My Compass started to leak. Called Ritchie just to understand the model #. Some letters after the model I didn't understand as I was going to replace it . They are sending me a new one no charge. Not bad after 9 years .
Rob
Rob
Ritchie Compass's
- Thread starter Robski97
- Start date
Sounds to me like Rob had a darn good generous response 4 years out of warranty from Ritchie, a very well-known major supplier of marine compasses to fit various budgets and desired applications.
Not sure I can quite ken the somewhat carping responses here. Would any of the negative responders really feel bad about Ritchie if this was your compass and they stood behind their product way-y-y beyond their legal obligation to help you with your difficulty and potentially boost their good will?
But maybe I'm missing something here?
Disclaimer- I have at least one Ritche binnacle compass onboard which has performed flawlessly for 27 yrs so far.
Not sure I can quite ken the somewhat carping responses here. Would any of the negative responders really feel bad about Ritchie if this was your compass and they stood behind their product way-y-y beyond their legal obligation to help you with your difficulty and potentially boost their good will?
But maybe I'm missing something here?
Disclaimer- I have at least one Ritche binnacle compass onboard which has performed flawlessly for 27 yrs so far.
My Ritchie compass started to leak after 16 years. Ordered a seal kit from Ritchie for under $15.00 and repaired it myself in less than 20 minutes. Now it's good as new. By the way, repair companies wanted $250.00 to $300.00 to repair.
- Joined
- Jan 1, 2000
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Most likely because the compass repair guys aren't in the business of just throwing new seals in, topping her off and calling it good (and I'm not saying that isn't all your average compass on a recreational boat needs. That's as far as I'd take it, too!) When they service a compass, their practice is probably to completely service it and ensure it is up to high standards - the fluid, the card, the jeweled pivots, the magnets, the adjustments, the threaded rods for BICs clean and free of corrosion, deviation within a couple degrees on all cardinals and inter cardinals, and a deviation table plotted, with all points either determined by observation or interpolated after observing at least 8 headings.
Ritchie is odd - their customer service seems to be excellent, but some of their replacement part prices have ridiculous retail prices. Replacement hood for an 8" compass - almost $250 last time I needed one! (Went for a dive and recovered it along with all kinds of other stuff found under the dock instead)
I'm sure you're right about a complete overhaul but all I can say is it appears that all my compass needed was a seal kit. It has been 3 seasons now, no leaks and spot on in all directions. Also it appears this is a very common problem in cold climates and that is why Richie parts told me to do this myself and sold me the kit.
- Joined
- Jan 1, 2000
- RO Number
- 824
- Messages
- 2,406
Yep, I'd have probably done the same thing as you!