Quote:
Originally Posted by Stoneale
One question, I do have though. I bought a Ritchie X-21 compass.. should I use some marine goop around it when I install it? Or should I only use the seal that it came with?
Thanks!
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The seal that comes with the Ritchie compass works on compression, and it's designed for mounting on a stiff hard surface like a fibreglass console.
If your mounting it in a plastic yak hull it will flex enough that in theory you could end up with a seal that is not water tight.
You can go two ways to get a good seal.
You could make a backing ring of 1/8 aluminium that goes in the hull so that when you tighten it into place the ring compress (sandwiches) both the hull and seal between the ring and the flange and makes a good flat seal.
Or you can caulk it with something.
If your going to caulk it ( I would) You could just go with Black GE 100% silicone caulk from Home Depot. Better would be black 5200 marine sealant as it will not only seal it but also it will glue it in so it wont work loose over time. I almost always use silicone on little stuff 5200 on big things like hatches and rod holders, it's more expensive but it's bullet proof.
There are pros and cons with each, with silicone it'll be easy to remove if it gets broken, but it's less likely to ever leak with 5200. I'll warn you now though if it breaks and it's 5200'd in it'll be a pain to get back out.
With either way just follow the mounting instructions but put a lot of caulk on both sides of the gasket, then tighten it in place and clean up the excess that squeezes out with paint thinner.
One more thing. When your mounting the compass put on all the gear your going to use like fish finder rod holders etc. before you choose a location. You then hold the compass in various locations to see if there is anything in your gear that might throw the compass off, or alter it's reading. You'd be amazed how just a little bit of metal can screw it up. Sometimes you have to move it a little bit to get it right but you want it in a location where it reads true even if your all gear is on the yak.
Jim