Instrument enquiry

[j.sabourn]

Maybe a part of, or the original theodolite. Maybe the Antiques Roadshow May be the place to go. You may finish up a rich man. Cheers JWS.

[Marian Gra]

hi peter batt
I have after seeing the magnified picture shown in doc vernons post relised that this instrument is for the older gentleman, and its use being when needing to have a jimmy riddle during the middle of the night, I have come to this decision after seeing the scale for height and distance off, and I have no doubts in saying that if used sensibly you could aim with absolute accuracy and trajectory
tom

Or guys could just switch the light on

[j.sabourn]

Someone forgot to put a shilling in the meter Marian. JWS.

[cappy]

Someone forgot to put a shilling in the meter Marian. JWS.

####its three and ninepence

[thomas michael]

Or guys could just switch the light on

hi marian
that is the exact answer I receive whenever being admonished by her that must be obeyed
tom

[thomas michael]

If it had anything to do with ships yonks ago, would of thought the distances would have been more nautical. Fathoms and feet, or even cables, a cable being 15 fathoms or 90 feet. Or if referring to nautical distance one tenth of a nautical mile or 600 feet or thereabouts. Yards doesn’t sit easy with a seaman of old, metres are bad enough. Hope someone knows what it is. Cheers JWS.

hi j sabourn
like you I prefer the fathom charts, the mathematics work out better than the metre scale, ie six feet for a fathom and then obviously the nautical distances broken into tenths etc etc,and it all rounds up perfectly with the hour of time ie 10x6 =60mins =one hour, as a matter of fact I still have a few Mersey river pilots,( pilot books ) which where issued by Mersey dock and harbour board from the 1950s and I could still find my way in and out of Liverpool using them,even in bad weather.
as you stated though yards don't fit within the nautical school of navigation.
tom

[thomas michael]

Cheers Tom. Ha.

hi peter batt
in all seriousness I'm still saying its for possibly small boat use rather than professional and it is for wave height and distance off from known light houses. but I have never seen one before
tom

[Peter Batt]

I think maybe a picture of it could be sent to the National Maritime Museum Greenwich for the answer,after all it is the largest museum of it type in the world.
Regards.
Jim.B.

Thank you. Great idea.I came across them in relation to a search on one of Walter Simmonds ships. This might be my next step. So amazing to have people on various sights and continents stumped and intrigued by this innocuous little thing. Loving the chase.

[thomas michael]

Thank you. Great idea.I came across them in relation to a search on one of Walter Simmonds ships. This might be my next step. So amazing to have people on various sights and continents stumped and intrigued by this innocuous little thing. Loving the chase.

hi peter batt
don't worry my wife has been stumped, intrigued and puzzled by me for the last fifty years.
tom

[Peter Batt]

hi peter batt
in all seriousness I'm still saying its for possibly small boat use rather than professional and it is for wave height and distance off from known light houses. but I have never seen one before
tom

Just mentioning this thread with my beloved and it turns out her grandfather worked on a lighthouse after his retirement from the Merchant Navy. New info...