Sestral Moore Compass advice please

[Andrew Craig-Bennett]

Re: Sestral Moore Compass advice please

Good news.

[John B]

Re: Sestral Moore Compass advice please

Can't remember the details , Bernadette, but I did make a light from an electronic shop led . Dick Smith or j car....

[wizbang 13]

Re: Sestral Moore Compass advice please

...thanks for the bastardised wishes...

My bastardized point was, you started out with a bubble, I suggested a foolproof way to lose the bubble, that you blew off.
Now you have a …. wait for it …. bubble .
We joke about ol’timey sailors drinking the liquid in a compas , but when they did that they got no bubble .
Over the decades, at least three people have commented on my compas,”hey I have or had the same compass but could never get rid of the bubble, how’d you do dat?”

[johngsandusky]

Re: Sestral Moore Compass advice please

I bought an old White Compass and had it restored, way cheaper and nicer than buying new.
But I'm on a different continent. Good luck with yours, I'm sure you'll solve it in time.

[Andrew Craig-Bennett]

Re: Sestral Moore Compass advice please

Can't remember the details , Bernadette, but I did make a light from an electronic shop led . Dick Smith or j car....

Ditto. Leds are fine. The only critical part is the need to twist the + & - wires round each other. And it means you can modernise the plug fittings.

[Bernadette]

Re: Sestral Moore Compass advice please

Ditto. Leds are fine. The only critical part is the need to twist the + & - wires round each other. And it means you can modernise the plug fittings.

thanks Andrew and John.

[Bernadette]

Re: Sestral Moore Compass advice please

I bought an old White Compass and had it restored, way cheaper and nicer than buying new.
But I'm on a different continent. Good luck with yours, I'm sure you'll solve it in time.

are you talking about a Sestral Moore? Im curios as I would like to get the one I just purchased; repainted in the trad gunmetal grey colour. Im just not sure how to go about stripping the existing paint off and what types of paint to use?

[Stiletto]

Re: Sestral Moore Compass advice please

Bernadette, I'm glad that you found a compass that you want. Apart from liking the Sestrel, is there any other reason for not wanting a
modern compass?

[Bernadette]

Re: Sestral Moore Compass advice please

Bernadette, I'm glad that you found a compass that you want. Apart from liking the Sestrel, is there any other reason for not wanting a
modern compass?

its a good question and one ive asked myself many times.

I guess it comes down to the fact that the first time I did a lot of helming was on Pequot. There was one voyage to PNG when I was quite young, but Dad did most of the hard overnight work on that crossing. Since then, most costal passages have been undertaken using a variety of other compasses.

I dont know why we installed a Sestral Moore on Pequot: maybe to keep things traditional. I found the Sestral Moore incredibly easy to use. Holding a heading and keeping to the course was just a cinch.

it's just been a 'habit' from that point on to gravitate to the Sestral Moore, again on Decatur and now on this new boat.

ive looked through the catalogues etc for new compasses, but try as I might, none really take my fancy although there are obviously some good looking ones and ones that would clearly do a good job at a fraction of the cost too!

I doubt I will have anything other than the compass up top (and also maybe a chart plotter on a extendable lead), so being able to take all instrumentation down below when not in use also appeals to me.

[Geftb]

Re: Sestral Moore Compass advice please

Hey Bernadette, there are a bunch of restore vids on YouTube. Here is one to get you started.
They are quite simple really. If the bubbles keep coming back you may need to re seal the gasket?

https://youtu.be/_vXIA-65QNo

cheers
Steve

[Bernadette]

Re: Sestral Moore Compass advice please

Steve, thanks very much for the info. I was sort of thinking I would take the existing paint off with a chemical stripper of some sort. i wonder if that would be ok?
the shiny brass looks good if sitting on a desk nice and dry someplace, but I would be inclined to paint again if using the compass at sea.

[Geftb]

Re: Sestral Moore Compass advice please

Yeah, the shine is just for YouTube clicks ��
The citrus stripper is pretty good. Just test it on a small section underneath first.

[johngsandusky]

Re: Sestral Moore Compass advice please

are you talking about a Sestral Moore? Im curios as I would like to get the one I just purchased; repainted in the trad gunmetal grey colour. Im just not sure how to go about stripping the existing paint off and what types of paint to use?

No, mine was made by White, it's a Constellation model.

[Andrew Craig-Bennett]

Re: Sestral Moore Compass advice please

Bernadette - I’m pretty sure, from looking at mine, that the craquelure grey finish will have been applied in the factory in Barking using an acid spray - I’ve seen it done, but it’s not a process for the amateur.

However a similar effect can be achieved with Hammerite.

[Bernadette]

Re: Sestral Moore Compass advice please

IMG_5753.jpgIMG_5754.jpgIMG_5752.jpg
IMG_5756.jpg
this little gem arrived in the post yesterday.
purchased off eBay UK.

Im pleasantly suprised at its condition...it would appear to be unused (correctly described by the seller). Having said that, the pillar bracket and compass are of two different colours so im assuming it's been put together from a couple of compass units as such.
Only parts missing are the light lead and plug, magnets and heeling error magnet housing cap.
and BTW no bubble despite the advertisement posted up by the seller showed a small bubble. so not sure what happened there. there is an extremely minuscule amount of 'dust' particles floating around in the oil.
Ive got time on my side to either make up a aftermarket light or keep scouring the planet for a genuine part/s.
I will probably paint the pillar bracket white and leave the compass in its existing colour.