Walker logs

[Sundowner 39]

Hi all
I have a walker log tip top condition .....I have had it 25 years and never used it!
So here is the question as I am sailing further these days and with all the talk of GPS outage do I keep it....does anybody use them? Or is it just more weight.

Cheers all.

 

[Ariadne]

I carried mine around for 8 years and it never got wet or came out of the box either, but it was a waste of limited and valuable storage space.

I sold it on to a Luddite who still did traditional navigation using blank charts, DR ,EPs, a cheap watch, tons of books and a very dodgy sextant!

 

[GHA]

I have one which gets used occasionally to check the calibration of the log before an ocean passage.

 

[phanakapan]

We have one that came with the boat- used it once approaching Australia; we usually rely on our plotter/gps because the log is pretty useless at the best of times but even more so after an ocean crossing has gummed it up, we seemed to have a very strong current against us and just wanted to check it out. Quite good fun really. Lives in the bilges with the £20 plastic sextant and the lead line. Feeds my fantasy of being a 'real' sailor. Have used the lead line quite a bit, double checking the depth gauge, and when we accidentally cut the wire to it.....

 

[sunshinesailing]

I have a Walker log that has been in my family from the time it was manufactured. My Grandfather towed it from Boston to San Francisco, my Father and I towed it from Victoria to Hawaii and return. It sits on a shelf in the main salon next to my old sextant. Great keepsakes, you never can tell I may have to use them again. If I do I am sure with a little practice I will get it right. I remember after one particularly stormy night in the Pacific that after reading the log at the stern we had forgotten the reading by the time we got to the chart table.

 

[oldvarnish]

I sold it on to a Luddite who still did traditional navigation

I sincerely hope that phrase won't come back to haunt you

 

[laika]

So here's me actually trying to find a decent trailing log: After 3 years I still haven't come up with the algorithm to judge how far out my through-hull electronic one is on each tack and each point of sail. They seem to be rather pricey on ebay and with no guarantee you'll get the fittings with them.

Does anyone make new trailing logs? And are there any manufacturers other than walker who made decent yacht-sized ones in the past?

 

[BrianH]

I used my Walker Excelsior IV log for decades until acquiring an early Trimble GPS in the 1980s. From then on it just took up valuable storage space aboard and eventually gravitated to cellar space at home. Having seen the prices they now reach as antiques I shall have to root it out again ... or should I listen to the doom-mongers here about GPS blackouts and bring it back aboard again? It's similar to the one below but much more used (scruffy) and sans box.

 

[RupertW]

Used one all the time pre-1993 when we got our first (Magellan) GPS as in hull logs were useless. They still are.

 

[VO5]

They are marvellous bits of kit these Walker trailing logs. Proper seagoing kit. No proper yacht ought not to have one included in the Ship's inventory.
They are quite accurate too. It is surprising how a few inches added to or subtracted from the line will affect the consistent accuracy of the reading.
The sinker has a grub screw in it to secure it. You must ensure the line is not damaged at this point otherwise you can lose the fish.
The fish ought to be painted black I have always been told. It is supposed to deter big fish mistaking it as bait but I have never heard of one taken.
I have done about 13,000 miles with mine over the years and apart from oiling the bearings, never any bother.

By the way...There is a Titanic Exhibition in the USA somewhere...

The log display was recovered from the seabed....also Walkers...dial identical and hands identical to the Mark 111 versions (small ones for yachts)...gives one the shivers...

 

[sailorgirl]

Friends in Scotland use one all the time and at some point during each race in WHYW when I sailed with them a couple of years ago someone would shout across "you're trailing a line" to which we would reply "yes we know" much to bafflement of the other boat. Great bit of kit and I'd love to own one despite having a working through hull log on my own boat.

 

[Gumpy]

Sadly or not I have a brand new unused one in my living room.
We bought it to use but it was far to good to get wet so it now sits in the house and will never get used as we no longer have a sea going boat.

 

[emandvee44]

Walker Logs

I have just completed a re-furbishment project on a KDS model which a friend gave to me as he did not want it on his boat.
It also has an analogue speed indicator which I tried yesterday.
The accuracy was amazing as you can see from the pics. Yes I know it is compared with sog, but there was no discernible current (checked that on all the fishing pot markers - and the paddle wheel log needs cleaning & calibrating!
I found that the speed was more accurate when the log was streamed from the leeward side.

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