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Thread: Too close?

  1. #1

    Too close?

    Somewhere buried in another thread Mr Clarkson mentioned a magnet/whacky compass situation which was an "aha" moment for me.... The PO's choice for compass sensor and Algae-X

    So is this too close?
    Attached Images
    Last edited by oscarvan; 04-11-2021 at 08:56 PM.
    1978 53' Motor Yacht "LADY KAY V"
    Hull number 524
    Chesapeake Bay

  2. #2

    Re: Too close?

    Try a hand held compass and move it around the area and see if/how much it's affected.
    Sky Cheney
    1985 53EDMY, Hull #CN759, "Rebecca"
    ELYC on White Lake--Montague, MI

  3. #3

    Re: Too close?

    Quote Originally Posted by SKYCHENEY View Post
    Try a hand held compass and move it around the area and see if/how much it's affected.
    Simple yet elegant and scientifically sound..... why couldn't I think oft that.

    And the answer is...... Nope. The magnet has a serious effect on the handheld compass up to about a foot away. Down by the hull it's nothing.
    1978 53' Motor Yacht "LADY KAY V"
    Hull number 524
    Chesapeake Bay

  4. #4

    Re: Too close?

    Is that the AP compass in the bottom of the pic?

  5. #5

    Re: Too close?

    Quote Originally Posted by oscarvan View Post
    Simple yet elegant and scientifically sound..... why couldn't I think oft that.And the answer is...... Nope. The magnet has a serious effect on the handheld compass up to about a foot away. Down by the hull it's nothing.
    You might have to de-power the boat other than AP and plotter. Then you can energize circuits and look for a swing. Or maybe the compass is just too close to the iron. In that case, detaching it and moving it even a few inches will produce change.
    Semper Siesta
    Robert Clarkson
    ASLAN, 1983 55C #343
    Charleston, SC

  6. #6

    Re: Too close?

    Quote Originally Posted by Captain Ralph View Post
    Is that the AP compass in the bottom of the pic?
    Looks like the depth transducer to me.
    "DON'T BELIEVE ANYTHING YOU READ OR HEAR AND ONLY HALF OF WHAT YOU SEE" - BEN FRANKLIN




    Endless Summer
    1967 50c 12/71n DDA 525hp
    ex Miss Betsy
    owners:
    Howard P. Miller 1967-1974
    Richard F Hull 1974-1976
    Robert J. & R.Scott Smith 1976-present

  7. #7

    Re: Too close?

    Quote Originally Posted by rsmith View Post
    Looks like the depth transducer to me.
    That is an excellent comment..DUH on me..... So now I'm Google image searching Garmin depth transducers and autopilot compasses and it appears you are right. Which means I haven't found the compass yet...... It was the "BOW" marking that sent me down the wrong path..... So do I have something "forward looking" here to map the bottom? I know OF that but have never really delved in to it......
    Attached Images
    1978 53' Motor Yacht "LADY KAY V"
    Hull number 524
    Chesapeake Bay

  8. #8

    Re: Too close?

    Have you run the boat to see if its a problem??? If the AP performs properly why mess with it ??.............
    Last edited by doc g; 04-12-2021 at 08:33 AM.

  9. #9

    Re: Too close?

    Quote Originally Posted by doc g View Post
    Have you run the boat to see if its a problem??? If the AP performs properly why mess with it ??.............
    Oh no, there is a problem. On certain headings the compass is 30º off, and with the bow aimed in the right direction telling the autopilot to navigate to a point ahead will result in an immediate turn. Eventually it will figure the drift and start correcting for what it probably thinks is a hellacious cross wind/current but that's no way to operate.

    Way I'm currently working it is to aim the boat in the right direction and hit "heading hold and ignore the number. Make small changes to stay on the line. COG is, of course, in the ball park.

    It works and I get there just fine, heck when I was a kid all we had was a whiskey compass uphill both ways........
    1978 53' Motor Yacht "LADY KAY V"
    Hull number 524
    Chesapeake Bay

  10. #10

    Re: Too close?

    It sounds like you may need to re-calibrate your AP. There is a procedure in the manual for do this.

    Mine is currently the same way. Depending on the direction I'm traveling, the AP can be off by up to 15 degrees from my compass heading and/or the COG heading on on my plotter. I've just been compensating by monitoring my track on the chartplotter and tweaking the heading adjustment on the AP as necessary to keep me on course.

    Recalibrating the AP has been one of those round-tuit things on my list for a while now.
    "The only thing that always works on an old boat is the owner" - Some Wise Guy

    1976 46' Convertible
    Bayou Chico
    Pensacola, Florida

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