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» Online Classroom   » Celestial Navigation   » Public Discussion of Cel Nav   » More Stuff!?

   
Author Topic: More Stuff!?
rbunn


 - posted July 12, 2007 12:03 PM      Profile for rbunn           Edit/Delete Post 
So, I now have a Walker Mk III KDO Log, a NA, a couple of sextants, a couple of good digital watches with big, easy-to-read digits on them, a piece of drafting linoleum, some navigational plotting tools and a pencil. Of course I also have a magnetic compass for bearing and a SSB receiver for time checks (and other things as well). It appears that I also need at least three volumes of Pub 229 (Pub 249 is listed as Out of Print on the gov website). The boat is small, pretty soon I will have to start throwing the electronic nav stuff overboard just to make room for the manual backup.

If I am to be able to accurately determine my position at sea, how much more stuff will I need to do so accurately? This is not a rhetorical question.

Also, I have this book "The Complete On-Board Celestial Navigator - Everything but the Sextant" by George G. Bennett. Claims to have everything I need except the sextant(well, and except the watches, compasses, time check radio, etc., etc.).

Could I get by with just that book (not planning to)? I don't know enough at this point to make that judgment, plus I am too busy, the CN course is burning up large quantities of my discretionary time - but well worth it I think. Depending on what else I have to buy to actually find out where I am!

How much more stuff do I need to get on order to pull this off?

Thanks for the course, so far it is well organized and well presented. I feel that I am actually learning something!

Richard Bunn
s/v Martha Daggett

David Burch


 - posted July 12, 2007 03:59 PM      Profile for David Burch           Edit/Delete Post 
You do not need the sight reduction tables since there is a set of sight reduction tables in the almanac... they take a few steps extra over the Pub 249 (which is in print from several companies and also online at no charge), but it is well worth learning the process. we cover it in the course materials. The Bennett book is good, but it is also redundant to a Nautical Almanac, since the almanac covers all bodies for the year, and sun and stars for later years. The virtue of the Bennett book is you get moon and planets for 5 years, and thus would not need another almanac for next years, but the sight reduction method used in that book is not very popular. Also these days it is not difficult to get an almanac shipped to you to any port... or we have a perpetual almanac as a pc program as a back up. if you have the electronic version of our course that almanac program is included.

You might want to look over a copy of the emergency nav book. there is an ebook copy or a reprint.

From: Starpath, Seattle, WA


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