A bit of good news, a cat who surfs, and, just maybe, the best 2017 resolution I've come across...
Not so long ago I came across a guy who does not use a compass on his boat his reasoning is that his cockpit mounted GPS chart plotter is all he needs. He went on to say that he much preferred the you-are-here-arcade-like-display to the tiring act of trying to keep focused on some number on a spinning ball that won't stand still.
This is where you'd expect me to go all Luddite rant on your ass I expect...
You'd be wrong.
First of all, it's his boat and he can navigate it any way he wants to because, you know... freedom.
Secondly, well he's sorta/kinda right. Steering a compass course is often tiring because you have to keep an eye on some magic number and just like white lines on a highway the act of watching them tends to put you to sleep. There really has to be a better way...
Of course the GPS arcade display is one way to go but, me being phobic and all about anything that depends on electrons working on a boat the way they were designed to on a regular basis, I'll leave that solution to more adventurous and foolish folk. Which is why my compass of preference is a simple cheap grid compass...
The beauty of the grid compass is you just set the course you want to steer (let's say 184 degrees) by turning the bezel and then all you have to do is keep the needle between the lines. Simple as all get out.
Better yet, since they are so "last century" that you can buy them for cheap and, as it happens I just bought one for the not-yet-built-next-boat for just $32 bucks...
What's not to like?
Listening to Gov't Mule kick some ass
So it goes...
