I like the Plastimo compass mounted on the center of the hatch. It is fully gimballed and has a fixed mounting bracket so that it lays down so you are looking at the business end. easily remove and used as a hand bearing compass or stored. http://www.westmarine.com/buy/plastimo--iris-100-universal-compass--254666 Thanks Doug On Thu, Sep 10, 2015 at 5:45 PM, David Grah via montgomery_boats < montgomery_boats@mailman.xmission.com> wrote:
This summer, during a week on the Great Slave Lake, I had occasion to have to navigate through fog in unfamiliar waters with rocks and islands to run into. I had loaded a number of way points into my GPS but not enough to navigate in the limited visibility. I relied heavily on chart and a compass and it all worked out. The compass I carry on our Montgomery 15 is a very simple handheld compass (a Ritchie Navigation SportAbout Hand Bearing Compass http://www.westmarine.com/buy/ritchie-navigation--sportabout-hand-bearing-co...). I worked well enough for us to survive in fog on the big lake but it only would read right if held very close to level to the horizon. As a result, to read it I had to hold it carefully level along with steering and navigating. I'd like to find a better compass option. Ideally the compass wouldn't be permanently mounted so it doesn't take up valuable surface that I might want to lean against at anchor but could be deployed at read easily at all angles of heel when underway. What good compass solutions have the fine people in this group come up with? Thanks! David GrahBishop CaliforniaMontgomery 15 - Sky