Providing Navigation Expertise to Midwest & Great Lakes Mariners Since 1985

Compass Repair & Adjusting  |  Sailmaking Palms  |  Leather Wheel Covers

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The Great Lakes Premier Source for Compass Care

For over 40 years, GLC has been the Great Lakes prime source of advice for compass care. We are experts in coastal and celestial navigation. Great Lakes Compass provides trusted advice about mariners most important navigation instrument. A proper compass raises navigation confidence and assures the safety of vessel and crew. Great Lakes Compass can help.

We offer compass repair, compass adjusting, sailmaking palms, leather covers for SS wheels, and other maritime specialty services.

Our Services

"Trust this," said Tom (Black), "but nothing else." He meant the compass. "Instruments can go wrong." he said.... "But don't mistrust the compass – your judgement will never be more accurate than that needle. It will tell you where you ought to be going and the rest is up to you."
--- Beryl Markham, West With the Night, 1942

Tom Black was Beryl Markham's flight instructor. In 1936, Markham was the first to fly solo across the Atlantic east to west.


Compass work Compass repair Maritime compass Compass adjusting Sailmaking Navigation instruments Compass service Maritime service Compass work detail Navigation expertise
Bob Peterson – Great Lakes Compass
About Us

A Legacy of Compass Expertise

Great Lakes Compass started in 1985 when Bob Peterson purchased the compass business from Charles "Red" Bjurstrom of Elmwood Park. "Red" provided 20 years of service, and he followed Capt Don K. McRae who was the compass adjuster for Chicago for 25 years. Great Lakes Compass continues an unbroken chain of compass service reaching back over 80 years.

Bob Peterson is a professional sailor who has traveled globally including to the equator aboard the R/V Polarstern. His specialized services include sailmaking, rigging, marine carpentry, and more.

Bob is also a Celestial Navigation Teacher for the Adler Planetarium in Chicago, a former IMS measurer for US Sailing, a Naval Architecture & Aerospace Engineer, and Physics Professor at the Fermilab Education office. Bob also was the co-author of Sailing Yacht Capsize with Karl Kirkman and Olin Stephens.

Institute of Navigation American Meteorological Society SNAME
Past Clients

Trusted by Vessels Across the Great Lakes & Beyond

Bob's work is sought after and hard to come across. Some consider it a dying art with his skills being ever-hard to find.

Clients include: S/V Bacchant, M/V Canim, R/V Polarstern, R/V Lake Guardian, S/V Brig Niagara, S/V Denis Sullivan, S/V Amoco Procyon, Great Lakes Towing Tugs, S/V Pied Piper, US Coast Guard RMB, Christian Island Ferry, EPA Lake Explorer II, the Tug Buckley, alongside dozens of other vessels like Mack Racers, Workboats, Tugboats, USCG Stations, and various boatyard yachts.

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S/V Bacchant M/V Canim R/V Polarstern R/V Lake Guardian S/V Brig Niagara S/V Denis Sullivan S/V Amoco Procyon Great Lakes Towing Tugs S/V Pied Piper US Coast Guard RBM Christian Island Ferry EPA Lake Explorer II Tug Buckley
What We Do

Our Services

Compass Repair

Compass Repair

GLC repairs every compass make and model worldwide — Ritchie, Danforth, Kelvin-White, Aqua-Meter, Suunto, Silva, Plastimo, C Plath, Sestrel. We handle crazed/cracked domes and leaking/bubbles that need immediate attention.

Remember, not all compasses are worth repairing; best to call ahead to discuss to avoid needless shipping. Some smaller compasses are better replaced. All estimates and advice are free.

Compass Adjusting

Compass Adjusting

GLC uses two methods: sun pelorus and gyrocompass. It is important to check your compass every 2–3 years. Unadjusted compasses may have deviations as high as 20–30 degrees and are not to be trusted.

Electronic flux-gate compasses also need verification. Self-adjusting features are unreliable in the north latitudes of Great Lakes and Midwest. Adjustments must happen on the water and underway; requires a low seastate and sunshine. Your compass must be in good working order — your life may depend on it!

Sailmaking Palms

Sailmaking Palms

I craft custom made sailmaking palms to fit your hand size from water buffalo rawhide. There are two versions (seaming and roping). My design is based on a palm made for me in 1972 by Stan at Ulmer Sails in Annapolis, refined through decades of experience learning from Master Sailmaker Allen MacKenzie — whose craft traced back to John MacKenzie & Sons on the Clyde River in Scotland.

All sailmaking palms require your glove size, hand circumference, and hand outline which we'll coordinate on when we start. Use it often and it will shape perfectly to your hand.

Leather Wheel Covers

Leather Wheel Covers

All the leather wheel covers I make are hand-stitched with chrome tan split leather and centerline marks by a "turks head" knot.

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