Either, or neither?

zoidberg

zoidberg

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In a flush of 'springcleaning' frenzy, I discover I have TWO unused sextants on my overburdened shelves - one presented by HRH in a lean year.... the other inherited from my F-in-L ( but I selected it for him )

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'Never raced or rallied.'

Should I keep them both.... or should I keep just one? And therefore - which one?
 
What a dilemma! Both are works of engineering excellence and must be a joy to own.

Equally, owning 2 is an extravagance and someone less fortunate may soon take their pleasure in owning one of them.

Is the top one an Astra/CP sailing sextant? I prefer it to the Freiberger. The Astra has a slightly larger micrometer drum and white on black is easier to read than etching on aluminium. Important for navigators over a certain age.

Are they both whole mirror, otherwise sell the split mirror version?
 
davidjackson said:
Are they both whole mirror, otherwise sell the split mirror version?
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Naa. If either is a whole-horizon mirror version, sell that and keep the split-mirror instrument. Whole-horizon mirrors are dumbed down and lousy for dim sights. IMHO of course.

Top photo is indeed an Astra 3B.
 
Your Astra has a light (assuming that you changed the batteries since Mrs Laurence handed it over to you :) ), the Freiberger doesn't.

So it's obvious: the grizzly one for sunny daylight hours, and the lecky one for evening time. Keep one on starboard side, and one on port, to avoid unbalancing the boat. (All the more reasons for getting a cat...)
 
t21 said:
Meh, if you've only just rediscovered them may as well get rid. Seems equally iffy woodwork on both boxes. Electronic timekeeper with the top one has gotta be cheating, really?
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Do you not use an electronic timekeeper when you reduce a sight??
 
zoidberg said:
In a flush of 'springcleaning' frenzy, I discover I have TWO unused sextants on my overburdened shelves - one presented by HRH in a lean year.... the other inherited from my F-in-L ( but I selected it for him )

40146019520_48d82eed0c_z.jpg



41053731825_6265c8d59a_z.jpg


'Never raced or rallied.'

Should I keep them both.... or should I keep just one? And therefore - which one?
Click to expand...

Hmm, send one to Llangollen?
 
t21 said:
Meh, if you've only just rediscovered them may as well get rid. Seems equally iffy woodwork on both boxes. Electronic timekeeper with the top one has gotta be cheating, really?
Click to expand...

I agree about the woodwork. 'Can't get the staff...'

As for the 'lecky stopwatch, 'guilty as charged'. In fact, I'd forgotten about that being in there. Ah, well, back to the 'battered tin clock' and the cascading eggtimers ( 'counting elephants' sends me to sleep pdq )

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I still reckon on being able to find Spain from Scilly. With or without systems redundancy.
 
Keep the one with the lanyard on it?

Oh! The lanyard is on the £5-00 electronic watch thing.

Note to Zoid - get a lanyard on the sextant and put same round neck before removing sextant from box whichever one you keep? Saves an embarrassing and expensive drop...

PS I prefer the Astra - but both are lovely instruments.
 
john_morris_uk said:
Keep the one with the lanyard on it?

Oh! The lanyard is on the £5-00 electronic watch thing.

Note to Zoid - get a lanyard on the sextant and put same round neck before removing sextant from box whichever one you keep? Saves an embarrassing and expensive drop...

PS I prefer the Astra - but both are lovely instruments.
Click to expand...

I thought there was one on both: the RAF (Yacht Club?) neck band on the Astra.

What's that scope on the Astra though? That doesn't look normal.
 
Astras come in two main flavours with some mechanical/mirror variants*. Perhaps the scope is a Professional series one, Royalty, presentation by, for the use of.

* Frinstance, mine has an artificial horizon attachment.
 
BelleSerene said:
I thought there was one on both: the RAF (Yacht Club?) neck band on the Astra.

What's that scope on the Astra though? That doesn't look normal.
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You might be right. I'm used to seeing the lanyard on the top of the instrument so that you can put it round your neck before getting the sextant out of the box...

Or perhaps my brain automatically filtered out the RAF image...

There isn't a lanyard on the Freiburg one tho'.
 
john_morris_uk said:
You might be right. I'm used to seeing the lanyard on the top of the instrument so that you can put it round your neck before getting the sextant out of the box...

Or perhaps my brain automatically filtered out the RAF image...

There isn't a lanyard on the Freiburg one tho'.
Click to expand...

Aye, laddie.

It's a Right-Handed instrument, with the 'Bruce Buyer'-recommended safety neckband thingy, which is secured around the handle so avoiding getting in the way of operating the micrometer and obscuring the 'reading'. The black cord came already attached to the split timer....

As an aside, it is helpful to secure the timer to the handle so that the index finger can 'capture' the moment of best horizon-kiss. Strangely, Left-Handed Sextants are quite rare, which is a pity, as most of the delicate operations - besides holding the thing - require the right hand/fingers.

As for the Freiburg, as mentioned it was purchased by F-in-L for an 'escape' he never made. He escaped this vale of tears in a box, just 4 months ago. I'll cadge a lanyard for his sextant when next one passes my way.
 
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