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On my first night outing this season, I noticed the compass behaving strangely. No illumination, and the card spun wildly at the slightest movement. Without visual references, I wanted something to help hold a course.
Closer inspection revealed the problem: all the liquid had leaked out. Removing it exposed numerous cracks in the back. I tried welding them together with a soldering iron, then coated the surface in Sikaflex for good measure.
What to fill it with? After advice and internet searches, I bought purified paraffin oil for €15. Nearly an hour with a 5ml syringe transferred half a litre of viscous liquid into the patient. Delighted — until oil began running down my hands through the sealant.
The sealant also blocked access to the plastic. I took the compass home and spent four evenings scraping off all the Sikaflex with a flat screwdriver. However much I welded, new gaps appeared. So I bought €15 two-part epoxy at Bauhaus and covered the entire back. Amazing: completely watertight.
Back at the yacht, the oil had turned white. Heat from the soldering iron, or traces of Fairy and alcohol used for degreasing? I don’t know. Another hour draining and refilling.
I fitted the compass in its rightful place and admired it, only to discover that the card had fallen off its pivot and now lay at the bottom, with no way to put it back.
#maintenance
Closer inspection revealed the problem: all the liquid had leaked out. Removing it exposed numerous cracks in the back. I tried welding them together with a soldering iron, then coated the surface in Sikaflex for good measure.
What to fill it with? After advice and internet searches, I bought purified paraffin oil for €15. Nearly an hour with a 5ml syringe transferred half a litre of viscous liquid into the patient. Delighted — until oil began running down my hands through the sealant.
The sealant also blocked access to the plastic. I took the compass home and spent four evenings scraping off all the Sikaflex with a flat screwdriver. However much I welded, new gaps appeared. So I bought €15 two-part epoxy at Bauhaus and covered the entire back. Amazing: completely watertight.
Back at the yacht, the oil had turned white. Heat from the soldering iron, or traces of Fairy and alcohol used for degreasing? I don’t know. Another hour draining and refilling.
I fitted the compass in its rightful place and admired it, only to discover that the card had fallen off its pivot and now lay at the bottom, with no way to put it back.
#maintenance
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