Ritchie SP5 compass leakage

[Randy and Mary Davison]

My 11 year old Ritchie SP-5 compass leaked all it's mineral spirits last week.  This is a known fault resulting from a poor choice of sealing material at the base of the compass.  The topic was covered in the November 2002 tech notes but hasn't been mentioned since.

I bring it up for two reasons.  First, it seems most, if not all, of these compasses with the bad material will fail sooner or later.  The diaphragm at the bottom of my compass was completely rotten.  It would seem like a good idea to get the diaphragm replaced up front rather than have it happen on a long trip.  New owners of used boats might not be aware of the problem.

Second, the owner of the service company that's going to replace my diaphragm told me that Ritchie is trying to track down and repair these units because of the damage this fault is doing to their reputation.  The repairs are covered under a special extended warrantee.  I don't know how long this material was used or how Ritchie might respond to being asked to repair a "not yet failed" older unit but it might be worth checking out with them.  Perhaps someone on the board has discussed this with them already??

[Mike Smith]

Randy -

I would go directly to Ritchie and ask them.  You can contact them at: http://www.ritchienavigation.com

Mike

[Randy and Mary Davison]

Thanks Mike - don't need to.  My local service company offered the info and will fix my compass under the warrantee.  I just brought it up for those who might not be aware of the problem and to raise the possibility that Ritchie might be open to proactive, pre-failure repairs.  This as opposed to only offering the warrantee after failure and under duress.

[Ray & Sandy Erps]

Good advice Randy,

I'm going down to the boat this afternoon and plan on checking to see what model my compass is.  Do you have a phone # or email address for the local dealer you used?  I think I'll get the parts on hand and then if I procrastinate, at least I'll have them if it fails.

[Randy and Mary Davison]

Ray,

Here's the URL:  http://www.islandmarineinst.com/

Bill picks up and delivers at a number of local dealers as indicated on the web site.  I had the best luck calling his cell number.

[jentine]

Several years ago my Ritchie compass leaked just before vacation and the company sent me a new compass (at no charge) and I sent mine when I returned from vacation.  They were most friendly and helpful.  They can be found at:

Ritchie Navigation
243 Oak Street
Pembroke, MA 02359

Phone: 1-781-826-5131
Fax: 1-781-826-7336

or

http://www.ritchienavigation.com/index.html

Jim Kane

[Ron Hill]

Randy : I also sent mine back to Ritchie.  Give them a call first.  

[Randy and Mary Davison]

Thanks Ron.  The local authorized service center has already done the job with Ritchie picking up the cost.