Ritchie engineering has been critical to the development of the modern marine compass for nearly 170 years. From the first liquid dampened compass. To today’s advanced PowerDamp® dial designs. And including our Voyager and Navigator compasses with Wheelmark® certifications from the EU MED.

With an average of 14 years of experience, Ritchie craftsmen still put every ounce of their energy into ongoing research and design — along with rigid evaluation of vendors, materials and performance — and continuous product improvement. One result is the Multiple Compass Filling Station designed by our engineers and manufactured by expert Ritchie inhouse machinists.

A pre-calibrated marine compass:
For any corner of the globe.

The expertise of our highly trained technicians is still a crucial factor in our day-to-day operations. Every Ritchie compass is hand-balanced before parts are placed into the compass bowl, to optimize performance and accuracy. Using a specialized Helmholtz coil machine, our technicians also set the
magnetic field of each compass to match the part of the world where it will be employed.

Correcting for environmental deviation:
With built-in compensation features.

Today, sophisticated algorithms and specialized instrumentation enable the continued development of extremely accurate compasses with minimal deviation characteristics. Most of the compasses in the Ritchie portfolio have built-in compensators that correct at the cardinal points. Many also include intercardinal correctors on the 45s.

These intrinsic compensation features are used to correct for factors that cause a discrepancy between readings for magnetic north and true north headings. These factors include general magnetic interference, the presence of other magnets and/or ferrous metals, common carrying devices, and the idiosyncracies of steel-hulled boats.