Current Exhibits
Binnacle
| The binnacle, known before the 18th century as a bittacle, is a case housing the compass (and later a light for night reading) located on the deck of a ship. The plaque on the base of the binnacle located in the Naval Heritage Center reads: A ship’s compass is mounted inside a binnacle, a weather-proof housing. The two large, metal balls on either side of the housing compensate for the magnetic variation caused by a steel-hulled ship. Moving the balls nearer and farther from the compass allows technicians to negate the effect of the ship’s magnetic field and keeps the compass arrow pointing towards the magnetic north pole.
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