The New and Improved Celestial Navigation Poll

[JoeFish]

Good fun, thanks for posting this. I have two sextants (one is an aviation sextant from WWII which is really fun) and am planning to upgrade my daily driver to a Cassens and Plath Horizon Ultra next year.

[s/v Jedi]

Originally Posted by rubyjean

Nick, nice piece, is it an Original? ..Michael..

I think it is... the Melia hotel here has all sorts of Spanish colonial antiques and it sits right there on a table in front of the elevators. I'll do some macro shots next time, there are precision scales on it.

ciao!
Nick.

[sidmon]

Originally Posted by s/v Jedi

Sextants?! you guys 'n galls are getting complacent with those modern contraptions. Real sailors use real tools... have worked for my ancestors so works for you too



Nick.

Ahh Nicky...It is always refreshing to see that I can reliably count on your misplaced sarcasm.

BTW.

Finished up installing my autopilot yesterday.

One thing I won't do though is "integrate" it into the new Geonav system, about which they gush in Cruising World:

Now you can plot your course without enrolling in one.

Yeah. Sure.

And what about that little disclaimer that states such a system is not to be used for primary navigation?

What worked for our ancestors who put to sea works for us too.

Never lose touch with the basics of seafairing..

[s/v Jedi]

Originally Posted by sidmon

Ahh Nicky...It is always refreshing to see that I can reliably count on your misplaced sarcasm.

Very sad to see you still want to attack and offend me every opportunity and also very sad that you lack even little sense of humor... you're the only one that read it and didn't smile.

cheers,
Nick.

[foolishsailor]

Originally Posted by Astrid

And there are some people, myself included, that enjoy using and becoming proficient with tools of the past.

Thumbs, I also love cutting rabbit joints in keels using hand tools, inducing camber on the inside of planks to insure a flush fit with a frame member using a curved cabinet scraper...oh wait ya can't really do these with power tools easily...

...love the old stuff especially when it still has modern day relevance...

[barnakiel]

Originally Posted by s/v Jedi

Sex(...)?! you guys ... (...)

Sorry Nick, lewd language should have no place on this forum! No wonder you get attacked or disliked.

;-)
b.

[rubyjean]

Hey, It's Easter Sunday. Let's play nice for one day..Thank You All and enjoy this special day...Michael..

[barnakiel]

Yep.

Them Easter'ners, they are getting on my nerves too.

;-)
b

[chala]

Originally Posted by deckofficer

Pinwheel, when you shoot 6 or 7 stars and all your LOP's when drawn form a pinwheel with all LOP's crossing at the same point.

At what chart Scale?
"shoot 6 or 7 stars" In the tropics?

[chala]

Originally Posted by Ex-Calif

If one still has the iPhone working after the lightning strike one needn't use it as a sextant. It is a gps plotter.

Tempest in a teapot.

CN is an interesting and useful skill. Many have stated they will learn it after the docklines are cast and timeis more available. I am in that crowd. Just understanding the night stars is a cool thing anyway.

In the meantime, "there's an app for that!"

There is more to taking sights than just pointing a sextant and filling up a form. I would suggest that you familiarise yourself with the full procedure before the “docklines are cast”. You may have to take sights in a cloudy day, on a boat heeling in a disturbed sea and you will need two hands to hold the sextant and the chronometer. I normally hug a shroud with my right arm on the windward side. Like anything else shooting stars require some training and good planning. A good sextant like any good tools will produce far better result and much satisfaction.

[chala]

Originally Posted by AllezCat

Is a calculator, or software program worth it - or anathema to the whole idea? And how many books - almanacs and sight reduction tables do you need?
thx

Star Navigator Light 32 used to be free.
In OZ I could do with only one book “20xx NAUTICAL ALMANAC COMMERCIAL EDITION”
For greater accuracy I like to fine-tune the Index error.
Be also aware than chart plotters time can be out by few seconds, good to check it with that “lady”
Have fun.

Originally Posted by chala

Stars

[gpdno]

Originally Posted by chala

At what chart Scale?
"shoot 6 or 7 stars" In the tropics?

6 or 7. Dang, I have a hard enough time getting 3 before it too dark for me to see the horizon...

[goboatingnow]

Originally Posted by gpdno

6 or 7. Dang, I have a hard enough time getting 3 before it too dark for me to see the horizon...

Me too , being a northern lats lad, damm night falls on you like a rock in the tropics.

Dave

[gjordan]

I never tried to do more than 3 stars , but I always tried to do more than one shot on each star and average. I also never found any noticable differance in length of twilight time south of the line compared with north of the line. Just my experiance!_____Grant.

[deckofficer]

Originally Posted by gpdno

6 or 7. Dang, I have a hard enough time getting 3 before it too dark for me to see the horizon...

A bit easier on the deck of the 499' training vessel Golden Bear vs a small, private boat. We were encouraged to shoot quickly and many. A lot of 4, 5, lop pinwheels, with some 7 lop pinwheels. CMA was a rather competitive atmosphere. Around 20* N, near Hawaii, was my senior cruise CN course.