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I had somewhat a similar experience, even though my compass is mounted on the starboard side.
The manufacturer blamed it on other "iron" in the vicinity - up to two feet or more away. That took in the fire extinguisher over the counter (although I believe that is all aluminum), perhaps the outboard motor (although that too is also mostly and perhaps all aluminum, and the two anchors at the bottom of the starboard lazarette, bottle caps on the beer in the icebox (although I think they two are mostly aluminum as well) and who knows what else.
After painstakingly surveying the area, I came to the conclusion the manufacturer didn't have clue what it was talking about and had given me a cop out answer to get rid of me as an inquiry.
The issue did get resolved but not because of anything the manufacturer's told me, as I recall.
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I saw an interesting mount on a Whidby 30, a Canadian-built Alberg-drawn boat that came through the marina a few weeks back. I believe it was built into the boat by the manufacturer.
Kind of hard to describe, it was in the middle of the upper aft edge of the bridgedeck. Imagine if you put a box against the bridgedeck there *on the inside of the boat*, and then removed the top and aft parts of that box, so that you'd be looking into the box if you were in the cockpit. The compass was mounted there.
I can draw it, if anyone is interested and my description is as confusing to you as it is to me. :)
In that spot it would be away from any electronics you mounted internally or externally on the after part of the doghouse.
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centerline compass
Kurt,
Geoff has his up there at the end of the seahood, tucked in under the dodger.
It definitely would be best to have only the compass there and place the other readouts on the sides of the companionway.
338 is going to have a Contest 130 over the hatch. It's big, over 5", but actually less bulky than the Contest 100. Gonna look like the eyeball of the Cyclops sitting there. Plastimo is non-repairable, but has a five year warranty. It is imco fine looking and absolutely the best direct reading (conical card) 'steering' compass out there. Haven't sailed with one. Yet.
If there's a problem with this, it is the size of the compass and perhaps the fairing around the compass you have to build. And the lead of the nightlight wire. But at the end of the seahood there it would be designed as a splash dash :rolleyes: with fastenings for the bottom of the dodger.
This compass with its lubber lines would make it real easy to read anywhere in the cockpit. Unavoidable, I think. Probably see the numbers from out in the trailing dinghy. Mounted high up, on the centerline and protected from the elements by design of the dash and by a hard or soft dodger the compass is exactly where it should have been all along.
