Synopses & Reviews
"The wealth of useful material is prodigious and by the time one has reached the back cover, the sextant is an old friend. Just as important, Cdr. Bauer deals comprehensively with maintenance and service, and his advice on how to select and assess a second-hand sextant is truly worthwhile. Refreshingly, he writes in a friendly manner--almost as though he is chatting to a group of students. A thoroughly enjoyable book."--Peter Milne, Technical Editor,
Yachting World Magazine (England)
"If this book is a highly detailed technical manual, the reader is hardly aware, so plentiful are the diversions into related topics. It makes great reading and virtually everyone . . . regardless of one's skill level with a sextant . . . will find new things to learn about sextants, their history, their future and their best use."--Ocean Navigator
"The sextant and Commander Bauer's handbook should be standard equipment on every seagoing vessel. It is a book that should be provided with every sextant and class in navigating."--R. J. Holt, Director, Chesapeake Bay Maritime Museum
"One recognizes here a centennial Lecky on the sextant. There is plenty of new material presented in a manner that would make a stranger want to meet Bruce Bauer and converse with him face to face."--Paul M. Anderton, Navigation Instructor
"Cdr. Bauer's book will become a standard reference on the sextant for professional and amateur navigators around the world. I have been doing celestial navigation since 1953 and have not, until now, been able to find so much information on the sextant collected in one place."--A. W. Fowler, Ocean Racing Navigator
"Bauer has succeeded in gathering a wealth of information from a multitude of sources and brought it all together into a fascinating book for the mariner. I recommend it to those who navigate the ocean's highways."--Warren P. Davis, Colonel, USA (Ret.), Sextant Authority
"Insecurity is sitting on a boat in the middle of the ocean staring at an out-of-whack sextant and not knowing how to fix it. I know from experience. This book should be mandatory equipment on every boat that goes offshore."--Wayne Carpenter, Author, The Voyage of Kristina
Synopsis
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.
Synopsis
"The wealth of useful material is prodigious and by the time one has reached the back cover, the sextant is an old friend. Just as important, Cdr. Bauer deals comprehensively with maintenance and service, and his advice on how to select and assess a second-hand sextant is truly worthwhile. Refreshingly, he writes in a friendly manner--almost as though he is chatting to a group of students. A thoroughly enjoyable book."--Peter Milne, Technical Editor,
Yachting World Magazine (England)
"If this book is a highly detailed technical manual, the reader is hardly aware, so plentiful are the diversions into related topics. It makes great reading and virtually everyone . . . regardless of one's skill level with a sextant . . . will find new things to learn about sextants, their history, their future and their best use."--Ocean Navigator
"The sextant and Commander Bauer's handbook should be standard equipment on every seagoing vessel. It is a book that should be provided with every sextant and class in navigating."--R. J. Holt, Director, Chesapeake Bay Maritime Museum
"One recognizes here a centennial Lecky on the sextant. There is plenty of new material presented in a manner that would make a stranger want to meet Bruce Bauer and converse with him face to face."--Paul M. Anderton, Navigation Instructor
"Cdr. Bauer's book will become a standard reference on the sextant for professional and amateur navigators around the world. I have been doing celestial navigation since 1953 and have not, until now, been able to find so much information on the sextant collected in one place."--A. W. Fowler, Ocean Racing Navigator
"Bauer has succeeded in gathering a wealth of information from a multitude of sources and brought it all together into a fascinating book for the mariner. I recommend it to those who navigate the ocean's highways."--Warren P. Davis, Colonel, USA (Ret.), Sextant Authority
"Insecurity is sitting on a boat in the middle of the ocean staring at an out-of-whack sextant and not knowing how to fix it. I know from experience. This book should be mandatory equipment on every boat that goes offshore."--Wayne Carpenter, Author, The Voyage of Kristina
Table of Contents
Introduction
Chapter 1 A Short History
Astrolabe
Latitude Hook
Quadrant
Cross Staff
Back Staff
Sextant
Chapter 2 Elements of the Sextant and Four Vital Adjustments
Perpendicularity
Frame and Index Mirror
Frame and Horizon Glass
Parallelism
Index Mirror and Horizon Glass
Telescope and Frame
Adjustment Procedures
Chapter 3 Attachments and Accessories
Astigmatizers
Double Star Prism
Wide View Horizon Glass
Davis Prism Level
Bubble Horizon Attachment
Neck Straps
Visual Aids
Chapter 4 Care, Maintenance, and Repair
Oiling and Cleaning
Immersion Bath Procedures
How to Hold
Where to Put Down
Mounted Sextant Boxes
Emergency Silvering Techniques
Applying Paint
Resilvering Horizon Glass
Chapter 5 How to Buy a Sextant
Where to Find Them
Prices
Five Ground Rules to Avoid Problems
Taking Test Sights
Interstellar Test Table
Discovering the Dropped Sextant
Reconditioning Costs
Chapter 6 Sighting Techniques
Inversion for Location
Precalculating Azimuths
Rocking or Swinging an Arc
Sun's Upper Limb
Shades for Sun, Moon, and Venus
Correcting for False Horizon
Rough Weather Sighting Techniques
Making a Monocle
Chapter 7 Correcting the Sight
The Thirteen Errors
Correcting for Moon, Venus, and Mars
Correcting for Wave Height
Chapter 8 Timing the Sight Accurately
The Hack Watch
Using a Tape Recorder
Counting Paces and Stopwatches
Attaching Stopwatch to Sextant
Chapter 9 Searching for Stars
The Necessity for Preplanning
Finding Sunrise
Using the Rude Star Finder
Converting Local Time
Using H.O. Pub. No. 249
Making and Using a Wrist Board
Chapter 10 Sextants of Tomorrow
Is the Sextant Doomed?
Coming Developments
Appendixes
A--Sextant Check Procedures
B--Sextant Manufacturers
C--Distribution and Dealers
D--The Navigator's Basic Tool Kit
E--Making and Using an Artificial Horizon
F--Table of Interstellar Angles for Practice Sighting and Sextant Testing
G--Useful Addresses
Bibliography
Index