Sextant

[SheetWise]

My daughter is headed to the US Naval Academy, and I have been looking for a sextant to give her so that she can get a head start on celestial navigation. I have been beat about a dozen times on eBay -- always at the last second, and by wide margins. Apparently sextants are collectible items. Does anybody know a better place to look, or have a set they would be willing to part with? I'm aware I'm going to have to spend several hundred dollars, but the collectors are really making this difficult for me.

[gonzo]

You can get a Davis. I navigated with one of them for years.

[Stumble]

Clausen also makes a good one, but instead of brass they have some that are aluminium. Which on a small boat helps since it isn't as hard to hold them properly.

I am not sure but I thought the Navel Academy canceled its celestial navigation class around 2003. It might be a good skill to learn, but I don't know that it is a leg up anymore.

[daiquiri]

There's an italian on-line shop for sextants: http://www.ottante.it/ecommerce/prod...egory=sestanti
but, apart a Davis MK15 which is made of plastic and costs €180 , you can't find a one for less than €650. To convert euros to U.S. dollars, you have to multiply by approximately 1.45 .
Unfortunately the site is in italian only, but if you need a help with translation - just ask.

You could also check this site: http://www.thefind.com/sports/info-marine-sextant
They have some interesting items there, and the prices are similar to the above.

Now... Don't consider this as a provocation (I mean, she's going to US Naval Academy...) but there's this little thing here: http://www.soviet-power.com/detail.php?pid=1611
What you can see is a soviet replica of a german Freiberger sextant. Freiberger is the ex west-german Zeiss Jena - the other name for world's finest precision optics and their sextants were considered among the best in the world. There you have basically a Freiberger-like sextant for 450 U.S. dollars.

If you want an original Freiberger, the price will be almost four times higher: http://www.ottante.it/ecommerce/prod...egory=sestanti

Cheers!

[bntii]

Have her check with Bacon's over on West street.
They usually have a few nice ones in stock & had Hal Roths personal sextant a while back.

Decent German instruments will run ~ 7 to 12 hundred USD.


Edit:

Oops - a present...

Call Bacon's to see what they have in stock....

[Crag Cay]

The Astra IIIB is a better choice than any of the plastic jobs.

I've had mine for 25 years, but don't think I'll ever use it again in anger. If you need a back up for your GPS, buy another GPS.

[SheetWise]

Thank you for all of your replies.

Stumble -- Celestial navigation is still considered a valuable skill, and is still given credit, but may no longer be required. My hope is to strengthen her love of geometry and appreciation of history along with learning a skill that will be recognized in her studies. That's one reason I've been looking for a sextant that has some historical provenance.

Thank you all for the links, as they confirm my findings ... I need to reserve more funds for this somewhat whimsical purchase.

daiquiri -- I have bid on a couple of the Russian "yellow box" sextants, but was uncertain about the quality. I see that they are immediately available for ~$500 USD. I have a couple auctions I'm in now, and if they don't work -- I will take your recommendation and purchase one. They look like quality instruments, and I don't think their origin will upset any bearing

[SheetWise]

Originally Posted by Crag Cay

The Astra IIIB is a better choice than any of the plastic jobs.

I've had mine for 25 years, but don't think I'll ever use it again in anger. If you need a back up for your GPS, buy another GPS.

You do realize that GPS can be broken, attacked, turned off, and/or encrypted. That's tough to do with the sun, moon, and stars

[hoytedow]

Try here: http://www.antiquesextant.com/sext-8in.htm

http://www.antiquesextant.com/TamayaJupiter.htm

[SheetWise]

Originally Posted by hoytedow

Try here: http://www.antiquesextant.com/TamayaJupiter.htm

That one looks interesting, thank you.

[HReeve]

I bought a Davis plastic one from here last year

http://www.celestaire.com/

along with a couple of the recommended books.

[SheetWise]

Originally Posted by HReeve

I bought a Davis plastic one from here last year

http://www.celestaire.com/

along with a couple of the recommended books.

I like the practice bubble sextant -- cool tool. Thanks.

[SheetWise]

Thanks for all your help. I just won an auction. It appears to be a functional tool, and also represents a little bit of history. I found it on eBay.

[cthippo]

Originally Posted by SheetWise

You do realize that GPS can be broken, attacked, turned off, and/or encrypted. That's tough to do with the sun, moon, and stars

Unless you're in Washington, and then we have an excellent cloaking technology called rain

[SheetWise]

Originally Posted by cthippo

Unless you're in Washington, and then we have an excellent cloaking technology called rain

I'm aware of your cloaking technology -- it also applies to your politics