This 19th century brass Cherub ship's log and rotor is a fascinating piece of history from the age of sail. An interesting and unique item that adds a touch of nautical charm to any room.
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This instrument is a recorder for determining distance traveled and thus ship’s speed. The log would have been attached to a suitable part of the ship, typically the taffrail, the rail at the stern of a ship. As a result, this type of log was often called a taffrail log. The recorder would have been connected to the rotor that was towed behind the ship. The revolutions of the rotor registered on the indicator, thus measuring the distance travelled. For this model, 900 revolutions of the rotor registered as 1 nautical mile.