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Glossary entry

French term or phrase:

puits de compas

English translation:

binnacle

Added to glossary by Jenny Duthie
Mar 19, 2008 11:07
16 yrs ago
1 viewer *
French term

puits de compas

French to English Other Ships, Sailing, Maritime
sorry folks it's me again; would this translate as "compass shaft", it is part of a scientific ship: there is a storm - here is the full text:

"Christophe vole au secours du capitaine dans la passerelle couverte d’éclats de verre et de photos Polaroid éparpillées. Il se cramponne aux pupitres et vient relever le capitaine pour l’aider à se cramponner à la barre du puits de compas."
Proposed translations (English)
3 +3 binnacle
3 +1 compass housing
2 +1 binnacle
1 compass well

Discussion

Michael GREEN Mar 19, 2008:
sorry Jenny - I posted by third comment before seeing yours. Thanks - glad you like binnacle :)
Michael GREEN Mar 19, 2008:
So my concluson is that this is an oldish vessel, without the mod cons Bourth mentions, and the compas probably was in a nice brass column (housing or binnacle) that the ship's boy had to polish when the ship wasn't being battered by giant waves.
Jenny Duthie (asker) Mar 19, 2008:
the date Hi Michael yes the film is set in 1987!! I like "binnacle" and will probably choose that!!
Michael GREEN Mar 19, 2008:
It occurs to me that since (1) we have Polaroid photos all over the deck and (2) this strange term "puits de compas" is used, this text may recount an incident that happened a good few years ago (who uses Polaroid these days ?).
Jack Dunwell Mar 19, 2008:
Apparently the Polaroids were to blame!
Michael GREEN Mar 19, 2008:
Sounds as though poor old Christophe caught a "vague scélérate" there ....

Proposed translations

+3
43 mins
Selected

binnacle

I'm not at all sure that this is the term one would use for a "puits de compas" (or "habitacle") on a large vessel- I wait to be corrected by more knowledgeable than I ...
Note from asker:
I liked compass housing too but after doing further research I decided this was the best term
Peer comment(s):
agree Jack Dunwell : it's really the same thing Michael! Protects and gives a stand/Swot I thought, Blind Pugh
3 mins
Thanks ! Sounds just what I need ..... ;)
agree Colin Rowe : Just beat me to it - I came back to my desk and found I had forgotten to hit Send! As far as Google is concerned, I was merely surprised to find not a single reference to the term...
1 hr
Thanks Colin : yes, lack of Ghits in this case is surprising - but it is not the sort of term that is likely to pop up very often, I suspect.
agree Graham macLachlan : I've hung on to a few binnacles in my time
4 hrs
:) Thanks Graham (hope you were clinging on to those binnacles for the right reasons, BTW)
Something went wrong...
4 KudoZ points awarded for this answer. Comment: "Thanks Michael! "
+1
42 mins

compass housing

supports and protects the compass
Peer comment(s):
agree Michael GREEN : Hi Jack - that sounds more likely than my suggestion !
2 mins
Thanks M, but I also agree with you!
Something went wrong...
+1
44 mins

binnacle

A binnacle is a column-like structure housing the compass (and possibly other navigation instruments) and is generally mounted in front of the helmsman (Wikipedia).

Could this fit your context? From the total absence of Ghits, "puits de compas" appears not to be a standard term.
Reference:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Binnacle

Peer comment(s):
agree Michael GREEN : I have to agree with your comment on ghits - but I am very wary of using Google as a yardstick in specialist fields ... :)
1 min
neutral Jack Dunwell : agree, milliseconds later than MG!
3 mins
Something went wrong...
2 hrs

compass well

Interestingly "puits de compas" gets no ghits (neither does "puits de boussole"), so I take it it is not a "genuine" term. However, I can well imagine that it might be the recess in which an instrument sits, so I would have no argument with "compass well" (which gets no relevant ghits either).

I don't know the layout of instruments on modern ships. In times gone by, when instruments were few and far between, the compass would indeed have been in a binnacle, a support structure on deck. These days though, with dozens of instruments to be consulted, are the not on a control panel/console arrangement, where some of them might be recessed into the bench top?

Housing would probably do just as ... well.

--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 3 hrs (2008-03-19 14:23:23 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------

Binnacle
http://www.texasmaritimemuseum.org/images/binnacle-wheel.jpg

Spot the compass!
http://www.panbo.com/JanieBridge.jpg
http://www.panbo.com/Smack_20bridge.jpg

It [magnetic compass] consists of a circular card, graduated with 360 degrees around the face; this card floats within a bowl containing compass fluid [hence "well"?]

Older Navy warships usually have two magnetic compasses. One located near the helmsman called the steering compass and a second located at a secondary conning station called the standard compass
navsci.berkeley.edu/ns12a/LESSONS/Lect%2009%20-%20Mag%20Compass.ppt
Peer comment(s):
neutral Michael GREEN : Not sure about compass well (I'm no expert where "big" boats are concerned, but I don't think I've heard the term); on the other hand, "housing" seems a good suggestion (see fourth's answer)
39 mins
neutral Jack Dunwell : Bourth, I think the compass WELL is what Dial sits in. (Dieppe magnetic azimuth c.1660, Nat Mar Mus Greenwich)see nmm.ac.UK
1 hr
Something went wrong...
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