BINNACLE

Binnacle

A binnacle is a waist-high case or stand on the deck of a ship, generally mounted in front of the helmsman, in which navigational instruments are placed for easy and quick reference as well as to protect the delicate instruments. Its traditional purpose was to hold the ship's magnetic compass, mounted in gimbals to keep it level while the ship pitched and rolled. A binnacle may be subdivided into sections and its contents typically include one or more compasses and an oil lamp or other light source. Other devices such as a sand timer for estimating speed may have been stored in the binnacle as well.

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binnacle

Noun

  1. The wooden housing for a ship's compass, with its corrector magnets and illuminating arrangements; the log and other equipment for measuring the ship's speed is also stowed there.
  2. The instrument cluster on a car or motorcycle.


The above text is a snippet from Wiktionary: binnacle
and as such is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

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