I'm not a sailor, but I think this interesting old handmade dial would be instructive if a novice like me were to try to put it to use. The black "boat" at the center is annotated with Port and Starboard (missing the first few letters), Forward and Aft, and then depending on which direction one points to boat, there are notes on the middle disk relative to positions of bow and beam. At least this is what I think is going on here!
Mostly, I just think it is a pretty great object, which its maker, E. Lewis, clearly put a lot of effort into creating. Perhaps he was a sailing instructor, or a camp counselor, or was just super committed to teaching himself how to sail. It's definitely got a lot of years on it and the finish on the middle disk is pretty cloudy, making it a bit challenging to read. Still, I think it would be great hung on the wall, where one could turn the boat in a different direction daily based on a fantasy destination!
8 1/4" in diameter and 1 1/4" thick. Scratches and dings all over, but structurally super sound and everything turns smoothly.
