On second thoughts after posting this message, I realised there is possibly
an issue as to reliability at sea, particularily regarding salt and the
mirror.

My Silva has been a constant companion over many years, hanging on a
lanyard between my sweaty breasts on bushwalking, skiing, and sailing
trips...so far the mirror is fine. The mirror is in fact travelling far
better than the mirrors on my sextants! There is however corrosion of the
alloy cover over the mirror....but a bit of work with a toothbrush and soap
gets the green **** off from time to time. After 40 years the 4 tiny rubber
feet that hold the silva steady on a chart have rotted away, but I am going
to write to Silva to complain about that one.

"Glendon" wrote in message
...
I use a Silva Ranger TD... had it for 40 years, works on land, sea, and
have
used it in small planes for fun/checkup navigation. With use you become
adept at quick sightings lining up the needle/mirror/object ....accuracy
is
certainly as good as most card compasses, maybe better. Global/zoned
needle
is not really relevant with regard to accuracy and the movement of the
observer...go to the Suunto and or Silva site to get an understanding of
what global/zoned needle means.

"Chris Doubleday" wrote in message
om...
I am new to the world of compasses and sailing. My wife recently
purchased a sighting compass as a gift for me when sailing/cruising.
It is a traditional sighting compass with needle and mirror (Suunto
MC-2G-Global). I am more accustomed to using a compass with a compass
card and view finder. I suspect it will be difficult to get an
accurate bearing with the MC-2G-Global on a moving boat due to having
to adjust the bezel while sighting the landmark. Is this the reason
for the different design (card and finder) of the KB-20? The
MC-2G-Global does have a global needle which I underatdnw should help
with some of the pitching and rolling that will occur on a boat, but
it still seems like an error prone process, especially when trying to
get multiple simultaeous fixes as when dead recconing. The accuracy
is noted as 2 degrees, which I imagine is only attainable in the best
of conditions. Any opinions / experience with this sort of compass in
a cruising environment?