MVSS

I’ve taken it for granted, that if you operated a boat, it had a compass. No need for maintenance, no special handling, it was just there. Well, I should include that I’ve gotten wise enough to check the compass against the GPS, and vice versa. But that was truly IT! Until last week when I went down to the boat and found a light clear oil running down from the flybridge. I looked for the source of the stain and suspected that it came from under the upper sink, a ruptured can of WD40 or silicone spray for the zippers on the enclosure, perhaps the cleaner for the plastic windows. No, you have the answer, it was the compass. The week before, I had noticed an air bubble in the top of the globe and now there was more of a bubble inside along with a pool of compass dampening fluid under it. Joy, another expense and project. Removal was a snap, 4 screws and cut the wire for the light and it was out of the binnacle. Double bag it in trash bags and bring it home.

The boat is 4 years old, the compass should have a warranty, right? I wondered if it still in effect after 4 years? Never having a compass fail in 35 years, I had no clue, but I knew where to find out. Onto the internet, I knew I had a Danforth Constellation, (it said so on the compass card) but there was no model number anywhere to be found. I did find out that the White family who did own Danforth, sold out to ITT Industries, ( Rule, Jabsco, Flojet ) and they now owned the brand. I read through their website and was unimpressed, a work in progress I was later told. I was hoping with the compass in front to me, that I would be able to identify it. But no, there were no dimensions on the website and only limited photos.

Out to the work bench, the leak was from the bottom, not seeing a keyway, I scratched location marks on both upper and lower surfaces and then off with the 8 screws, a quick pop and the magnetic compensation adjustment base was off. I was staring at a rubber diaphragm, just over 3” across. I removed it, dried it off, and inverted it. The rubber was cracked and showed a tear at the point that it flexes. The diaphragm is used to adjust for the expansion and contraction of the oil that the compass card floats in. Simple, order the diaphragm, buy the compass oil that I’ve seen at West Marine and reinstall next weekend. But no, I am told by Danforth, they will not sell me the parts. But, they would be happy to repair my compass just send it in. How much, no idea. Why won’t you sell me the parts? “Repairing a compass is trickier that you might expect it to be.” “I’m a pretty tricky person I reply”, silence on the other end of the phone. Thank You, and good by. Was this common to all compasses? I called Ritchie Navigation, they have been building compasses for 150 years. I asked for parts and asked if they would sell me parts for a Ritchie compass, sure what do you want the pleasant man on the other end of the phone asked. I was shocked, I spoke to the parts man about what Ritchie compass model could replace my Danforth and looked at their website, photos, dimensions, breakdowns and with part numbers, a beautiful job by the way.

Did you ever try to measure the dimensions of a compass? Because of the globes height, you can’t just lay a ruler own on the compass or use a micrometer. You need to have two squares, by sliding them to the proper distance that you want to measure you lock them with one hand, grab the ruler with the other and do a guesstimate. With that information I called ITT back and asked my questions again and was told the compass had a three year warranty, the same as Ritchie. No, they still could not identify the compass model from my description, ITT later told me that they started marking model numbers on their compass bases three years ago.

Still not to be put off, I found three compass repair stations and asked them about identifying my mystery Danforth compass and ordering my part. I took the attached digital photo and now I sent it off to three compass repair stations. Sure they had the diaphragm for my 4 1/2” Constellation. It was also identical to an Aquameter Gemini, sure you could buy it, it’s a #160-1-1, ten bucks plus shipping, make it twelve dollars total with the tax. Sold. Here’s an insider tip, to clarify the dampening oil and remove all the air before sealing the fill plug, fill the compass with oil and put it in the freezer for 15 minutes. Then top it off and seal the unit. The Danforth fluid is Exxon Isopar-M. It is the universal fluid. Ritchie uses Isopar-L, which is of a lower viscosity (L for low). Some manufacturers still use alcohol (45% Ethyl only, cheap vodka will do in an emergency). Also, the fluids dissolve gasses, these must be removed by subjecting the fluids to vacuum at -28 in. Hg. Otherwise, anytime a thunderstorm comes by, a bubble will form.

Now, that I was less of a novice, I E-mailed ITT Industries and asked more questions of management. Oh! Did we say we wouldn’t sell you parts, what we must of meant was that it’s a difficult task and since you didn’t know the model number of the compass it would be better if you sent it in for service. Even when I sent the photo to ITT Industries that I have had identified by other compass service shops, ITT Industries could not identify the model compass I had. In fairness, ITT Industries also told me that, if the compass was too costly to repair, they would offer another compass at a substantial discount to me. The problem is, I don’t want another Danforth compass, I want a compass from a company like Ritchie, where life is sweet and easy.

The truth: ITT-Rule will not sell parts to users because the company repairers asked them not to as a concession when they revised their service policy last year. The ITT corporate philosophy is company controlled repair centers with repair or replace at the company's option as the primary mode of operation. They eliminated the discount on parts to the repair centers completely. Repair center margins were drastically cut but by eliminating the consumer sales of parts at least keeps them alive. Why didn’t Danforth just direct me to a outside sales and service center?

Resolution: If it was a cheap compass, or a old abused compass, I would have just replaced it. But no, it was over a “C” note and just over 4 years old. The final route taken was to repair it. I found all three Compass shops that I contacted exceptional in courtesy and professionalism. If it fails again can you guess who’s compass I’ll buy?

Island Compasses South, Steve Colt, Compass Service:

Orange Park, FL

888-269-3810

http://www.islandcompass.com/

Island Marine Instrument Co Inc, Bill Haimes, Compass Service:

Lake Stevens, WA

888-539-2757

http://www.islandmarineinst.com

L. B. Harvey Marine Electronics, Inc. Compass Service:

Miami, FL

305-856-1583

lbhmarine@aol.com