Tide Clocks

[bitbaltic]

Can you set them for a home port or are they set to high water Dover?

Ou can set them for anything you want, it’s just a movement with a rotary wheel on the mechanism to set it.

We’ve got one (a weems and Plath)- bought it as part of a set of three with barometer and thermometer mostly to cover up a bunch of screw holes from previous clocks fitted to the bulkhead by previous owners. I like it well enough, in the Bristol Channel tides are symmetrical and it’s no bother to adjust it to wherever you are. But the mechanism is failing and needs replacing (the ordinary clock runs slow with any new battery) and with navionics tides on the iPhone I do t use it (or the almanac) on any regular basis.

I still entertain fantasies of long passages noting barometer pressure and temperature to forewarn myself of winds in the classical manner. That’s why the instruments are still there (and, of course, the increasing problem of a multitude of ugly holes in the bulkhead should they be removed).

 

[WindyWindyWindy]

.

 

[jbweston]

I think it's OK if you want something pretty for the wall or the bulkhead, but it's about as useful as the stone hanging on a piece of string outside the pub is for weather forecasting - 'If the stone's wet, it's raining. If you can't see it or the string it's foggy. Etc.

For useful, accurate tidal information, stick to Reeds, or one if the excellent phone tidal apps. A phone app like Absolute Tides with its elegant and useful graphs might appeal to your children more than a clock too.

 

[LiftyK]

If you sail in an area with an asymmetrical tide curve it won't be any use. Like the old "rule of twelfths" the machine assumes a symmetrical curve.

I did search for and found a tide clock for the unusual Solent tides. I gave it to a friend upon his retirement. I've no feedback on its accuracy.

 

[Sandy]

You can set them to anything you want - its just a dial with one hand that takes 12h25m to to a full rotation. High tide is usually at the top and low tide at the bottom. Useful for a total amateur to know if the tide is on its way in or out, or how long until the next high / low water but not much of a planning tool.

So, pretty rubbish for doing secondary port calculations.

 

[dunedin]

I've got a tide indicator on my boat watch. Basically, it tells me very approximately what state the tide will be in when I get to the boat. It only has about 5 divisions, but that's about the accuracy you can expect. It is also only correct(ish) for the place you set it for. Lunitidal intervals are usually only given to the nearest half hour, and as stated by @James_Calvert, it varies through the month. If you want accuracy, use tide tables or a tide app; tide clocks are for very rough preliminary planning.

I used to have that on my watch but found it useless.

But I do have a “widget” (Absolute Tides) on the Home Screen of my phone which instantly shows the official UKHO tide height and times of whatever I have chosen as the nearest tide port. Massively more useful.
One tap and shows the times for each day or the curve for today.

PS Stopped carrying any paper tide tables or almanac, as multiple ways of getting tides much quicker and faster - and worst case estimate forward for a few days based on previous day.

 

[Saint Lawrence Seaway]

Tide clocks have nothing to do with boats. They're for people who live on the coast and want to know the rough state of the tide when they're taking the dog out for a walk on the beach. If you live on the Solent, leave a bloody great magnet next to it.

 

[Sandy]

If you live on the Solent, leave a bloody great magnet next to it.

Is the Solent now magnetic?