Sailing Compasses for Dinghy Racing

A Simple Guide to Choosing Sailing Compasses
List of Sailing Compasses for Dinghy Sailors
Books with Information on Using Sailing Compasses

Guide to Choosing Sailing Compasses

Choosing a sailing compass can be tricky if you haven’t used one before. It is difficult to be sure what style will suit you best, and what features will be most useful for your class.

That said, it actually isn’t something to get too hung up about. Most of the sailing compasses listed below will suit anyone with a little practice and a good basic understanding of how to use them. The most important thing when choosing between the sailing compasses on offer is to understand the features they have and how these suit your needs.

Here are some of the features to look out for:

A tactical scale – All of the analogue sailing compasses listed here have a tactical scale. It is so much easier to use a compass for tactical reasons if you are working off a simple scale rather than the 360°. Other similar compasses might be cheaper, but if you’re going for an analogue compass then a tactical scale is pretty essential.

Class legality – Your compass must be class legal, or you’re wasting your money. Check out which compasses are allowed, and have a look at what sailing compasses the guys at the front of the fleet are using.

Weight – It is easy to overplay the importance of weight. a few grams here or there are unlikely to cost most sailors positions unless you’re sailing at the highest level. In an ideal world you’d get the lightest compass with the least windage, but don’t over-think it – it shouldn’t be a deal breaker, but it could be a factor that tips you more one way than the other.

List of Sailing Compasses for Dinghy Sailors

Raymarine T060 Micro Compass

This is a hugely popular sailing compass, and you’ll see it widely used by dinghy sailors in a number of fleets. Light, compact and simple to use it is ideal for most sailors and, as it doesn’t have lots of tactical extras, it is class legal for most dinghies.

Buy Now

United States

UK & Ireland

Nautalytics Simple Compass Laser Set

A superb compass for Laser sailors. Lightweight and easy to use, this compass has a couple of extra features that make it well worth considering. The display panel has AWV (All Weather Vision), meaning that it is designed to be easy to read even when wearing polarized sunglasses – an incredibly useful feature for dinghy sailors.

It also has a small solar cell for battery back-up, keeping it topped up with power so it won’t run out of battery when you need it most.

A really useful bit of kit for Laser racers.

Buy Now

United States

UK & Ireland

Velocitek Shift Tactical Compass

A very clever piece of kit, the Velocitek Shift tactical compass makes picking shifts a whole lot easier. The large numbers appear in high contrast, making them easily legible even when wearing polarized sunglasses, whilst the large buttons mean it is easy to use even when the breeze is up.

Even though it doesn’t use GPS technology, you need to check the most recent class rules if you’re sailing a strict one design as the shift detection technology may not be allowed. The compass does come with a static-cling label to cover the wind-shift indicator, but if you are intending to sail in major championships it is essential that you check you are allowed to use this compass.

Buy Now

United States

UK & Ireland

Velocitek Prism Ultralight Racing Compass

Features include:

Large digits – The display features large numbers in an easy-to-read font that is sunlight-readable.
Wide Viewing Angle – the prism design means that the compass can be read easily when hiking out
Flexible and Secure Mounting – mount it to your boat or the mast with a range of flexible fittings
Class legal – legal in a wide range of dinghy classes, including some of the strictest.
Solar Powered – Battery powered with solar charging
Waterproof

Find out more here

CarbonParts Laser Compass

Designed in conjunction with multiple-Olympian Phillip Buhl, the CarbonPArts LAser compass is lightweight and small. It features a clever variation on the tactical scale, utilising a multicolour system to make it even easier to remember your numbers, helping you to spot shifts quickly, accurately and easily.

Find out more here.

Carbon Parts Opti Compass

Class legal and developed specifically with Optimist sailors in mind (and in conjunction with the Norwegian Optimist team), this is ideal for competitive racers.

Find out more here.

Nautos Iris 100 Tactical Compass by Plastimo

I used an earlier version of this as an Optimist sailor, and it is a very useful little sailing compass. Using a simple click-bracket it can be moved from boat to boat very easily. It is small and relatively lightweight, making it ideal for small dinghies, and the price is great when compared with other tactical compasses.

Ideal for small dinghies or as a first tactical compass.

Buy Now

United States

UK & Ireland

Ritchie Compass X-Port Tactician Compass (Xp-98W)

Relatively cheap compared to other tactical compasses, the online reviews of this are pretty good. I have no experience with this compass, but it has all the basic features that you might want from a tactical compass.

Buy Now

United States

UK & Ireland

Nexus Garmin (Silva) Racing Elite Sailing Compass

This is an excellent compass for dinghies, and you see a lot of Laser sailors use it. The tactical scale makes it very easy to use, and I personally have had one for years without any issues at all. A very safe bet if you’re unsure what to go for.