What Sextant would you recommend.

[Refueler]

I bow to your superior knowledge. Seems strange that such low value items such as sextants, cutlery, crockery and bedding are worth the postage, packing and handling.

Who mentioned lowly items ?

But don't forget that many Shipping Co's had Logo's on many items ... but also that ships had many items such as Sextants ... Gyro compasses .... etc. that were valuable items. It was not unusual for Lifeboats to be recycled as example.

 

[Walther]

I was surprised when the television offered a clip of the navigating officers of one of the carriers taking sights that they all seemed to be using Plaths (I couldn’t make out which Plath!)

I am unsure of the specifics but AFAIK the RN currently uses Cassen & Plath’s “Professional” model, re-badged Lilley and Gillie on the arc but very much manufactured by C&P. Essentially the same product is commercially available from Lilley and Gillie, their part number FO800.

Even at a distance, it is fairly easy to distinguish between Cassens & Plath and C.Plath sextants. The former have frames incorporating a prominent ‘hollow circle’ in the middle; the latter have frames of a straight lattice-type design. Also, the quick-releases for the index arms are distinctive.

Interestingly, the Royal Canadian Navy continues to rely on its stock of the same ancient sextants Kukri mentioned; see for example this 2016 article. Before inferring this usage as an endorsement of the tried-and-true British models, keep in mind that the Canadian Armed Forces takes forever to replace old equipment (they are still using W.W.II-era Browning pistols).

The main thing is to use a sextant often, and I recommend using one for coastal navigation to get practice. You can use distance off by vertical angle which is very simple and handy....

Good advice.

Vertical angles are indeed simple and handy, although one does need both (i) the appropriate table and (ii) the height of the object being sighted (which may or may not be indicated on the chart).

I don’t know who John Budlong is (or was?), but in addition to Sky and Sextant referred to in one of my previous posts he also published Shoreline and Sextant (1977). Chapter 10, “The Sextant as Rangefinder”, is helpful reading.

... depending on where the sun or indeed star is vis a vis the sector of the sea horizon that you can see, you can get a position line and cross that with a shore bearing.

Quite correct; although - unless one is in very regular practice with working out sun shots - the time required to reduce the sight is probably excessive for most coastal navigation.

If three charted objects may be identified, it is easy and quick to get a very accurate two-point fix via horizontal sextant angles (see Budlong, pp. 137-141)..

 

[GHA]

. You can use distance off by vertical angle which is very simple and handy....

Handier than glancing down at your tablet running Navionics or chart plotter?

Let's face it, it's fun and interesting but in the same league as starting handles for cars, technology provides better reliable faster options these days.

 

[Refueler]

Handier than glancing down at your tablet running Navionics or chart plotter?

Let's face it, it's fun and interesting but in the same league as starting handles for cars, technology provides better reliable faster options these days.

I wish my boat engine still had starting handle ..... it may be old fashioned - but wait till the day your batterys dead !!

 

[Praxinoscope]

Nothing wrong with any of the older ( 1950's - 60's) second hand sextants, they were well made and used the traditional materials, my only reason for buying my Freiberger Drum was that I found the 'telescope' sights on the older ones weren't as bright and easy to view as the Freiberger, and I like the 'drum' construction of the micrometer.
I agree with others however that have suggested starting off with a plastic sextant just to get the practice in, then look for your preferred instrument, I did the shore based Ocean YM using an old plastic one and got very similar readings to those with Plath or Freiberger. Still have the plastic one just in case of a major accident with the Freiberger, a lanyard on it will save a lot of heart stopping moments.

 

[Kukri]

Yes, the differences are in the optics. Bigger mirrors, even full horizon mirrors (an option on the Astra that I really like) and much better telescopes. Oh, and a light to read the scale and the micrometer head with. Unless, of course, you’ve got a C. Plath (and the Americans joke about ‘Lucas, Prince of Darkness! ?).

Eric Hiscock used a vernier sextant, iirc. And he had already been chucked out of the Navy for being short sighted!