Wholesale Nautical Decor - Solid Brass Engineers Compass with Rosewood Box 5"

Used by engineers on land as well as at sea, the engineer’s compass played an integral part in navigation, mapping, and correcting a ship’s compass. As exploration expanded and the Industrial Revolution began, further changes were needed aboard ships to ensure accurate travels. Although ship deviation had been a minor factor with wooden ships, with the introduction of steel and iron hulls it became a problem that could vastly sway a ship’s travels. The solid hulls of these ships could become magnetized, and even with an ideally placed compass above deck, often the magnetic force caused the marine compass to point in only one direction. The method of swinging a ship was devised, in which the ship was constantly pointed a slightly new direction, along its course, while bearings were compared to stationary celestial bodies in determining the correct reading. The rectangular method of compensation was also developed, in which additional magnets were placed around the nautical compass to correct deviation. While a ship was headed due North, lead by an engineer’s marine compass, magnets were placed for and aft until the primary marine compass pointed North. Following this, the ship was lead due East while magnets were placed athwartship to create a solid Easterly bearing, then small iron spheres were slowly moved outwardly away from the compass as the ship was lead Northeast. Finally a vertical magnet was placed below the axis of these marine compasses to negate the affect of a ship’s roll, resulting in a compass that was as balanced as physically possible.