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Well, let me tell ya somethin’ about this here Danforth Constellation Compass thingy. I ain’t no fancy sailor or nothin’, but I know a thing or two ’bout findin’ yer way, ya know? Like, when the rooster crows, it’s mornin’. When the sun goes down, it’s night. Simple as that.
Now, this compass, they say it’s for boats. Boats! Imagine that. Big ol’ things floatin’ on water. I ain’t never been on no boat bigger than my cousin Jeb’s fishin’ dinghy, and that thing barely floats with him in it, that big ol’ lump. But these fancy folks, they got boats with these compass thingamajigs tellin’ ’em which way is north and all that.
They call it a Constellation Compass. Sounds mighty highfalutin, don’t it? Reminds me of them sparkly stars up in the sky. My grandpappy used to point ’em out, tell me stories ’bout dippers and bears and such. But these compass stars ain’t the same, I reckon. These are inside a little box, with a needle that jiggles around. Someone told me these nautical compasses show you true north and magnetic north, which I think means there’s two norths, which is confusing. But I say, if there are two norths, which one do you follow? Makes my head spin just thinkin’ about it.
This Danforth fella, or maybe it’s a company, I ain’t sure, they been makin’ these compasses for a long time. Since 1947, they say. That’s a whole lotta years! Back then, things were simpler. If ya wanted to know which way to go, ya asked yer neighbor, or ya looked at the sun. Now, they got these fancy gadgets doin’ it all. They also make a bunch of other compasses too.
- They got names like Kelvin White and Wilfrid O. White. Sounds like a couple of city slickers to me.
- Then there’s Aquameter and Ritchie. More names I ain’t never heard of.
- And this Danforth, they part of somethin’ called ITT Industries. Big company, I guess. They got patents and all that fancy stuff.
I saw one of these compasses on that there interweb thingy, the eBay. Said it was a VINTAGE DANFORTH 6 CONSTELLATION COMPASS RARE. Rare, huh? Like a hen’s tooth, I bet. Folks was biddin’ on it, tryin’ to get the best deal. Free shippin’, too! Imagine that. Someone sendin’ you somethin’ all the way across the country, and ya don’t even gotta pay for the shippin’. The world’s a changin’, that’s for sure.
They also got somethin’ called a Danforth Express 5 Constellation Compass. Express, huh? Maybe it gets ya where yer goin’ faster? I don’t know. All this boat talk is makin’ me dizzy. I’d rather stick to my own two feet on solid ground, thank ya very much. But I reckon if you got a boat, and you don’t wanna get lost, one of these here compass thingamajigs might be just what ya need.
One fella said he was fixin’ up his boat’s control thing. That’s probably where these compasses go. Boats are too much work, in my opinion. This fella had to fix gauges, which to me sounds like a fancy word for dials, and the switches too. And he did it during the off season. I guess no one wants to be working on boats when it’s the right weather to be riding them.
Anyhow, that’s all I know ’bout these Danforth Constellation Compasses. If ya wanna know more, ya best ask someone who knows somethin’ ’bout boats. Me, I’m just an old woman who knows how to tell time by the sun and find my way home by the smell of grandma’s apple pie. And that’s all ya really need, ain’t it? A good sense of direction, and a pie waitin’ for ya at the end of the road.
Boat compasses are fine and dandy but for me, I don’t plan on using a compass anytime soon. My sense of direction is better than my sense of humor, which my husband always says is bad.
Tags: [Danforth Compass, Constellation Compass, Nautical Compass, Boat Navigation, Marine Compass, Kelvin White, Wilfrid O. White, Aquameter, Ritchie, ITT Industries, Vintage Compass, Rare Compass, eBay Compass, Express Compass]
