New compass

I bought a compass on eBay the other day and as I stepped out of the house this morning I nearly tripped over it, the postie had left it on the doorstep.
I am well pleased with it... £30 inc p&p it is a Heath marine 'bosun' compass. It's in perfect condition, no bubbles or scratches and still with it's original box and packaging.

I'll have to see how I get on with this type of compass. The downsides apparently are that, unlike a bulkhead compass, you have to look down to check your course. The benefits seem to be that:

• The rotating grid can be set to a particular course.
• The whole unit sits on a bracket so can be stored in the cabin when not needed.
• If unhappy with the position it can be relocated without having to fill in a great big hole. In fact I will probably make a second bracket so that I will have a choice of positions depending on number of crew.. Sailing singlehanded makes you selfish so tend to position items with out thinking about being able to see / use them while the cockpit is crowded.