Freiburger Zeiss Yacht Sextant

This is the entry-level Zeiss product, with a smaller overall size and smaller arc than its full-size brothers.

It’s fair to say that smaller arc radius must lead to slightly less accuracy, though whether it matters on a moving yacht is a moot point. It is light and handy to use, though it has fewer shades than most sextants, which may hamper some people with very sensitive eyes. The 2.4 x telescope is just about usable for stars, but 3x, or more, is better.

I’ve never been keen on the simple uncontoured handle, as I suspect the sextant could slip from the user’s hand.

If you want a low-cost, compact metal sextant that is not manufactured in the Far East, this is the one.

Price £659 Weight 860g Arc radius 142mm Telescope 2.4x Shades 2 horizon, 3 index shades Contact FPM Holding GmbH Web www.fpm.de Tel +49 (0) 37 31 27 14 35 Small and light for a metal sextant, but the telescope isn’t the best