)

Hi Toodleoo,

Thanks for your interest. We have a steel boat, and the almost antique compass that was installed when we bought it had the compensating magnets missing and no replacement was to be found. So we ordered a new one (the Ritchie which is for sale now).

However, the boats own magnetic field is so strong, that the only place where we could reasonably compensate the compass was on a spot where the main sheets would regularly get stuck on it (by the way the same spot the original compass was installed at - I have no clue how the previous owners could live with that, but then again, they likely didn't have GPS). So we decided not to use it for fear of loosing it and eventually chafing the main sheets and rely on GPS COG instead (I know, it's not what you want to rely on, but I must add that nowadays every phone and tablet and laptop, which are plentiful aboard, has a GPS receiver and works surprisingly well, even though a compass would be more user friendly in many situations). That's why we sell it again!

It was installed maybe two sailing days, and ended up in a locker ever since. We have owned the compass for a total of about one year now, but as said, it was mainly in the locker, well protected from environmental influences.

The compass is specifically made for steel boats (I can see yours is steel, too), with the iron spheres needed to absorb some of the boats own magnetic field. Do you have a compass solution already? As said, there are many situations where I wished we had a working compass instead of screens to look at, but the risk of having the main sheets stuck is too great for me.

Hope that helps and don't hesitate if you have more questions!

Cheers,
Phil
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Old 26-02-2017, 11:48   #4
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Re: Ritchie compass (suitable for steel boats)

hi Phil...

'However, the boats own magnetic field is so strong'
i'm curious, how do u know that, based on what??
does the compass 'spin', or points in a very diff direction, or ??
i have a steel boat as well, i'm not sure how to find out where to place compass -- i'm curious if u know, or maybe u can point me in the right direction;
would a fluxgate/ electronic compass work better / worse /??

thx..
mike
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Old 26-02-2017, 12:04   #5
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Re: Ritchie compass (suitable for steel boats)

I sent you an email. Please respond here if you don't get it. Had a hard time getting iPhone to not spell check your email address. Think I got it right.
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Old 27-02-2017, 03:12   #6
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Re: Ritchie compass (suitable for steel boats)

Hi Mike,

Well, as far as I understand it, everything that's made of steel has its own magnetic field which can influence a compass, which measures its surrounding magnetic field. In my case I know that our boat has a strong magnetic field, because I "measured" it with several compasses. Depending on where in the boat I measure, the compass is off by many degrees (up to 50 degrees deviation both west and east depending on cardinal direction both the boat AND the compass point) or is simply "stuck" in one direction until it suddenly "jumps" to another direction once a certain threshold in cardinal direction is overcome. You may read more informed information on that here: msi.nga.mil/MSISiteContent/StaticFiles/HoMCA.pdf

The way we found out which place works best for us was simply by trying, with the rule that the further away from anything that is made of steel or otherwise magnetic, the better. In our case it was on the cabin top where the main sheets tend to sweep over - so not very good.

A fluxgate compass would be ideal I heard, but I don't really know how these things work and read somewhere that these are so expensive that they only pay off for commercial vessels. Any electronic compass is fine, too, because you can install a few meters above deck on/ in the mast, well away from magnetic interference. That might also help you to work with an electric autopilot if you wish that. I think in Moitessiers book "The Long Way" he mentions somewhere that a friend of his has installed a compass (not electric) a few meters up on the mast to get it working right. I don't know how that was read, maybe with mirrors? If I remember rightly, Moitessier himself didn't have a compass, he used the stars and sun.

However, in my opinion, using an electronic compass solution is undermining the whole idea of installing a compass, which function it is (among others) to be independent of electricity. Instead, you could just use any GPS solution you want and use COG, which in many cases is even better than compass heading.

Hope that helps and good luck finding a reliable solution!

Cheers,
Phil
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Old 27-02-2017, 03:13   #7
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Re: Ritchie compass (suitable for steel boats)

Hi hpeer,

Got your email and replied. Hope my reply wasn't eaten by your spam checker?

Cheers,
Phil
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