The Sextant Handbook [Paperback]

Bruce Bauer (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0070052190 | ISBN-13: 978-0070052192 | Publication Date: February 1, 1995 | Edition: 2

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.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"It is an excellent book, unique in its field." -- The Ensign

"The wealth of useful material is prodigious and by the time onw has reached the back cover, the sextant is an old friend." -- Yachting World

"This is a good book... The author writes clearly and knowledgeably." -- Sailing

From the Back Cover

"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

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 192 pages
• Publisher: International Marine/Ragged Mountain Press; 2 edition (February 1, 1995)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0070052190
• ISBN-13: 978-0070052192
• Product Dimensions: 9.2 x 6.1 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 5.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (11 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #299,495 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #71 in Books > Professional & Technical > Professional Science > Astronomy & Space Science > Star-Gazing

More About the Author

Discover books, learn about writers, read author blogs, and more.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

46 of 46 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A book for the sextant lover, May 15, 2001

By 

Yves Arrouye (Sunnyvale, CA USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Sextant Handbook (Paperback)

Sextants are bautiful instruments that let us determine our position by observing stars and planets. They are very precise optical instruments, and today, the least expensive new metal sextant costing around $... Such a precious and expensive instrument needs to be cared for properly.

This book contains very helpful information on how to adjust (or how not to adjust, to avoid damage) your sextant to ensure accurate sightings. The book also covers what can be done to continue to use a sextant after damage, including what repairs can be done by its user. It covers the use and storage of the sextant at sea, gives good tips on how to get good sights and times, and describes a number of sextant types, apparels, and accessories, along with their pros and cons. It also contains interesting information about the history of celestial navigation. I bought my sextant new, but there is a really good section on buying a used sextant. Cmd. Bauer also gives numerous contact information for sextant manufacturers, importers, and retailers, though I haven't checked if they are still up to date. At the very least they will be a good guide for the prospective buyer of a new or used sextant.

The pricing information on the book is outdated, and so are some of the things that are described, like Davis' prism to ensure verticality of the sextant, which is not manufactured or distributed anymore. But it is really well written, full of good information, and a very nice companion to your sextant, or a good guide before you buy one, used or new. Obviously, Cmd. Bauer knows what he writes about, and how to present his knowledge in a compelling manner.

11 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars The Sextant Handbook, by Bruce Bauer, February 20, 2007

By 

Gary P. Joyce (Aquebogue, NY) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: The Sextant Handbook (Paperback)

Bauer -- no, not Jack Bauer, and Bruce isn't his brother -- is an ex-Navy man and often it comes through his writing, which sets the books mood and tone. If you've battled with self-learning celestial navigation (as I am) you'll appreciate the beginnings of the book, and it IS more readable and understandable than much of what I've been through before. The second edition is dated 1992; the pricing he gets into on used sextants is worthless; his seemingly complete disdain for plastic sextants (I have a Davis Mk. 25) is pretty clear as well. Nonetheless, this is pretty clearly written, and in many cases explained theory/math that I was unable to grasp in other instructional books. I've still yet to make a correct sight, but I'm getting closer all the time!

22 of 29 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars sextant repair and use, July 11, 2001

By A Customer

This review is from: The Sextant Handbook (Paperback)

This book is a necisity for anyone that wants to sail beyond the coast. It has excelent advice on the use adjustment and purchasing of your primary navagational aid. Yes I know you have a gps (genuine piece of ) you must be able to find your way without it.