Any Suggestions for a Perfect Sextant ?

[SvenG]

Originally Posted by capngeo

In ALL of them?

1. 2 pucks
2. 1 handheld
3. 1 old 126 at the nav station
4. 2 GPS chipped cell phones
5. The chartplotter
6. An iPad

That's 8! Eight individual units that would all have to fail at one time! A lot better chance of it being cloudy and knocking the sextant offline! CRAP! I forgot the 2 SPOT locators! That's 10 individual, isolated GPS receivers in ONE boat!

Do you have room for sails, lines and fenders on board ?





-Sven

[capngeo]

Originally Posted by SvenG

Do you have room for sails, lines and fenders on board ?





-Sven

Naaa who needs THOSE?

[MehmetCan]

Capngeo, o.k., even the time saved on navigation while using a GPS makes it more secure, not to mention the accuracy. On the other hand, I've had more than several occasions where just a simple surge busted all the electronics that're hooked up to the system. And for a long ocean passage, I wouldn't trust the handhelds either, since how many batteries will you have on board and more importantly, if you choose them from rechargeable ones, you won't have any house electricity to charge them!

I've asked this question in three different categories for a reason. The last two are obvious, in an emergency situation, a handheld GPS with all the moisture and lack of charging would be useless and novelty value of a sextant is really good. But I believe I need to clarify the "everyday use" scenario a bit further. It's there in order to keep practicing the art and always stay ready just in case the need occurs (you may have a gun but you need to practice shooting from time to time to use it effectively when that time -hopefully never- comes).

Once again, as a long time computer programmer/engineer , I just wouldn't trust any computer system that's open to outside interference (in other words "has internet connection") for an ocean passage, especially a windows based PC. Touch screens are too brittle and once again, handheld devices really drain AA's or AAA's...

Last but not least, I'm talking about redundancy on sextants, could you just imagine how paranoid I'd be when having redundant GPS's on board?

Cheers;
M.


P.S. : I have another topic about anchors as well, am I looking for trouble or what?
P.P.S. : It's just way too fun to see mariners to take anchors, GPS/sextants and guns so personal. I just love cf!!! Have a great Sunday all...

[svHyLyte]

Originally Posted by MehmetCan

After spending almost two decades programming computers and designing systems, I know one thing for sure; electronics fail all the time. So which sextants would you suggest for these three usages :

1. Everyday use
2. Emergency use
3. One to be proud of without caring for the price, something for the grand children and etc.

This question probably came to the posts many times, sorry for the inconvenience in advance and thank you all for your comments.

Fair winds and best regards;
Mehmet

If you are still in the market, check out this SailNet thread. This is a good opportunity: 1938 Henry Hughes & Son Sextant - SailNet Community

[C4 King Cobra]

Just to add. When cruising I always at least take a noon shot and work it. Just for something to do and to check my acccuracy against GPS. It also keeps you fresh on the instrument. BOB

[MehmetCan]

Originally Posted by C4 King Cobra

Just to add. When cruising I always at least take a noon shot and work it. Just for something to do and to check my acccuracy against GPS. It also keeps you fresh on the instrument. BOB

This is exactly what I mean... Thanks C4 King Cobra (by the way, you forgot "nuclear rocketship awesome destructor" in the nick, (tongue in cheek))...

[Pyrate]

There are also plenty of people around like me, who enjoy keeping a dying art alive. Heck, that's one reason I have a sailboat! I've sailed on tall ships and shown people how to use a chip log, a cannon as a radar (which can still be done today with a loud horn), etc. Plotting on paper is heading the same way nowadays. But, I still like keeping all these old ways alive and well for the sake of history and nautical lore, especially because these archaic practices may actually have a practical use one day. Regardless, it's just a fun way to show other sailors that you're 'saltier' than them.

[senormechanico]

I like this one.

Never mind, I thought you said sex tent

[SvenG]

Originally Posted by C4 King Cobra

When cruising I always at least take a noon shot and work it.

Great idea ! Think I'll start that too, not to keep my skills up but to get some :-)



-Sven

[wolfenzee]

I have two sextants, one is the Davis plastic super basic and one is a Sauru brass with all the bells and whistles,filters, built in light, 5x telescope, etc in a mahagony box. Basically simplicity vs. accuacy. The Davis was $10 at a Marine Exchange and the Sauru was about $600 ($50 on e-bay). I recommend having both on board (I also have a couple of GPS units). Useing a GPS along with your sextant shots helps to improve your accuracy.
I sailed a boat from Burmuda to Norfolk with no electronics or power to run any using just sextant and dead reckoning, the few position fixes we got from freighters were spot on the whole way. Doing with out techy gizmos for a bit makes their iminate failure less likely to cause a panic

[roverhi]

I used, and still have, a Tamiya back in the days that I had to relie on it for navigation. Worked great with no problems getting us around SoPac. Don't believe it's really a case of perfect sextant, just how much money you want to spend and whether to buy new or used.

As far as why to bother with a sextant, one word: LIGHTNING!!!!!

[SkiprJohn]

I have a Davis Mark 25 and an Astra IIIB just like Cabo. If the weather is rough and you don't want to chance losing or dropping your IIIB you can take your plastic Davis topsides.
When I bought my first Davis Mark 25 back in the mid 80s it was $125 I believe. But, that was in Hawaii so it probably was quite a bit cheaper on the mainland. It was a great unit and it got me from Hanalei to the Straits of Juan de Fuca just fine.
kind regards,

[knotnow]

Originally Posted by SkiprJohn

If the weather is rough and you don't want to chance losing or dropping your IIIB you can take your plastic Davis topsides.

A simple tether around the frame and your neck solves that problem. And if it gets bumped one should know how to adjust the errors out.

[wolfenzee]

Originally Posted by knotnow

A simple tether around the frame and your neck solves that problem. And if it gets bumped one should know how to adjust the errors out.

I'd rather have a couple ounces of plastic hit my in the chest than a heavy (expensive) chunk of brass....still nice to have a back up...a plastic one is also good to toss in the ditch bag.

Considering how cheap you can get a used Davis for it would be better to get both.

[knotnow]

Originally Posted by wolfenzee

I'd rather have a couple ounces of plastic hit my in the chest than a heavy (expensive) chunk of brass

You know you’ve got a valid point concerning weight hitting you in the chest. However I have 2 different pair of binoculars. A cheap pair of Tasco’s that are clear as a bell and nice to use BUT when we’re pitching around my heavy Leupold’s are a heck of a lot steadier. If I’m correct the steadier you are the more accurate the site.