Traverse Board

The traverse board was used to record speed and direction during a watch on board a ship. Each half hour a crew member would insert a peg in the top portion to represent the direction sailed during that time. Each hour a peg would be pinned into the bottom half to represent speed sailed during that hour. At the end of the watch the navigator would collect the data and use it to figure the vessel’s dead reckoning track. This one was found on Burton Beach in Dorset, England.