Barometers

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dutch123

New member
For those of you who have one how often do you really use it? Would you consider it one of those essential instruments or is it's importance fading considering all the modern tools used for weather forecasting in use these days.
 
We have an aneroid barometer on C-Cakes and find it handy but not essential. I can quickly check it and see the pressure trend; it makes me feel better having it aboard. We also have one at home where we do trip planning and again it is a handy aid in planning. I found ours on E-Bay for little money. Be sure you get one with two needles, one to show the actual barometric pressure and the other to overlay on that when you check. That way you can tell at a glance whether the pressure is steady or changing by looking at the needles. For example, last night the pressure here was about 30 inches right now it is about 29.82 inches so the pressure is dropping and the weather is likely to change.
 
If you were alone on an island out in the ocean with no communication to the outer world, a barometer would be a useful instrument to get early warnings on approaching low pressure systems and weather changes.

However, with all the internet weather reports, satellite views, links to current wave and wind data, and weather fax and the like, the barometer is a bit of a curious relic, interesting enough to have to confirm what all the rest of the world is telling you about what is happening now, but not much of a forecaster compared to all the other sources. Kinda like looking at a thermometer to see whether you ought to be feeling hot or cold !?!

JMHO!

Joe. :teeth :thup
 
you need to spend some bucks to get a good quality unit. I take what they predict with a big dose of sceptisism having been hove to at sea in a fully verified Force 10 gale off the Oregon coast with a barometer pegged ove 1000 millibars for several days prior. Not possible. I think they're pretty and nice to have if one has space but they are not essential. What we see out the window is what we're going thru. I find the sky a better predictor. Watch for mares tails.. they cause ships to wear low sails. George
 
What Joe said. For a 22' with a total fuel capacity of 40-50 gals and a range at cruise of 140-175 miles it's a useless instrument in this day and age. Most 22's are never more than a few miles off shore and are usually within range of a cell phone tower AND the weather report on VHF. It's easy to get good forecasts via the internet, radio (or even via a phone call) in most places. Now if you were cruising the open ocean without the benefit of a Sat phone, a barometer might make sense.
 
I don't have one but I wish I did. Surprised that a fisherman would call it useless. a drop or rise, mostly a drop, in pressure can set off a hot salmon bite. its a really big trigger on trout in lakes and I hear for bass too.

when a drop happens on a lake I would speed up my troll a little as the trout would get active just as the front would pass thru. They would also come up shallower in the water column.
 
We had a high-quality classic barometer on our C-Dory, but it didn't help us be aware of the pressure trend unless we were diligent in looking at it often and keeping track of the readings. We weren't.

After a nasty weather/wave experience up in SE AK, in an area where no VHF radio was available, we found an electronic barometer from Oregon Scientific that clearly shows the pressure trend over the last 24 hours. Much easier to see when the rate of change (that's what's important) indicates higher winds on the way.

I'd highly recommend it, especially for those who travel in remote areas where the terrain sometimes blocks VHF broadcasts. It isn't as cute as a brass barometer, but it's much more useful.
 
NewMoon":1uzt8kox said:
We had a high-quality classic barometer on our C-Dory, but it didn't help us be aware of the pressure trend unless we were diligent in looking at it often and keeping track of the readings. We weren't.

After a nasty weather/wave experience up in SE AK, in an area where no VHF radio was available, we found an electronic barometer from Oregon Scientific that clearly shows the pressure trend over the last 24 hours. Much easier to see when the rate of change (that's what's important) indicates higher winds on the way.

I'd highly recommend it, especially for those who travel in remote areas where the terrain sometimes blocks VHF broadcasts. It isn't as cute as a brass barometer, but it's much more useful.
Click to expand...

We've got a similar electronic model from Weems & Plath and I'd highly recommend it. Being able to visually observe the 24 hour trend is of great value and the unit will audibly alarm if the rate of change exceeds a specific value, meaning a big wind is on the way.
Al
 
We do have a relitatively cheap barometer (set of therometer, hyrometer and barometer) on the Tom Cat, and rarely use it. I have a high end Barometer which accompanied us on all of our long sea voyages (reconditioned) sitting on the mantel of the fireplace in our bedroom--never look at it.

When we were going on long trips, even with a weather fax, we did use the barometer. Today, rarely. There are so many other good sources of information near the coast--and we do have one of the electronic ones too--took it to AK, and didn't use it.
 
In Puget Sound/San Juans/east end of the Straits of Juan de Fuca, the pressure differentials between Seattle and Astoria and Seattle Neah Bay are far more meaningful for forecasting weather/wind changes than a reading (or trend) at your position. This makes a weather radio a better tool than a barometer here. But, it is very helpful for me to know the local pressure at my boathouse because I need travel under a railroad bridge that can get pretty tight on an extreme high tide. If the pressure is very low, it can get even tighter. I use both a barometer and the marine weather radio information, but the radio is far more useful to me overall. I can eyeball the bridge. I just fear the "rouge" 6 inch wave while I am under the bridge looking up. :shock:

Robbi
 
I have a simple barometer on my boat because the type of places I travel are often blocked from VHF forecasts by mountains. So after a night at anchor, if I wake up with no VHF signal, I have the barometer to give me some info along with sky conditions.

By the way, my barometer has the extra set needle to establish rise or fall, but I don't use it much. I tap the face of the barometer with my fingernail and the needle jumps in the direction the air pressure is trending (due to the friction in the needle mechanism).
 
New Moon,I heard that part where you mentioned about being caught in S.E. AK. due to no VHF radio.
Reminded me of a similar situation for myself but entirely different circumstances. One thing is for sure after its over, its those situations where one vows "I WILL DO SOMETHING ABOUT THIS", because the same situation or similar will present itself again.

Thanks everyone on this barometer subject. Weather is fascinating when your mouth is not so dry from fear that you can produce some saliva.

Tom
 
Regardless of its relevance on a boat, I find that a barometer is fun to have and to observe, and the more you use it the more meaningful and useful it becomes over time. I also have an anemometer on my boat, water temp gauge and other weather related items which I suspect many would consider useless as well. Having weather instruments at hand wherever you are, whether on a boat, at home or traveling, brings you closer to the experience, they improve your observational skills in general, and for me they enhance enjoyment of the moment. I don’t leave port without them.
 
From a sea kayaker perspective [we also carry VHF] a wrist watch altimeter /barometer is very useful. Sometimes the view of impending storm is blocked by Mt and pressure changes may be an early sign. Also weather reports in BC tend to be very general and not all that helpful where as the altimeter on my wrist is easy to use.

Jim
 
At home I have a barometer in the bedroom that I tend to automatically look at anytime I walk past it. To me it is a great predictor
of what is to come our way in terms of weather.
For years I would "tap the face" of it and the needle would jump a bit into a slightly different position.
A couple of years ago, I was advised that "tapping the barometer" was something to be avoided as it would take some time for the barometer to return to an accurate reading. Since then I have restrained myself from "tapping the barometer".
This evening I "googled" the subject and came up with one opinion that states that "tapping the face" of a barometer "causes blunting of the needle-points and the movement then becomes sticky and in no time the barometer is rendered not much more than an ornament". The same writer recommends not tapping at all, but if you really must, then tap the body, not the face of the barometer.
Other references I googled this evening seemed to encourage "tapping", stating that a gentle tap is recommended and that the direction that the needle moves is the direction the pressure is changing at the time that you are observing the barometer.
All of the above being said, I glean from this that IF you are to tap the barometer, do so on the body of the barometer rather than on its' face so as to not blunt the needle points.

I'll be interested to hear the opinions of others on this site about "To Tap or Not To Tap". :)
 
Dave,

Obviously the "To Tap or not to Tap" question can be answered by checking to see if the keg has good Snoqualmie Falls beer within. Sheesh! I thought everybody knew that!
 
colobear":1rrtdexc said:
Dave, Obviously the "To Tap or not to Tap" question can be answered by checking to see if the keg has good Snoqualmie Falls beer within. Sheesh! I thought everybody knew that!
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Barry, nice to see that someone else is wide awake at this hour of the morning. That thought of tapping the keg has me currently contemplating whether I should go downstairs to open and consume the bottle of Snoqualmie Steam Train Porter that I have in the refrigerator. After the consumption, I probably won't give a hoot whether the barometer needle is blunted or for that mattered rendered an ornament..... :roll: .
 
On Tapping -- I was taught a long time ago, by sa Lifelong sea captain, to record the readings every hour, after recording, a light tap on the side, not on the face was the way to do it.

As to barometers. I have one on board, that is a digital Oregon Scientific knockoff, but has a trend scale, recording at 1,2,3,6,12 hours past, plus the current pressure in mmb or inches. I mostly look at the trend --> is it up or down, and how steep, or is it steady. There is also a trend arrow, plus atomic time clock, so it has become the ships clock too. And then for when I get old and retired, it has the day, date, and year, in case I want to take an extended trip, and care to remain oriented to any of those things.

Harvey
SleepyC :moon
 
DaveS":3nw5pqvn said:
All of the above being said, I glean from this that IF you are to tap the barometer, do so on the body of the barometer rather than on its' face so as to not blunt the needle points. :)
Click to expand...

OK, I'll tap the body from now on. I like having the barometer because I'm kind of a fan of "steam tech" older analog technology. Everything these days is digital as a marketing gimmick and that carries disadvantages as well as advantages.

I even hear numbers are going digital!
 
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