In article , James F.
Aguiar wrote:

I am very new to this kayak sport and I have noticed that many
kayakers add compasses to their kayak.....is this an over
kill....where does one expect to go where they would need a
compass.....Don't get me wrong, I love the whole thing because I just
bought a CapeHorn 170 and mounted a Richie compass on it and it looks
really nice.....I just hope I don't get razzled on it...Jim



I far prefer a GPS and a map. I go to topozone.com and print out a map
of where I'm going to paddle. EMS sells a nice waterproof sleave for
$5 or $10 dollars to keet it dry.

I am very new to this kayak sport and I have noticed that many
kayakers add compasses to their kayak.....is this an over
kill....where does one expect to go where they would need a
compass.....Don't get me wrong, I love the whole thing because I just
bought a CapeHorn 170 and mounted a Richie compass on it and it looks
really nice.....I just hope I don't get razzled on it...Jim

Don't rely on the compass when you know nothing about navigation
A friend of stowed his radio right beneath the compass, the magnet in the
speaker brought him way out of line.

don't depend only on a GPS when batteries can die un-expectedly.

Compasses don't have batteries.

A good seaman will use multiple means of navigation.

steve

One practical reason for having a compass mounted on a kayak is not
navigational. A compass can aid in determining a boat's drift relative
to the direction you're going. So, assuming you're headed for that
point of land over there, and you keep pointed at it but your compass
heading changes, that usually indicates a corresponding shift in the
current. Which is always good to know about.

seaward wrote:
One practical reason for having a compass mounted on a kayak is not
navigational. A compass can aid in determining a boat's drift relative
to the direction you're going. So, assuming you're headed for that
point of land over there, and you keep pointed at it but your compass
heading changes, that usually indicates a corresponding shift in the
current. Which is always good to know about.

Sure, but how is that "not navigational"? It's all navigation, just
different aspects of it.