Purists Way of Measuring Speed

[daddle]

I guess that's the difference. All I ever do is 'funin around'. Winning races where I'll catch the shifts way before you do with your VMG or SOG, cruising thousands of miles per year where crabbing against shifty currents for a constant COG only makes you late for the party, that kind of fun.

[Stillraining]

What a water speed indicator will do for you, is give you the most instantaneous feed back on sail trim...other then that its just a fun instrument to watch and go OOH! AHH!..

I bet your watching the water and clouds for those shifts more then you are your knot meter......That is a skill for sure....And then some times you look at your knot meter after your decition and go " Ah Crap" missjudged that one!..."Sorry I put us in a hole boys"...and there goes all your atta boys for the day...

[MarkJ]

Originally Posted by unbusted67

In short, is there an alternative to spending a ton of money on Raymarine instruments?

Learn your bubbles!

Look over the side and see what your bubbles look like and their apparent speed going backwards. Learn your wake and maybe even take photos.

Perhpas borrow a handheld GPS out for a day without current and do speed runs checking your bubbles and wake pattern.

I sure as hell don't need to look at the instruments to determain speed through the water. I can even do it in the forward head taking a pee by the sound of the bow wave (and the jiggle of the piddle)!

Sure you might not determain 6.45kts but you will know the difference between 4 and 6 kts.

What is probably most accurate to me is knowing the basic miles per day I will get: a good day with good breeze up the butt = 150 miles per day. Normal is 140 miles; slower is 125nm, dead slow is 100 miles. Funnily enough they equate to aprox 6.5kts, 6kts, 5kts and 4kts.

With a bit of careful observation you can do it all without the waste of space, big fish lure of a taff rail log, or Raymarine...




Mark

[daddle]

MarkJ: You rock! In Egypt too. You're out there doing it and knowing it.

[Tempest245]

The knotstick, It's been around forever.

Knotstick Sailboat Speedometers

[chala]

A string and a spoon, the angle that the string make with the deck give you the speed and I never lost a spoon.

[David M]

I have only needed SOW for towing instruments or nets which are sensitive to how fast the water is flowing past them.

[CharlieCobra]

I always judged speed by the speed of the bubbles, water, wake or what have ya. I just used the instruments to verify what my eyes were telling me. I got to where I was within half a knot or so but it takes lot's of sailing and practice.

[s/v Jedi]

SOG & COG are useless for sailing, which is done relative to water instead, incl. polar diagrams and all modern software used in high tech racers. Before GPS and other electronic gadgets, SOG & COG was measured using the sextant and done as a 24 hour average number (noon to noon).

Dropping a floating item overboard was not only done to measure STW but also leeway by measuring the angle between the wake and the item. Modern instruments like B&G can calculate water referenced VMG when they have heel sensors which are used to define the value for leeway. They don't need GPS.

ciao!
Nick.

[chala]

Originally Posted by s/v Jedi

SOG & COG are useless for sailing,
ciao!
Nick.

I would not say so.

[s/v Jedi]

Originally Posted by chala

I would not say so.

That's a path that has been traveled enough in past threads. It depends on the definition you give the word "sailing". What I call sailing, you might call sail trim. What you call sailing, I might call passaging or traveling.

ciao!
Nick.

[chala]

Originally Posted by s/v Jedi

the angle between the wake and the item.
ciao!
Nick.

Would the item been in the wake? You bloody racer are really loosing me.

[MarkJ]

Originally Posted by s/v Jedi

What I call sailing, you might call sail trim. What you call sailing, I might call passaging or traveling.

ciao!
Nick.

Or I might call having fun.

<Belch> Crikey, Nicolle, me bloody beers only half full. <Fart>


That smell wasn't me!


Cold? Thats not cold! Thats nearly frozen! PERFECT!!!

[Stillraining]

Well if the Dutchman is siding against me ...Im outta here...I'll never win...

But you said exactly what I did in a different way.....Its where your at at the end of the day that counts ( GPS or Sextant)...

Usage of Polars are there to help you do that in the shortest amount of time...Rather you want to utilize them for best hull speed or best COG/VMG maters not....all Im saying is a slower speed is often a better VMG/COG...

We may sail in and be affected by water but that Island off the horizon is anchored to the sea bed floor..

Carry on...

Ill be eating your guys wake any way around it so it maters not...I sail to have fun not get somewhere quick.