SURVEYING YOUR OWN LAND

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A hundredth of a chain — about eight inches — is called a link . Old-timers also used a quarter-chain measure (16-1/2 feet), calling it a rod, pole, or perch.

I find that if I'm faced with a description written in bearings and chains when my equipment reads in azimuths and feet, my brain reels at the prospect of translating and tramping about at the same time. It's far better to translate all the degrees and distances on paper before you set out.

CONVERTING AN AZIMUTH TO A BEARING

The normal hand compass is marked off in azimuths . An azimuth is a direction — from 0° to 360° — measured clockwise from due north. Thus, north is 0°, east is 90°, south is 180°, and west is 270°.

Bearings start with the same 360° circle, but it is divided into quadrants of 90° each. On either side of due north are the NE and NW quadrants. Likewise on the south: SE and SW. Every direction reads as an angle to the east or west from north or south.

Sound confusing? Let's look at an example:

Azimuth

This angle, roughly southwest, has an azimuth reading of 230°.

Bearing

180° is due south, so 230° is due south plus 50° to the west. Thus 230° becomes "an angle from due south of 50° to the west" — or, in surveyor's shorthand, S50W.

Got it? Let's try another one. What's the bearing equivalent of azimuth 25°? If you said, "It's N25E" (an angle from due north of 25° to the east), you're ready to get out and start walking your boundary lines!

Finally, the Fieldwork

Now you can begin your scavenger hunt.

Step one: Always start from a known point. It must be something you can absolutely match with the written record. It may be a marker on your boundary, if someone has already made a positive ID of it. More likely, it will be a road crossing, a section corner, or even a neighbor's marker (garnered from that plat you unearthed in the public records). Don't trust ditch lines or fence corners, unless the record mentions them.

Step two: Measure off the course, direction, and distance exactly as the deed says. Flag the line with your ribbons as you go. Make sure that your flags all line up straight and in the right direction. (Your assistant can be a great help here.) Watch out for any iron or steel objects or anything carrying electric current while you walk — they can attract the compass needle and throw your readings off. If you come to a large obstruction, you can measure a line exactly parallel to your boundary line for a short distance until you get by the obstacle (Fig. 3).

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