Next message: Fred Hebard: "Re: Buying a sextant- a cautionary tale."
George,
I buy on Ebay only if the price is low enough that I can resell it if I don’t like the instrument. There is no trick I know of to guarantee a good purchase without looking at it first. I have a few sextants (3 I use and 6 I display) and chronometers (4 I display)) but my main interest is Walker taffrail logs and I will buy and sell 5 to 8 before I get one I want to keep.
Robert Gainer
>
> From: George Huxtable <>
> Date: 2006/04/27 Thu PM 05:10:22 EDT
> To:
> Subject: Buying a sextant- a cautionary tale.
>
> On this list, I have frequently expressed my opinion that a cheapo plastic sextant is the appropriate instrument to carry on a small
> boat, in view of the rough-and-ready nature of the observations that result from an unstable platform underfoot, and a viewpoint so
> close to the waves. That remains my view.
>
> However, in recent years I have coveted a "real" sextant, and particularly a Vernier instrument rather than a micrometer. For
> historical reasons, mostly, in that the basic design of a Vernier sextant remains unaltered since its introduction about 250 years
> ago. Although I might keep it on the mantlepiece, rather than install it on my little boat, it would not be just an ornament, but
> would be asked to do a proper job. Such as measuring lunar distances, for example; a precise task which my plastic Ebbco is
> certainly not up to. I am quite aware that the micrometer sextant was a real advance, making it much easier to read an angle,
> without sacrificing precision. But the nice thing about the Vernier is that its precision is so apparent, demonstrated just by a
> close look at the nicety of the scale divisions, though my old eyes are probably not good enought to do it justice. Anyway, A
> Vernier sextant it was to be.
>
> Alex Eremenko has also expressed interest, in a thread "Problem with a sextant", when he wrote-
>
> "And I hope my next sextant will be one of those old ones with Vernier and microscope and no teeth to worry about! If I find a good
> one."
>
> I have been keeping my eye on Ebay, the UK version ebay.co.uk, and decided to bid for a 1920's Heath Hezzanith Vernier sextant that
> appeared.. That model was the "standard" British instrument of its time, widely sold and used. It was being sold by a fellow who had
> used it, as a navigating officer in the 1960's, and had inherited it from his father who had possessed it since the start of his
> merchant-navy career, in the 1920's. So: good provenance, no antique-dealers involved to add their markup and polish the
> scale-divisions off the arc. It was stated that mirrors, shades, and arc were all in perfect condition, though a brass spring-clip
> (that opposed the action of a mirror adjusting screw) was broken and needed replacement. That wouldn't present a problem. What more
> could anyone ask? So I bid, and as there was little contest, got it as £185 (about $300 by my reckoning), which pleased me as quite
> a bargain. I would have paid more. It was interesting to get a message from another mariner, after the bidding had finished, to say
> that he had been unable to bid, and offering to buy from me for more than I had paid.
>
> A point that the seller had emphasised was that although Brasso had been used to polish other parts, only breadcrumbs were ever used
> to clean the silver arc (a trick I had heard of before). I made a long drive to collect it, and it was a surprise to discover that
> although all the other claims were indeed true, there were serious problems with the arc. Although, over most of the arc, the fine
> divisions were clear and sharp, at angles less than 10 degrees, they had become faint and hard to read. Below 5 degrees, through the
> zero-point, to the end of the off-the arc section, there was no trace of any fine-divisions whatsoever. They had been completely
> polished off. That, of course, made it quite unusable as a measuring instrument, though it would still have some value as an
> ornament.
>
> By this time, money had already changed hands, and the seller didn't quibble at all about making a full refund. That put me back
> where I had started off except for my wasted time, and a wasted long journey through the West-country. Not entirely wasted, I should
> add; glorious Spring weather, lots of blossom out, England at its (rare) best.
>
> My experience shows up the problems that can occur when you buy something as finicky as a sextant, sight unseen, at auction. Will I
> be tempted to try again? Probably, yes. What more can I do to avoid another disappointment? I have no idea. Perhaps others, with
> more experience of these matters, can offer suggestions.
>
> George.
>
> ===============
>
> contact George Huxtable at
> or at +44 1865 820222 (from UK, 01865 820222)
> or at 1 Sandy Lane, Southmoor, Abingdon, Oxon OX13 5HX, UK.
>
