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Knight's Mechanical Encyclopedia (ed. Knight), L. (search)
the British navy, a 28″ glass is employed, the length of the line being proportionately reduced. Estimating a mile at 6,139.75 feet, and using a 30″ glass, — 1 knot = 51.1629 feet, or 51 feet 1.95 inches. 1 fathom = 5.11629 feet, or 5 feet 1.395 inches. If a 28″ glass is used, and 8 divisions, then — 1 knot = 47 feet 9.024 inches. 1 fathom = 5 feet 11.627 inches. The line should be about 150 fathoms long, having 10 fathoms between the chip and first knot for strayline. Bowditch gives 6,120 feet in a sea-mile, which, if taken as the length, with a 28″ glass, will make the divisions 47.6 feet and 5.95 feet. Some logs, the earliest of which, perhaps, was Massey's, are actuated by wings on a rotating rod, which turns as the vessel passes through the water, operating, by means of an endless screw, a series of multiplying wheels, which register the total distance run between the time the log was thrown overboard and that at which it was taken from the water. Th