NavList:
A Community Devoted to the Preservation and Practice of Celestial Navigation and Other Methods of Traditional Wayfinding
From: Bob Goethe
Date: 2017 Nov 24, 07:45 -0800
Gary, Greg, thanks so much for your feedback on this. It appears that once you have taken a couple of LOPs, deriving a third LOP doesn't really add much useful information. So two point fixes it is for me!
I see that Bowditch (2017), Section 1805, page 304 doesn't refer to a three point cocked hat at all...but rather recommends 5 or 6 LOPs to reduce random error in a fix. But there is zero chance that I am going to work out 6 LOPs for a celestial fix while I am on a small boat.
First, I am going to become horribly seasick while looking at columns of small numbers in tables trying to get six LOPs. And second, although I want to get a celestial fix, I also want to be on deck enjoying the sunrise. Man does not live by spherical trigonometry alone.
Bob
