I used the flush-mount Aquameter Skipper on my Guillemot 18. I found one for $26 at Cyber-marine.com--it's a great compass.

Mine is permanently mounted, but I'm a geek and like to practice chart-n-compass exercises every time I'm out. Mine sits about 1/2" lower with a deck recess stripped to hold the compass--the deck recess was similar to the one found on commercial Eddyline kayaks. It would be tougher to cover a recess like that if you wanted a removable compass.

A very elegant solution. That would work great to cover a mast step or flush-mounted fishing rod holder, as well. You should go into the business! Oh wait...

Shawn

: I had a request to install a compass on the kayak I am currently building.
: However, it needed to be as low as possible without recessing the whole
: thing into the deck and it should have as small of a footprint as possile.
: Also, because a compass won't be needed for 95% of the paddling that he is
: going to do, it should be removable. I decided to use a removable Skipper
: (Aquameter) but unfortunately the mounting base for this particular model
: sits almost an inch high and has a really lousy release tab that is a bear
: to operate. I discarded the base and fashioned a bayonet style latch from
: the existing housing. This secures to a stainless steel rod threaded
: through a fiberglass "CUP" built to the same radius as the
: mounting base that came with the compass. The "CUP" is recessed
: into the deck about one inch.
: The plug that I cut from the deck can be returned to it's original position
: when the compass isn't being used - effectively eliminating the unsightly
: hole that would otherwise be there. This was quite a bit of work to gain
: one lousy inch of clearance but it was fun nonetheless.
: Joe