Kendall's K1 and K2 are trialled In 1772, Larcum Kendall’s K1 timekeeper was sent for trials with navigator and explorer Captain James Cook on his second voyage to the South Seas. The watch proved successful. The Board of Longitude judged Kendall’s version to be less expensive than John Harrison’s H4 timekeeper due to its simplified design, and they commissioned Kendall to manufacture a second one. K2 was completed in 1772 and was most famous for being on board HMS Bounty when the infamous mutiny took place on that ship. The watch had many of the features of Harrison’s H4, but Kendall had omitted the remonitoire mechanism. Thus, K2 never performed well as H4. In her book, Longitude, science writer Dava Sobel provides a full history of the dramatic quest to solve the problem of determining longitude at sea. You can also read an account Harrison’s trials and tribulations on Clocktime. Reference Sobel, D. 2011. Longitude: The true story of a lone genius who solved the greatest scientific problem of his time. London: Harper Perennial. Image Credit Marine Timekeeper, K2, 1771, Larcum Kendall, ZAA0078 © National Maritime Museum, Greenwich, London, Royal United Service Institution Collection, CC BY-NC-ND 3.0, https://www.rmg.co.uk/collections/objects/rmgc-object-79183
