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

Author: David Burch
Publisher:
ISBN: 9780914025245
Category : Sports & Recreation
Languages : en
Pages : 106

Book Description
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 Nautical Sextant

Author: W. J. Morris
Publisher:
ISBN: 9780939837892
Category : Reference
Languages : en
Pages : 246

Book Description
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.

Taking the Stars

Author: Peter Ifland
Publisher: Krieger Publishing Company
ISBN:
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 248

Book Description
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

Author: Mary Blewitt
Publisher: A&C Black
ISBN: 1472906764
Category : Transportation
Languages : en
Pages : 104

Book Description
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 Disappearing Spoon

Author: Sam Kean
Publisher: Little, Brown
ISBN: 0316089087
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 333

Book Description
From New York Times bestselling author Sam Kean comes incredible stories of science, history, finance, mythology, the arts, medicine, and more, as told by the Periodic Table. Why did Gandhi hate iodine (I, 53)? How did radium (Ra, 88) nearly ruin Marie Curie's reputation? And why is gallium (Ga, 31) the go-to element for laboratory pranksters? The Periodic Table is a crowning scientific achievement, but it's also a treasure trove of adventure, betrayal, and obsession. These fascinating tales follow every element on the table as they play out their parts in human history, and in the lives of the (frequently) mad scientists who discovered them. The Disappearing Spoon masterfully fuses science with the classic lore of invention, investigation, and discovery -- from the Big Bang through the end of time. Though solid at room temperature, gallium is a moldable metal that melts at 84 degrees Fahrenheit. A classic science prank is to mold gallium spoons, serve them with tea, and watch guests recoil as their utensils disappear.

Celestial Navigation in the GPS Age

Author: John Karl
Publisher: Paradise Cay Publications
ISBN: 9780939837755
Category : Technology & Engineering
Languages : en
Pages : 292

Book Description
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.

Reed's Sextant Simplified

Author: Dag Pike
Publisher: Sheridan House, Inc.
ISBN: 9781574091687
Category : Sextant
Languages : en
Pages : 118

Book Description
The sextant is the treasured navigational device of generations of seamen and airmen. It enables position to be determined with good accuracy for ocean navigation, and it was the combination of sextant and chronometer that allowed safe navigation of the oceans for generations of seafarers. Despite the accuracy and ease of use of electronic navigation systems, every navigator should be able to use a sextant. It could even save your life in the event of electronics failure. This book describes how a sextant works, provides practical tips and advice on using it, explains how to read as well as take sights, how to make adjustments and correct errors, and finally advises on how to handle and care for the instrument. Book jacket.

Sail and Rig Tuning

Author: Ivar Dedekam
Publisher: *Wiley Nautical
ISBN: 9781898660675
Category : Sports & Recreation
Languages : en
Pages : 84

Book Description
A guide to tuning the sails and rigs of yachts and small keelboats, featuring step-by-step instructions and more than 150 illustrations.

Sextants at Greenwich

Author: W. F. J. Mörzer Bruyns
Publisher: OUP Oxford
ISBN: 0191608904
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 336

Book Description
Sextants at Greenwich consists of two main sections: The introductory chapters and the catalogue of navigating instruments of the National Maritime Museum. The first section gives a general overview of the history of celestial navigation with an emphasis on the instruments that were developed and used for that purpose, between about 1450 and the 1970s. The instruments in the catalogue form the main thread in these chapters. The catalogue consists of 347 entries of instruments for celestial navigation, the octants, sextants and related instruments preserved in the National Maritime Museum. Each entry includes the place of the object's origin, its maker, the object's date, inscriptions (by the maker and/or relating to an owner), the graduated scale, the instrument's dimensions and a general description that includes details such as used materials and detached parts. Finally the object's provenance (previous owners and/or users) and references to literature on its history and handling are given.

Latitude Hooks and Azimuth Rings: How to Build and Use 18 Traditional Navigational Tools

Author: Dennis Fisher
Publisher: McGraw Hill Professional
ISBN: 9780070211209
Category : Crafts & Hobbies
Languages : en
Pages : 180

Book Description
Latitude Hooks and Azimuth Rings is for people who like to work with their hands and who appreciate traditional nautical craftsmanship. You don't have to be the master of any craft to undertake any of these projects--from a simple kamal or latitude hook to the more complex pelorus or octant--just a careful and enthusiastic worker. These 18 projects fall roughly into three categories: decorative, useful, and somewhere in between. Some, such as the astrolabe, are mainly for display. On the other hand, the sounding line is an important and practical tool for small-craft navigation, particularly in the absence of an electronic sounder. The cross-staff falls somewhere in between, equally at home in the den or the ditch kit. Each of the devices discussed here--with simple, proven building instructions complemented by clear illustrations--has at one time or another been used for the practical business of navigation, and each is worth reviving for its beauty, historic value, or sheer usefulness. Dennis Fisher has designed these projects with an emphasis on simplicity and reasonable cost. Everything can be scratch-built using easily obtainable materials and tools, and each is true to the spirit and function of the original instrument.