[swains]

I've recently acquired a Tamaya Sextant Model#631. Made in 1975.
I would like to find a copy of the owner's manual if at all possible. Does anyone have one I could photocopy or have a lead to suggest for obtaining one?

 

[hellosailor]

There are email lists for traditional navigation, I'd suggest joining a few and putting your request on them. Another owner probably would run the opies off for you for free.

Celestaire.com might be able to put you in touch with Tamaya, they carry their sextants. Or, they might be able to get you a spare booklet, they're probably the leading sextant nav company in the US, and nice folks.

 

[camaraderie]

Or try them directly here:
http://www.tamaya-technics.com/e_site/ms833_e.html

 

[sailingdog]

I'd contact Celestaire or Tamaya and see if they can send you a copy. If you contact Tamaya, they may have it available on-line as a downloadable PDF file.

 

[catamount]

I too have a Tamaya sextant with no manual. I didn't find one on the website Cam gave. But I CAN recommend "The Sextant Handbook" by Bruce Bauer.

 

[sailingdog]

The Sextant Handbook is an excellent resource for anyone who uses a sextant.

 

[sailaway21]

I bought my Tamaya in 1977 and I don't remember it coming with a manual. I think it's sort of like a Ferrari owners manual-they don't tell you how to operate the transmission.<G> If I'm reading between the lines correctly you probably want to adjust the sextant. Chapter 15 of the 1984 Bowditch tells you all you need to know on that. Newer edition is out. The newer eds have moved some things around and the info you want may be in Vol. 2 now. Some talk that the gov. was getting out of publishing it-but I just saw a new version of volume 2 at west marine two weeks ago. Probably cheaper on Amazon. Vol. 2 is what you want, if it has sextant adjustment in it now, for the tables and piloting info-it's the vol. you want on your boat. Me, I'd buy both volumes-there's a ton of authoritative info in them that you won't find elsewhere. I'm not familiar with the book listed above, it may have just what you need, I'm just a strong believer that every sailor who desires to go over the horizon should know their way around Bowditch.

 

[sailaway21]

BTW, fine instrument-never regretted not spending the extra money on the Plath.

 

[hellosailor]

Sailaway, I'd offer to email you a PDF copy of Bowditch, but at 40MB it is more than most folks can take in their email. Glad to FTP it if you can take that though.

USNO has (had??) Bowditch available online if you didn't mind doing separate chapters unlinked. And some erratta in page numbering and chapter numbers (there was a dupe) unless they've finally caught up to that.

 

[catamount]

You can get Bowditch chapter by chapter here

or all in one 35 Mb zipped file here: http://www.nga.mil/MSISiteContent/StaticFiles/NAV_PUBS/APN/pub9.zip

 

[sailaway21]

Thanks for the offer guys. I don't think enough has changed since my '84 ed. to go for a new one. I wish I'd looked at the pub date on vol 2 at west marine. I know it was printed by the gov., whichever agency replaced DMAHC, as I saw their logo on the cover and it was the "new" traditional green. I carry vol 2 on the boat and leave vol 1 at home. You know you've got an old Bowditch if it's blue bound.

 

[hellosailor]

Catamount, have they fixed that online edition yet? Last time I was there, they didn't have the 35MB version at all, they told me "None of our users an download something that big." Honest.

And they had a duplicate chapter number, and the page numbers weren't matched to Acrobat, making all the indexing, etc., a vague proposition.

I see from looking at the individual chapters, that they still haven't figured out how to match document page numbers, and Acrobat page numbers. This, disappointingly, not unexpected from an agency that doesn't know how to spell it's own acronym. ("NGA" really is "NGIA" but I guess the embroiderers all charge by the letter.<G>)

 

[Daily Alice]

Thia is an ancient thread, but in case anyone is looking for the Bowditch ("American Practical Navigator"), as of April 19, 2012, I successfully downloaded it here:

Maritime Safety Information

This is the 2002 Bicentennial Edition, numbering 882 pages. Look for the small link under "complete" which reads "The American Practical Navigator (35 MB)".

In case this link becomes dead, check in the "External Links" section of this wiki page:

The same document can be read online by chapter here.
Happy navigating.