question for the oldies - Walker Log

In wave action, the upper part of the wave is moving with the direction of travel and the bottom part backwards. As a result the sea surface is effectively moving with the waves, the bigger the waves the more movement. You would therefore expect lower speed/distance readings when going downwind in waves.

I acquired a Wasp log with one boat I owned and it is still sitting in a box ready to go in the socket on the pushpit when the electronics pack up. It's been waiting 12 years so far.
 
log

Looking through my old log-books, I find I once compared a Walkers with the taut-wire measuring gear we used for surveying. This was over about 400 miles while steaming between Minikoi and Colombo.
The Walkers over-read by 200 yards.
In a yacht, that would be a pretty good navigating margin.
Have faith!
 
capnsensible said:
I got one. Used it on a transatlantic a couple of years ago. And Im not really that old.
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We tend to forget.

I was re-reading the account of Assent in the 1979 Fastnet race. They were navigating by DR, so quite a feat to even find the Fastnet.

The crew admitted later that they would have been alarmed by the windspeed but as they had no wind instruments they were in happy ignorance. The scale of the disaster was also unknown to them as they had no VHF.
 
sorry a bit of thread drift . There is obviously a knack of Launching and recovery of the" line " as a great tangle would ensue if it was just let it out over the stern and recovered whilst still spinning. Ànyone know the correct procedure ?
 
As a 1960 Deck Boy in one of Federal Steams cargo ships out of London, sometimes I would get sent aft with the Apprentice to hand the log. We would haul it aboard, unclip the line from the back of the register and pay the inboard end of the line out to trail astern to de-kink it. (basically you end for end it). Then haul it in, coil the line down and then hang it up to dry.
 
clyst said:
sorry a bit of thread drift . There is obviously a knack of Launching and recovery of the" line " as a great tangle would ensue if it was just let it out over the stern and recovered whilst still spinning. Ànyone know the correct procedure ?
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grab the line firmly and unclip it from the log unit. Feed the clip end of the line over the stern while hauling in the spinner. One the spinner is in your hand, haul in the line back to the clip coiling as you do.
 
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Walker Log

I decided to purchase a walker log as a back up to the Raymarine paddle wheel which is often fouled when I take the boat out.(and I hate that messy cleaning ritual)

There are several versions of the “Knotmaster” - taffrail mount, yoke mount, with analogue speed indicator, etc., but probably the most common is the taffrail mount Mk 111A KDO. That is the one in the picture.
We have both the KDO and KDS models (see Sgeir's post), because I had not discovered the KDS version until after I had purchased my first KDO. You could probably describe me as a collector of such items although swmbo has harsher words. We have 4 walker logs, including a mint one:)
There are usually a few on eBay, which is where we have purchased two of ours. In fact one went two nights ago for £89, which was the KDS model with the speed indicator.

Accuracy? Very good. Last time out on an offshore trip of 50 miles or so in mod/rough weather the difference between gps distance run and the Walker was less than half a mile, with an insignificant current.

The Walker log being a mechanical device (lots of gear wheels according to the drawings) so it’s accuracy assuming it has been properly maintained, is dependent on the input from the spinner/rope . The spinner should be in good condition with no bent or damaged blades, and the rope length as stated in the instructions, for the expected speed of the vessel.

Cheers,

Michael.
 
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