A Good Paddle

Sometimes the wind is with you and sometimes against you; although in principle 'Gentlemen only sail downwind'. Sometimes the current is with you and sometimes against too and the best way of knowing is by comparing the SOG -speed over ground GPS calculation Vs the boat speed in the water.


Any difference will indicate the impact of current. Here we see a boat speed of 5.4kn but a SOG of 4.2kn. We are pushing against an out going tide.


To obtain this information the transducer paddle needs to spin freely.
When it looks like this, you're in business!
 When it looks like this, the paddle won't turn.   Not only can one not get an estimate of beneficial or adverse current but the equivalent of the boat odometer does not get updated.

In the last 3 years alone, we've traveled well over 6,000nm, so it's evident that the log paddle is operational as often as it isn't. Tut tut!

We got down and dirty this morning and pulled the transducer out, cleaned and replaced it. It requires that we push a 'blank' into the hole in hull in the bottom of the boat to stop the water rushing in while the transducer comes out. A nerve-wracking process with lots of mopping up of the bilge cavities afterwards which is why we always hesitate and procrastinate about doing it. For now though, it's a good paddle.