Dlight 3 Posted January 29, 2019 Please create an item to use when sailing so that you can gauge speed. For example, a knotted rope that you can throw into the water to see how fast you are going. ; 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Dlight 3 Posted January 29, 2019 A knot is one nautical mile per hour (1 knot = 1.15 miles per hour). The term knot dates from the 17th century, when sailors measured the speed of their ship by using a device called a "common log." This device was a coil of rope with uniformly spaced knots, attached to a piece of wood shaped like a slice of pie. The piece of wood was lowered from the back of the ship and allowed to float behind it. The line was allowed to pay out freely from the coil as the piece of wood fell behind the ship for a specific amount of time. When the specified time had passed, the line was pulled in and the number of knots on the rope between the ship and the wood were counted. The speed of the ship was said to be the number of knots counted (Bowditch, 1984) 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
