ZenLoch, The boat loch of the 3rd millennium

After the sextant of the future (¹), presented at the Paris Boat Show last December, here is the loch of the future revisited by a "Professor Calculus", an electronics engineer and genius inventor from Nantes.

The oldest among us will certainly remember this venerable and inexpensive instrument of the old sailing navy : The "boat loch". Quote (²):

The "boat" is a wooden plank, weighted to float vertically and connected to the log line by a crow's foot. On the line we tie knots, spaced in principle 7m72 (or 1/240th of a nautical mile). We put the "boat" in the water and let the line go. we then count, from the first node, how many knots pass through the hand in 15 seconds, which gives the speed in knots.

It couldn't be simpler, and to compensate for the slight drag of the board when you spin the line of the loch, Node spacing can be reduced slightly (7M50 for example) to ensure the accuracy of the measurement.

Boat Log Assembly. The clothespin is used to bring the board back by pulling the line sharply. (Illustration : New Glénan Navigation Course 1972)

A laser counter

The Creator, who has contacted me and wishes to remain anonymous before the publication of a global patent, had the idea of bringing out this ancestor of naval instruments to associate it with a particularly clever little device : a laser beam knot counter, Only powered by the latest generation of miniaturized solar cells.

The principle consists of passing the line at knots from the boat loch, Installed on a fixed fishing reel-type reel, through his device, a bit like a big halyard spinner, and to have the knots counted by the integrated laser beam. An electronic board controls the line voltage as it passes through the device in order to automatically compensate for the drive factor of the board and provides a perfect measurement, to 1/100th of a node. We can therefore keep the exact spacing of the nodes at 7717 mm. A full-day display displays the data, and an NMEA interface 0183 allows a link with a multiplexer, or to a repeater dial.

The ZenLoch prototype™

Fully self-sufficient in energy, As reliable as an electronic log, This set, christened ZenLoch™ by its designer, comes complete with boat log in fluorescent yellow unalterable panostrat, The clothespin is replaced by a stainless steel clip, The knots are replaced by micro-beads crimped on the cable. It should seduce followers, More and more numerous, energy self-sufficiency and zero-CO². Especially since its price should not exceed 35 up to 40 € for direct sale via the internet. Formidable, isn't it ?

I am always impressed by the inventiveness of my young peers, and I can't wait to see this little gem finalized.

—
(¹) G-Stell le sextant du futur
(²) New Glénan Navigation Course – 1972
—