walker log

[Jody Kaplan]

If anyone would like a useable compact Walker log in great shape, let me Know. Jody K (Cygnus)



jody_kaplan@hotmail.com

[D. Stump, Hanalei]

Jody,

Ya got me, what is a walker log? Is it a portable knot log?

Dave Stump
Captain Commanding
s/v Hanalei CD-30

[John Vigor]

Captain Stump, sir, I am amazed that you don't know the Walker Log. It's a taffrail log, driven by a propeller attached to a long line that drags in your wake.

The turning line drives a set of gears in a smart housing that give you a very accurate reading of distance run.

Unfortunately, the Walker has two faults. Sharks love to eat the propellers for breakfast (I've lost two that way) and weed in the ocean will clog the prop and its line.

The great art of working with a Walker log lies in getting the propeller aboard while it's spinning and turning the line you're handling into a great, snarled bird's nest. There is a way. If you've ever handled a Walker, you'll know it.

GPS has rendered the Walker quite obsolete, of course, but they come up from time to time in marine consignment and antique stores.

John Vigor
CD25D "Jabula"



jvigor@qwest.net

[Jody Kaplan]

Jody,

Ya got me, what is a walker log? Is it a portable knot log?

Dave Stump
Captain Commanding
s/v Hanalei CD-30

Dave, it shows speed, distance run . The gps I suppose could be interpreted as making quite a few instruments somewhat obsolete. Take Care Jody K -Cygnus



jody_kaplan@hotmail.com

[D. Stump, Hanalei]

John,

I thought it was something like that, but being of the old school, I save every cork that is pulled out of a bottle of wine on Hanalei to be used for calculating speed through the water.

I know the length of Hanalei, so, I take cork, walk to bow pulpit, throw cork to starboard(lee side) an appropriate distance so that it lands outside of the bow wave(remember to release said cork, although your vessels speed through the water can be calculated using your bobbing head as a reference, it is REALLY bad form for the Captain to fall overboard!), start stop watch or start counting off seconds, stop stop watch or stop counting when cork bobs past the stern, and using time and distance(nautical mile), calculate speed in knots. Try it, it works like a charm. Of course, it is a little difficult to do in the Roaring Forties or in any significant wind!(if the cork blows away, throw a reef in her, you are overpowered!). See a proper Captain doesn't really need all those high falluten electronic gadjets!!! (Wait 'till Larry DeMers gets a load of this!!!)

Uh, don't use artificial corks, first, they are TOUGH to get out of the darned bottle(has anyone else had this problem?), and they can and will destroy your corkscrew(at sea, a major maritime disaster!)and the use of them causes the destruction of many plastic soda bottles that could have been reused! Also, simply breaking the neck off of a wine bottle with a winch handle lacks a little class! And, the Coast Guard has a real hard spot about dumping plastic at sea!!

Geeze, am I glad Hanalei is back in the water! The cabin has been filling up with corks all winter!!! I remain your most humble servant........

Dave Stump
Captain Commanding
s/v Hanalei

[Don F]

Dave,
A fine traditional nav device. You could also lay a "popcorn trail" to find your way home.

Don Frazier
S/V Slow Dance

John,

I thought it was something like that, but being of the old school, I save every cork that is pulled out of a bottle of wine on Hanalei to be used for calculating speed through the water.

I know the length of Hanalei, so, I take cork, walk to bow pulpit, throw cork to starboard(lee side) an appropriate distance so that it lands outside of the bow wave(remember to release said cork, although your vessels speed through the water can be calculated using your bobbing head as a reference, it is REALLY bad form for the Captain to fall overboard!), start stop watch or start counting off seconds, stop stop watch or stop counting when cork bobs past the stern, and using time and distance(nautical mile), calculate speed in knots. Try it, it works like a charm. Of course, it is a little difficult to do in the Roaring Forties or in any significant wind!(if the cork blows away, throw a reef in her, you are overpowered!). See a proper Captain doesn't really need all those high falluten electronic gadjets!!! (Wait 'till Larry DeMers gets a load of this!!!)

Uh, don't use artificial corks, first, they are TOUGH to get out of the darned bottle(has anyone else had this problem?), and they can and will destroy your corkscrew(at sea, a major maritime disaster!)and the use of them causes the destruction of many plastic soda bottles that could have been reused! Also, simply breaking the neck off of a wine bottle with a winch handle lacks a little class! And, the Coast Guard has a real hard spot about dumping plastic at sea!!

Geeze, am I glad Hanalei is back in the water! The cabin has been filling up with corks all winter!!! I remain your most humble servant........

Dave Stump
Captain Commanding
s/v Hanalei

frazier@midcoast.com

[Warren Kaplan]

Dave,
You really must take the buoyancy of the cork into consideration when making your final calculations. A less buoyant cork may be subject to windage and therefore produce an error in your final speed. It is well known that a white wine cork is more buoyant than a red wine cork, and that within the red wines Beaujolais is less heavy than merlot or the finer cabernets. We won't split hairs about the vintage. White wine corks go over the side to starboard, and red wine corks to port. I have often found it necessary to consume a bottle of wine in order to produce the instrument to throw overboard. I have to tell you the importance of the speed calculation dwindles as the amount of wine left in the bottle also dwindles. I've considered uncorking the bottle and not drinking the wine just for the sake of obtaining the cork. But then, what would I do with the wine!
Warren
S/V Sine Qua Non



Setsail728@aol.com

[John Vigor]

Warren, you are absolutely right about taking the buoyancy of the cork into consideration. I have found corks from Portuguese Mateus Rosé rather dull and heavy, and very likely to give you a pessimistic speed reading. But I once tried a champagne cork (Brut, naturally) and was so delighted with the increase in speed that I had to have two more bottles, and was embarking upon another when my wife, noticing my speed wobble, put her foot down with a firm hand and confiscated my supply.

It's always been surprising to me that in the old days they counted speed by the number of knots in a line, when they could have counted it by the speed of a cork. How much more interesting it would be if we could talk of our boats beating at 10 corks in a 20-cork wind.

You have probably noticed that beer drinkers never know what speed they're doing, not only (I suspect) because they don't have corks, but also because they lack the wine connoisseur's finer reasoning powers.

Gaudeamus, igitur, naves dum sumus.

John Vigor
CD25D "Jabula"

Dave,
You really must take the buoyancy of the cork into consideration when making your final calculations. A less buoyant cork may be subject to windage and therefore produce an error in your final speed. It is well known that a white wine cork is more buoyant than a red wine cork, and that within the red wines Beaujolais is less heavy than merlot or the finer cabernets. We won't split hairs about the vintage. White wine corks go over the side to starboard, and red wine corks to port. I have often found it necessary to consume a bottle of wine in order to produce the instrument to throw overboard. I have to tell you the importance of the speed calculation dwindles as the amount of wine left in the bottle also dwindles. I've considered uncorking the bottle and not drinking the wine just for the sake of obtaining the cork. But then, what would I do with the wine!
Warren
S/V Sine Qua Non

jvigor@qwest.net

[Warren Kaplan]

Warren, you are absolutely right about taking the buoyancy of the cork into consideration. I have found corks from Portuguese Mateus Rosé rather dull and heavy, and very likely to give you a pessimistic speed reading. But I once tried a champagne cork (Brut, naturally) and was so delighted with the increase in speed that I had to have two more bottles, and was embarking upon another when my wife, noticing my speed wobble, put her foot down with a firm hand and confiscated my supply.

It's always been surprising to me that in the old days they counted speed by the number of knots in a line, when they could have counted it by the speed of a cork. How much more interesting it would be if we could talk of our boats beating at 10 corks in a 20-cork wind.

You have probably noticed that beer drinkers never know what speed they're doing, not only (I suspect) because they don't have corks, but also because they lack the wine connoisseur's finer reasoning powers.

Gaudeamus, igitur, naves dum sumus.

John Vigor
CD25D "Jabula"

Dave,
You really must take the buoyancy of the cork into consideration when making your final calculations. A less buoyant cork may be subject to windage and therefore produce an error in your final speed. It is well known that a white wine cork is more buoyant than a red wine cork, and that within the red wines Beaujolais is less heavy than merlot or the finer cabernets. We won't split hairs about the vintage. White wine corks go over the side to starboard, and red wine corks to port. I have often found it necessary to consume a bottle of wine in order to produce the instrument to throw overboard. I have to tell you the importance of the speed calculation dwindles as the amount of wine left in the bottle also dwindles. I've considered uncorking the bottle and not drinking the wine just for the sake of obtaining the cork. But then, what would I do with the wine!
Warren
S/V Sine Qua Non

John,
I'm sure you've also noticed that the first reading from the first cork thrown overboard is usually the most accurate especially when using my protocol. Some of the error in succeeding trials is due to the fact that this helmsman has a difficult time holding course on which the crucial measurement is based. Further imbibition (in the name of accurate seamanship of course)has produced negative results (as far as measuring speed anyway). I've decided to offer a small libation to the gods of the sea in an effort to improve accuracy. From now on I'll not consume all the wine myself but rather pour a little over the side for old Neptune and Poseidon.



Setsail728@aol.com

[Ken Coit]

It seems to me that Neptune would appreciate the bottle more than the cork. Further, the windage will be much less than a cork or plastic substitute and you will be rewarded with much more accurate readings. Of course, if you put a message in the bottle and reseat the cork, someone else may also get to enjoy you imbibations as well.

Warren, you are absolutely right about taking the buoyancy of the cork into consideration. I have found corks from Portuguese Mateus Rosé rather dull and heavy, and very likely to give you a pessimistic speed reading. But I once tried a champagne cork (Brut, naturally) and was so delighted with the increase in speed that I had to have two more bottles, and was embarking upon another when my wife, noticing my speed wobble, put her foot down with a firm hand and confiscated my supply.

It's always been surprising to me that in the old days they counted speed by the number of knots in a line, when they could have counted it by the speed of a cork. How much more interesting it would be if we could talk of our boats beating at 10 corks in a 20-cork wind.

You have probably noticed that beer drinkers never know what speed they're doing, not only (I suspect) because they don't have corks, but also because they lack the wine connoisseur's finer reasoning powers.

Gaudeamus, igitur, naves dum sumus.

John Vigor
CD25D "Jabula"

Dave,
You really must take the buoyancy of the cork into consideration when making your final calculations. A less buoyant cork may be subject to windage and therefore produce an error in your final speed. It is well known that a white wine cork is more buoyant than a red wine cork, and that within the red wines Beaujolais is less heavy than merlot or the finer cabernets. We won't split hairs about the vintage. White wine corks go over the side to starboard, and red wine corks to port. I have often found it necessary to consume a bottle of wine in order to produce the instrument to throw overboard. I have to tell you the importance of the speed calculation dwindles as the amount of wine left in the bottle also dwindles. I've considered uncorking the bottle and not drinking the wine just for the sake of obtaining the cork. But then, what would I do with the wine!
Warren
S/V Sine Qua Non

John,
I'm sure you've also noticed that the first reading from the first cork thrown overboard is usually the most accurate especially when using my protocol. Some of the error in succeeding trials is due to the fact that this helmsman has a difficult time holding course on which the crucial measurement is based. Further imbibition (in the name of accurate seamanship of course)has produced negative results (as far as measuring speed anyway). I've decided to offer a small libation to the gods of the sea in an effort to improve accuracy. From now on I'll not consume all the wine myself but rather pour a little over the side for old Neptune and Poseidon.

parfait@nc.rr.com