The ‘Box’ or Pocket Sextant

Extract

Last summer I sailed in R.M.S. Newfoundland from Boston to Liverpool and took the opportunity of keeping up a navigational plot using a minimum of charts and instruments. The sextant I used was a box sextant and it occurs to me that some description of this instrument may be of interest to navigators. Box sextants are lightweight and usually have a sling case which enables them to be carried or packed away easily. They are much less expensive than the standard sextant, and since they are precision-made instruments will last just as long. Good results can be obtained with them both in coastal navigation and offshore.