Fluxgate Installation Question

[JetStream]

Wondering where might be the best spot to install a fluxgate compass (Raymarine Autohelm) for an open salon arrangement in a 1989 Pearson 27 http://http://www.lengel.net/p27/brochure.htm
There is no bulkhead near the center of the boat.
Thanks,
Bruce

[Hudson Force]

Originally Posted by JetStream

...........There is no bulkhead near the center of the boat.
Thanks,
Bruce

The fixed point for the attachment does not need to be a bulkhead. It may be the wall of a locker or other stable location. The important feature is that it is about a meter from other electronic devices or large steel features.

[Jentine]

By center, they mean the centerline of the boat. Mine is located in an outboard locker in the aft third of the boat about 3' from the engine. My last boat it was mounted aft of the engine on the underside of the deck. I have had no difficulty with either location.

[Jbaffoh]

Mine is mounted on the aluminum pedestal for the cabin table. It's on the centerline, it's at the fore/aft pivot point, and at the waterline. Works great!

[JetStream]

I wondered about mounting to the Stainless Steel mast compression post that the table is mounted to. The instruction says not near large magnetic iron, which I'm assuming the post is not. That point is both amidships and athwartships.
Bruce

[Jbaffoh]

I used a magnet to see if there was any iron nearby, and then a hand bearing compass to see if it's needle moved as I moved it around the area. I'm about 18 inches above a small bilge pump, but I don't notice any interference--even when it's running.

I drilled the pedestal and tapped the holes for the mounting screws. When commissioning the system, the deviation was only 2 degrees (I think Raymarine says 15 degrees is acceptable).

The installation process clued me into the fact that my ship's compass is actually off! So I picked up a magnetic compensation card, and I'm about to go out and turn it, and make a deviation card. The Raymarine agrees with my hand bearing compass, my dive compass, my iPhone compass, and range marks in my harbor. The "ships" compass is off by 2-3 degrees through most headings. Grrr....

[JetStream]

You might be able to adjust it as most compasses have a couple of magnets built in for adjustment purposes. Ritchie information is here: http://www.ritchienavigation.com/service/compensation.html , but you probably already knew that.
Good luck with it.
Bruce