Does anyone know of a source for the non-magnetic bolts, locknuts, and neoprene washers for mounting the nexus compass?
I want to mount it on a new Romany and it sits low in the recess and will rotate under the mounting plate. Is it OK to put some sort of material under the compass to raise it a little?
Thanks — Bill
Use the original screws
They work just fine and are long enough that you can put a spacer underneath if you want to. There’s no reason that adding a spacer should cause any problems.
If you don’t have the original hardware, purchase small stainless sheet metal screws at a hardware store or hobby shop. Using nuts and washers is an unnecessary complication, as the screws holding a compass are under very little stress.
Don’t shim it !
I believe the instructions with the compass and the sticker on the bottom of the ball point out that it is important the ball of the compass not be tight against any surface. It is normal for you to be able, with some force, to rotate the ball after mounting as it is held in place by the pressure against the brass plate it is mounted on once the face place is screwed down. After a awhile, you will likely not be able to rotate the compass so don’t worry about it.
As previously said, just use the screws. I clipped mine a little and put a dab of epoxy on the underside of the deck so nothing gets snagged badly. No need to over engineer it.
Didn’t get instructions
I took the 70P off of a QCC and am putting it on the Romany so I’m not working from instructions. The 70P sits too low in the reccess and you can’t see the numbers after putting on the plate and its loose. The Romany is a 2007 and perhaps the compass mold is too deep. Anyone have any advice?
Thanks
Brass
I see you’re in MN so you probably won’t be dealing with salt water. I used brass bolts to put mine into my Explorer because I couldn’t find non-magnetic stainless locally. It’s been in there for about 3-4 years now, just fine…
Metal plate
There should be a metal plate sandwiching a rubber gasket, both of which keep the compass ball itself suspended up against the underside of the plastic bezel, so it doesn’t matter how deep the well in the deck is.
Do you have those pieces?
Mike
Sure you have a 70P?
and not a different nexus.
It doese not say 70P…
the markings say “NEXUS SWEDEN 70 LB”. Yes it does have the brass rings and rubber gasket. The ledge in the recess that the brass rings set on is what appears to be too deep. Both rings fall about 3/16 inch below the surface that the compass top mounting plate attaches to. This makes it so the top half of the compass sits too low below the mounting plate and the compass fits way too loose and low.
Hmmm
Sort of hard to understand what you are saying since on my boat the top mounting surround bezel rests on the ledge area too, making it not possible for the metal plate and gasket to move away underneath it.
In any case, what you need to allow for is some expansion/contraction of the liquid inside the ball, you can see there’s a rubber-like expansion joint around the ball. Hence the advice not to put anything too firm under the ball. You could probably get away with something fairly spongy under there though.
Mike
Brass rings?
Does it have a brass bracket that holds the compass sphere and which is rectangular and essentially the same size as the face plate? Is the compass sphere firmly attached to the brass bracket? If not, then I seriously doubt you have a 70P for which the recess was designed. You said it came from a QCC? I have not seen many, but I don’t think I have seen one with a compass recess.
Exactly…
It’s the ledge that the brass and rubber expansion joint rests on that is too deep.
Lots of QCC have 70P’s mounted on them(700’s anyway). You just order a hatch cover with a recessed mount. It is for a 70P…you can call Phil if in doubt.
most stainless
should suffice. Hard to find stainless hardware that will interfere with the compass and you can find a ton of stainless hardware online.
If in doubt, test the compass with the mounting hardware and watch for interference.
Thats it
It’s a 70P
Ledge
What’s confusing the issue here is that you seem to be saying that the plastic surround bezel itself does not also fully seat down into that same square ledge molding to rest directly on the ledge. Is that really the case? Is the square indentation not big enough?
Mike
Are You…
– Last Updated: Jul-09-07 5:26 PM EST –
putting the compass ball into the top bracket and then putting the metal shims under the ball?
I can't remember exactly how it goes together but you may be assembling it in the wrong sequence.
I think we aren’t
talking about a 70P if you are mentioning metal shims. Its just a round ball with a metal and rubber expansion “joint” that drops down into the pre-molded recess and a square plate goes over that. The WHOLE ball sits too low in the recess. If the part of the recess that the rings rest on was not so deep, then there would not be a problem. All I need to know is if its OK to shim this up with O rings, washers or whatever, or if ok to put a piece of gasket material in the spherical portion of the recess. Thanks – Bill
OK now are you putting…
– Last Updated: Jul-09-07 6:58 PM EST –
the "metal and rubber expansion "joint" in first and then the ball and then the top plate.
Think of mounting it with just a hole cut into the deck rather than the half round recess. This is how it would be mounted into a dash or on a flat surface.
magnetic
Most stainless I’ve found locally (a long way from salt water) has been stainless. I could have bought from an online marine dealer but brass has been fine for me. I’m not sure if the slightly magnetic stainless fasteners I found would be enough to cause a problem but I wasn’t willing to take the chance.
No I’m…
putting in the bottom of the ball, the ring thing(its attached to the ball), and then the top halg of the ball sticks up and then the plate over that. You can’t put the rings in first because they are attached to th ball.