NavList:
A Community Devoted to the Preservation and Practice of Celestial Navigation and Other Methods of Traditional Wayfinding
Re: Suitable Sextants
From: Frank Reed CT
Date: 2005 Oct 10, 17:55 EDT
From: Frank Reed CT
Date: 2005 Oct 10, 17:55 EDT
"What is the concensus of opinion on the most suitable sextant for small boat work where starsights are needed as well as sunshots?" An Astra would be an excellent choice. It all depends on what you're doing though. Are you considering celestial navigation as an emergency backup? If so, a plastic sextant will suffice and you can spend whatever money you have left over on backup GPS units. Are you thinking of taking up celestial navigation as a "hobby" or an "art"? In that case, you'll probably be happier with a more expensive instrument or possibly an instrument with some history to it. These days, you can start small and trade up later. There is a very strong market in used sextants on ebay for example. The better models of Davis plastic sextants, in good condition, rarely sell for less than about $75. You could literally buy one online, use it for a few months, and re-sell it without losing any money (depending on your auction skills, of course). The risk is higher, but you can also do this with more expensive metal sextants. Just be aware that something like 80% of the "sextants" for sale on ebay are display items and reproductions. Some of these look really nice and even the people selling them are sometimes unaware that they are not functional instruments. -FER 42.0N 87.7W, or 41.4N 72.1W. www.HistoricalAtlas.com/lunars
