What Sextant?

[goeasy123]

What's the best sextant for my purpose? What spec do I need?

I want a quality item, functional rather than expensive/branded.

Good for star sighting. I.e. low light capable. Split or all view?

Used or new? If used where's the best source?

What else do I need to consider?

Has anyone got one they want to sell?

 

[Gary Fox]

Used Freiberger, ticks a few of your boxes. There are good Facebook sites, and some impartial experts on here, I would say you ought to be chatting with people who use sextants and have bought and sold one or two, or you risk getting diddled on fleabay etc.

 

[goeasy123]

Used Freiberger, ticks a few of your boxes. There are good Facebook sites, and some impartial experts on here, I would say you ought to be chatting with people who use sextants and have bought and sold one or two, or you risk getting diddled on fleabay etc.

Freiberger seems to be pricey, but excellent quality. Thanks for the FB tip.

 

[[70521]]

I have a Davis 25, works for me. I prefer plastic to metal, many purists pooh, pooh them.

 

[Skylark]

I’ve had 3. I bought an Ebco plastic many years ago (as a diver for Distance Off) and used it successfully for sun sights. Not the easiest thing to use and I never managed star or planet sightings with it.

I then bought a C&P Sailing Sextant and this is a joy to own. Full mirror and high quality optics. Happy to recommend it.

CP Sailing Full-Sight Sextant

Walking around a Boat Jumble a few years ago I stumbled across a Davis 15, brand new, in box so I bought it for £20. I use it as a teaching aid such that students can assess the difference for themselves.

I’ve never used a Freiburg but the brand has a good reputation.

The Astra IIIB looks like a nice, well engineered product. It has split mirror. (I now prefer full mirror)

Force 4 Astra 3B Deluxe Metal Sextant - Split View | Force 4 Chandlery

Buying second hand is fine but, as with anything, carries a bit of risk so unless it has some form of warranty and/or the ability to return it, I wouldn’t.

Probably worth posting a Wanted Ad on here as they do come up from time and time and.

 

[jwilson]

I used an Ebbco for many years (actually used it for navigation), OK for sun, moon and brighter stars, but as my eyes got older and I had a bit more money I found I wanted better optics, so one day in a chart agent in Hong Kong spotted a WW II ex-US Navy sextant for sale, and bought it. Chart agents in bigger ports quite often sell secondhand sextants etc as well as charts.

Absolutely don't buy without trying unless you can afford new.

 

[capnsensible]

I have a Davis 25, works for me. I prefer plastic to metal, many purists pooh, pooh them.

I'm now on my third set of mirrors for one of those. Dunno why they don't last. Good for practising tho. I got an Astra too. I find its weight helps get a better sight and the optics are far superior, especially when shooting stars.

 

[duncan99210]

I have a Simex (Simex Sextant(s)) sextant, which is a rebadged Tamaya. Bought off eBay for about £160 7 years ago. Lovely piece which has polarising shades which I find easier to use than a selection of filters. At £160 I didn’t worry about condition which looked good on the photos: if it didn’t work,I’d have used it for display. Doesn’t get nearly enough use!

 

[[70521]]

I'm now on my third set of mirrors for one of those. Dunno why they don't last. Good for practising tho. I got an Astra too. I find its weight helps get a better sight and the optics are far superior, especially when shooting stars.

I can't justify the cost of a metal sextant!

Good to know that spares are available. I like the full mirrored glass even though David Burch pooh, pooh's them.

 

[capnsensible]

I can't justify the cost of a metal sextant!

Good to know that spares are available. I like the full mirrored glass even though David Burch pooh, pooh's them.

Gives you loadsa practice at sorting out the side, index and perpendicularity!

 

[neil_s]

I have a 1960's brass framed Tamaya sextant. Despite it's age and battered appearance, it has shown itself to be capable of accurate measurements. It is, however, rather heavy and tests your arm if you want to take more than a couple of sights. Some say that a heavy sextant is more stable when taking sights on a moving deck but I have found that arm-ache is more of a problem! More modern sextants have light alloy frames, so if the finances stretch that far, I would suggest you steer away from the brass frames. I like the look of the Chinese made Astra 3b. Don't dismiss the plastic sextants, either. I learned astro using an Ebbco and got quite good at hedging around it's little idiosyncrasies. The little telescopes are a bit of a limitation with stars, though, especially if your eyesight isn't what it used to be!