Speed Log

[mfield]

I have a Raymarine magnetic spinning wheel speed log, a quick sail a week is usually enough to free it up.

Occasionally I have to remove it and persuade the small crustaceans attached that they need to find a new home. It is always exciting to watch a gallon of water a second pour in while I put the blank tube into the through hull.

Does anyone have any suggestions (propspeed for speed logs) to increase the time between cleanings?

 

[tenders]

My suggestion: remove it and the throughhull, and patch the hole with glass and epoxy the next time you haul the boat.

In a world with abundant cheap GPS offering SOG, the incremental value of “speed through the water” isn’t enough to justify the maintenance of the speed wheel, it’s degree of unreliability, and the small but nonzero risk of another hole in the hull.

 

[mfield]

Your point is well taken, with a couple of iphones, ipads and a Garmin Montana GPS we have no shortage of SoG readings. I still like to know the difference between the two to explore the difference in current in different parts of the bay.