How to Use Plastic Sextants with Applications to Metal Sextants and a Review of Sextant Piloting

How to Use Plastic Sextants with Applications to Metal Sextants and a Review of Sextant Piloting PDF

Author: David Burch

Publisher:

Published: 2010-09

Total Pages: 106

ISBN-13: 9780914025245

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Sextants are used to measure angular heights of celestial bodies above the horizon to find the latitude and longitude of the observer. They can also be used on land with artificial horizons. Sextants can also be used to find the correct Universal Time by measuring the angular distance between the moon and another body along its path across the zodiac. In coastal waters or on land, sextants can be used for very accurate piloting by measuring the horizontal angles between charted landmarks. The vertical angle of a peak above its baseline determines the distance to it, which, combined with a compass bearing, yields a position fix from just one landmark. The angular dip of an object (island or vessel) below the visible horizon can also be used to determine the distance to it. This booklet explains how to get the best results from plastic sextants, and presents numerical comparisons with similar data from metal sextants. Sextant piloting techniques are also reviewed as they are an ideal use of a plastic sextant.

The Sextant Handbook

The Sextant Handbook PDF

Author: Bruce Bauer

Publisher: McGraw Hill Professional

Published: 1995-02-22

Total Pages: 196

ISBN-13: 9780070052192

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Loran and GPS notwithstanding, there will always be a place for the sextant aboard any blue-water boat, if for no other reason than the thrill and mystery of finding one's position on earth by gazing at the heavens. Here is the indispensable reference that should accompany the instrument aboard. Cmdr. Bruce Bauer, a professional navigator and master mariner with the U.S. Merchant Marine, has distilled years of hands-on experience into an eminently readable guide to buying, adjusting, using, and repairing sextants. The Sextant Handbook is dedicated to the premise that electronic navigation devices, while too convenient to disregard, are too vulnerable to rely on exclusively. The book is designed to make beginner and expert alike conversant with this most beautiful and functional of the navigator's tools. Topics include: Assembly and Disassembly Vital Adjustments Avoiding Problems Rough Weather Sightings Oiling and Cleaning Immersion Baths Emergency Silvering Finding and Buying Used Sextants And Much More You'll also find a list of distributors, manufacturers, and dealers worldwide, a discussion of future trends, and numerous helpful hints, including sighting with eyeglasses and using a Rude starfinder. All in a thoroughly revised edition of a book acclaimed by navigation professionals.

Celestial Navigation in the GPS Age

Celestial Navigation in the GPS Age PDF

Author: John Karl

Publisher: Paradise Cay Publications

Published: 2007

Total Pages: 292

ISBN-13: 9780939837755

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Many books on celestial navigation take shortcuts in explaining concepts; incorrect diagrams and discussion are often used for the sake of moving the student along quickly. This book tells the true story-and the whole story. It conveys celestial navigation concepts clearly and in the shortest possible time.It's tailored for navigation in the GPS age-a time of computers, calculators, and web resources. Although it covers all of the traditional methods of 'working a sight, ' the primary thrust is using the (under $10) scientific calculator. By using equations that you key into your calculator, this book guides you toward a better understanding of the concepts of celestial navigation.You will learn novel ways to plot lines of position, ways to check your sextant accurately by star sights, and how to tell what time it is from a moon sight. The many appendices are a treasure of references and explanations of abstract ideas. Celestial Navigation is a crucial skill for the offshore navigator to know, this book provides the shortest path to that knowledge.

Taking the Stars

Taking the Stars PDF

Author: Peter Ifland

Publisher: Krieger Publishing Company

Published: 1998

Total Pages: 248

ISBN-13:

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This text focuses on the history of the development of hand-held celestial navigation instruments, offering descriptions of the tools used. It also includes a glossary of technical terms.

Celestial Navigation for Yachtsmen

Celestial Navigation for Yachtsmen PDF

Author: Mary Blewitt

Publisher: A&C Black

Published: 2013-09-21

Total Pages: 96

ISBN-13: 1472906764

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The 12th edition of this bestselling book is proof of the success of Mary Blewitt's concise and clear style in explaining a particularly difficult skill, and it has been the bible for many generations of ocean navigators. Since this book was first published, the huge advances in electronic navigation have transported most offshore navigators to a world of press-button convenience. However, there is still a vital need for traditional skills when things go wrong: batteries can fail, aerials go overboard, and electronics have been known to get wet. A bestseller for over 50 years, Celestial Navigation for Yachtsmen is a model of simplicity and clarity. The worked examples require only straightforward addition and subtraction, which explains why this book has truly earned its reputation for admirable conciseness and for making a tricky subject easy to understand. 'The "bible" of navigation for generations of yachtsmen... worth its weight in gold' Sailing

The Nautical Sextant

The Nautical Sextant PDF

Author: W. J. Morris

Publisher:

Published: 2010-10

Total Pages: 246

ISBN-13: 9780939837892

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The Nautical Sextant reveals in pictures, prose, and perspective the experience and knowledge gained by the author from years of acquiring, studying, and restoring sextants from earlier times and from around the world. This fascinating book owes much of its attraction to the expert description and photos of the mechanics of the sextants and their subassemblies. It is also the story of how different manufacturers, in different times and places, solved the same mechanical problems in different ways in order to perfect one of the most accurate mechanical devices ever produced by man. All of this is complemented by an historical overview to the current day, an overview which has never been published until now. The Nautical Sextant will be of particular value not only to navigators, but also to restorers, collectors, students of technology, curators, and sextant dealers. With its bibliography and extensive use of footnotes, this book will certainly become a classic in its field.

2021 Nautical Almanac

2021 Nautical Almanac PDF

Author: Uk Hydrographic

Publisher: Diana

Published: 2021-02-08

Total Pages: 370

ISBN-13: 9785581630105

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The cornerstone for all celestial navigation, listing the celestial bodies used for navigation, a sight reduction table, and other information valuable to the offshore navigator. The content of this edition is identical to the United States Naval Observatory 2021 edition.