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Post by kickingk on Mar 5, 2008 7:13:05 GMT -1
I''ve got one in the garage but never fitted it as i wasn't sure how it was best used . I'm hoping Dorado will copy his post that I've just read on another site, it explains it fully and is an excellent post, but more importantly it could save one of us if the fog comes down! Over to you Simon.
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Post by dorado on Mar 5, 2008 10:41:37 GMT -1
Get Boat Fishing Monthly - I am doing a series on basic navigation. Firts one is about compasses and how to use them, not just for kayaking, but small boats too.
Next one is on charts and reading them.
Then one a month to build knowledge - starting it so you can get out quickly, safely. Gradually add to the basic building bricks.
People new to boating think a GPS does it all for them - you still need to transfer the info from the GPS to the chart. Chart plotters use batteries very quickly. Mine lasts about 4 hours, max. Useless for a weekend paddle unless you take loads of spare batteries. A compass never fails.
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Post by dorado on Mar 5, 2008 10:44:01 GMT -1
Here you go:
Ritchie, Suunto, Silva, Plastimo (made by one of the others and badged) they are all good compasses.
I have a Suunto MC2 hand compass and both a Silva 58 (like the one on the yellow kayak on a pole, only the kayak version) and Suunto Orca (which is their Pilot in a housing specifically for kayaks).
The Suunto is better than the Silva (sorry whoever - but it is) the Silva is totally useless at night - it CAN BE iluminated with an electrical wiring set up - but not the kayak version!! Only the standard 58. You don't want an illuminated compass - not when you can get a LUMINOUS one (the Orca is a totally luminous - or phosphorescent - card). The less there is to go wrong the better. You can rely on the wiring for an illuminated compass to work perfectly - until you actually NEED it. Sods law dictates that is when it will give up the ghost.
The Suunto hand held is also brilliantly luminous.
You should, out of habit, take a note of the bearing you go out on. Then going home is easy - just go on the reciprocal. To find the reciprocal, or opposite, add or subtract 180 degrees. You don't need to be deadly accurate - round it to the nearest 10, that is about as accurate as you can paddle anyway - and then err a bit on the side the tide is coming from.
A steering compass has the card reversed - because it tells you where you are heading, not where north is. The actual N pole of the compass is MARKED as south - because it is the card marking in line with the lubber line which tells you where you are going. This is what you see.
A steerring compass is perfectly Ok - the Suunto Orca is probably the best buy. The others are very good compasses, but they don't have such a luminous card and the Suunto card is very visible when mounted on the foredeck. So easy to use as it sits in your line of sight while paddling without having to look down. For £35 it is brilliant - and very well balanced.
The MC2 is one of the best hand helds out there (unless you have one of the military prismatic compasses - I do! It came from an Isreali soldier....bless his cotton socks.) The beauty of it is it has an large bezel which is fully luminous - so it is easy to use with cold hands and very easily viewed. You could navigate to twithin a degree with it- my military compass is very fine, but no good on the kayak because of the movement of the kayak. It is too small a card.
Whatever compass you go for - make sure you keep it at least 2 feet away from anything with a ferrous metal, and anything with an electric current flowing through it - or it can be as much as 30 degrees out. So N.B.G. in short. VHF, Mobile, GPS, box of lures, battery (just under the forehatch is it? with compass mounted above by any chance???)
Take a note of your heading on the way out - and just note the opposite. That is the way home - so going out is WSW, home is ENE. In degrees - if outward is 250 homeward is 070.
When giving bearings ALWAYS GIVE 3 FIGURES. There is no such bearing 70 - it is 070. If you get a bearing with only 2 numbers in it, one is missing. Ask for a repeat. THAT is why you always give 3 figures - if you get 3 numbers, you know you have got it all - if you only hear 30, was it 030, 130, 230 or 330 - four possible bearings. If you insist on giving and receiving 3 figure bearings there can be no ambiguity or mistake.
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Post by kickingk on Mar 5, 2008 16:01:01 GMT -1
Cheers Dorado thats the one!! When does the series start? I thought I had this months and didn't spot the article if it was in, remember you & drysuits ;D or was that last month?
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Post by dorado on Mar 5, 2008 20:19:57 GMT -1
Next one it starts with......so make sure you order your copy.
Then if I am allowed to, the fishing meets can be covered as features, not all the same obviously. I wish I could have got over to Anglesey for those thornies - that would have made a good one. Next year. There needs to be an angle for the story - not just "we went fishing together". The RNLI day gave a new angle on things, so that was perfect.
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Post by ZEBRA on Mar 7, 2008 0:40:01 GMT -1
great post Simon i will put it on the main website in the articles section
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norm
valued Member
Posts: 11
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Post by norm on Mar 7, 2008 16:50:50 GMT -1
Thanks Dorado, that is brilliant advice about buying and using a compass, and very sound safety advice, I will get Boat Fishing Monthly and check out your article.
What about that - can you picture me (rolf Harris style - "can you see what it is yet?") with bits of paper littering the bottom of the yak with watches drawn on it for practise - that is really a clever idea Tribble, as I gave up wearing a watch years ago, relying on my mobile phone, I like your idea. cheers
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Post by mickey on Jul 22, 2008 20:09:44 GMT -1
Get Boat Fishing Monthly - I am doing a series on basic navigation. Firts one is about compasses and how to use them, not just for kayaking, but small boats too. Next one is on charts and reading them. Then one a month to build knowledge - starting it so you can get out quickly, safely. Gradually add to the basic building bricks. People new to boating think a GPS does it all for them - you still need to transfer the info from the GPS to the chart. Chart plotters use batteries very quickly. Mine lasts about 4 hours, max. Useless for a weekend paddle unless you take loads of spare batteries. A compass never fails.
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