Okay boaters, fess up.....
 

I'm writing a short item this morning about hand held bearing
compasses.

I carry one on my boat, and could find it in an instant. I suspect,
however, that in this age of electro-nav gimmicks I'm now in the
minority.

Three questions:

1. Do you carry a bearing compass?

2. Whether you carry one or not, do you know why anybody would want
to?

3. Do you have any charts aboard, or are you running depending
strictly on an uninterrupted supply of DC power and counting on 100%
reliability from your electronics for navigation information?

Okay boaters, fess up.....
 

On Fri, 27 Jul 2007 08:42:12 -0700, Chuck Gould
wrote:

I'm writing a short item this morning about hand held bearing
compasses.

I carry one on my boat, and could find it in an instant. I suspect,
however, that in this age of electro-nav gimmicks I'm now in the
minority.

Three questions:

1. Do you carry a bearing compass?

Yes.

2. Whether you carry one or not, do you know why anybody would want
to?

Yes.

3. Do you have any charts aboard,

Yes - current and up to date including a current Eldrige.

or are you running depending strictly on an uninterrupted supply of DC
power and counting on 100% reliability from your electronics for navigation
information?

Yes.

Of course, my situation is a little different than most because I have
enough uninterruptable DC power available to last me for a week.

Anything else? :)

Okay boaters, fess up.....
 

Around 7/27/2007 8:42 AM, Chuck Gould wrote:

I'm writing a short item this morning about hand held bearing
compasses.

I carry one on my boat, and could find it in an instant. I suspect,
however, that in this age of electro-nav gimmicks I'm now in the
minority.

Three questions:

1. Do you carry a bearing compass?

When camping, haven't ever carried one when boating. Both Commando and
Blue-Boat have hard-mounted compasses.


2. Whether you carry one or not, do you know why anybody would want
to?

Of course. :)


3. Do you have any charts aboard, or are you running depending
strictly on an uninterrupted supply of DC power and counting on 100%
reliability from your electronics for navigation information?

Yes to paper charts.

The only navigation gizmo on either boat is a Garmin eTrex that takes 2
AA batteries and doesn't have any mapping capability. I only use it for
lat/long, speed, and marking where I've dropped a crab pot.



--
~/Garth - 1966 Glastron V-142 Skiflite: "Blue-Boat"
"There is nothing - absolutely nothing - half so much worth doing
as simply messing about in boats." -- Kenneth Grahame
~~ Ventis secundis, tene cursum ~~

Okay boaters, fess up.....
 

Fri, 27 Jul 07, Chuck Gould wrote:

1. Do you carry a bearing compass?

Yes

2. Whether you carry one or not, do you know why anybody would want
to?

Of course. There's no way I'd leave the harbor without a ship's
compass. Hand bearing compass too, although mine is used mostly for
race committee work setting race marks. Quite a few other uses though.
It's the last piece of nav equipment I would expect to fail (my hand
compass won't float though).

3. Do you have any charts aboard

Absolutely

or are you running depending
strictly on an uninterrupted supply of DC power and counting on 100%
reliability from your electronics for navigation information?

No way.

Rick

Okay boaters, fess up.....
 

"Chuck Gould" wrote in message
ups.com...
I'm writing a short item this morning about hand held bearing
compasses.

I carry one on my boat, and could find it in an instant. I suspect,
however, that in this age of electro-nav gimmicks I'm now in the
minority.

Three questions:

1. Do you carry a bearing compass?

Yep. It's for an event that rarely happens: A blackout, so all land-based
lights are out. The official nav markers on Lake Ontario use 12v flashlight
bulbs, so they're not much help more than 100 feet away, especially when
completely covered in seagull turds.


2. Whether you carry one or not, do you know why anybody would want
to?

Yes, I know why.


3. Do you have any charts aboard, or are you running depending
strictly on an uninterrupted supply of DC power and counting on 100%
reliability from your electronics for navigation information?

I rely 0% on electronics for navigation. I have, however, navigated Tupper
Lake (Adirondacks) at night, in fog, using the air horn to create echoes off
island cliffs. Count the islands, get home. Ba da bing.

Okay boaters, fess up.....
 

"Chuck Gould" wrote in message
ups.com...
I'm writing a short item this morning about hand held bearing
compasses.

I carry one on my boat, and could find it in an instant. I suspect,
however, that in this age of electro-nav gimmicks I'm now in the
minority.

Three questions:

1. Do you carry a bearing compass?

A/ Certainly...

2. Whether you carry one or not, do you know why anybody would want
to?
B/ navigation... taking relative bearings to local landmarks to pinpoint my
position on a chart

3. Do you have any charts aboard, or are you running depending
strictly on an uninterrupted supply of DC power and counting on 100%
reliability from your electronics for navigation information?

C/ Yes... have charts. older GPS used as backup.

Okay boaters, fess up.....
 

On Fri, 27 Jul 2007 13:52:39 -0300, "Don White"
wrote:


"Chuck Gould" wrote in message
oups.com...
I'm writing a short item this morning about hand held bearing
compasses.

I carry one on my boat, and could find it in an instant. I suspect,
however, that in this age of electro-nav gimmicks I'm now in the
minority.

Three questions:

1. Do you carry a bearing compass?

A/ Certainly...

2. Whether you carry one or not, do you know why anybody would want
to?
B/ navigation... taking relative bearings to local landmarks to pinpoint my
position on a chart

3. Do you have any charts aboard, or are you running depending
strictly on an uninterrupted supply of DC power and counting on 100%
reliability from your electronics for navigation information?

C/ Yes... have charts. older GPS used as backup.

What's with the A/,B/,C/?
I thought compasses had NSEW.
Some kind of nav chart notation?
I plan to learn to read charts, but you're scaring me here.

--Vic

Okay boaters, fess up.....
 

"Chuck Gould" wrote in message
ups.com...
I'm writing a short item this morning about hand held bearing
compasses.

I carry one on my boat, and could find it in an instant. I suspect,
however, that in this age of electro-nav gimmicks I'm now in the
minority.

Three questions:

1. Do you carry a bearing compass?

2. Whether you carry one or not, do you know why anybody would want
to?

3. Do you have any charts aboard, or are you running depending
strictly on an uninterrupted supply of DC power and counting on 100%
reliability from your electronics for navigation information?


Nope to a handheld. Has gone missing over the years, and do not back county
hike anymore. Have fixed compass on the dash. As to paper charts, yes for
all the places I boat, except some lakes. 2 GPS, fixed plotter and handheld
aboard. Only time the laptop is aboard is to download charts to the
plotter.

Okay boaters, fess up.....
 

On Fri, 27 Jul 2007 08:42:12 -0700, Chuck Gould
wrote:

I'm writing a short item this morning about hand held bearing
compasses.

I carry one on my boat, and could find it in an instant. I suspect,
however, that in this age of electro-nav gimmicks I'm now in the
minority.

Three questions:

1. Do you carry a bearing compass?

I have a compass mounted in the boat. I do not have a hand held.

2. Whether you carry one or not, do you know why anybody would want
to?

If their boat is sinking and they have to man a life raft, it could come in
handy. Or, if someone angrily smashed their laptop on the mounted compass,
a hand held could come in handy.

3. Do you have any charts aboard, or are you running depending
strictly on an uninterrupted supply of DC power and counting on 100%
reliability from your electronics for navigation information?

Yes, charts are aboard for any area in which I may roam.
--
John H

Okay boaters, fess up.....
 

"Chuck Gould" wrote in message
ups.com...
I'm writing a short item this morning about hand held bearing
compasses.

I carry one on my boat, and could find it in an instant. I suspect,
however, that in this age of electro-nav gimmicks I'm now in the
minority.

Three questions:

1. Do you carry a bearing compass?

Nope. I did, however, install a fixed compass after I purchased the boat as
it had none.


2. Whether you carry one or not, do you know why anybody would want
to?

Certainly.


3. Do you have any charts aboard, or are you running depending
strictly on an uninterrupted supply of DC power and counting on 100%
reliability from your electronics for navigation information?


No charts. I do have a GPS and trips on this boat are normally limited to
daytime trips to sites within an hour or so away at tops. I can get to all
of them with my eyes closed.