Available:*
Library | Item Barcode | Call Number | Material Type | Item Category 1 | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Searching... | 30000003085259 | VK573.F57 1995 f | Open Access Book | Book | Searching... |
On Order
Summary
Summary
Latitude Hooks and Azimuth Rings is for people who like to work with their hands and who appreciate traditional nautical craftsmanship. You don't have to be the master of any craft to undertake any of these projects--from a simple kamal or latitude hook to the more complex pelorus or octant--just a careful and enthusiastic worker.
These 18 projects fall roughly into three categories: decorative, useful, and somewhere in between. Some, such as the astrolabe, are mainly for display. On the other hand, the sounding line is an important and practical tool for small-craft navigation, particularly in the absence of an electronic sounder. The cross-staff falls somewhere in between, equally at home in the den or the ditch kit.
Each of the devices discussed here--with simple, proven building instructions complemented by clear illustrations--has at one time or another been used for the practical business of navigation, and each is worth reviving for its beauty, historic value, or sheer usefulness.
Dennis Fisher has designed these projects with an emphasis on simplicity and reasonable cost. Everything can be scratch-built using easily obtainable materials and tools, and each is true to the spirit and function of the original instrument.
Author Notes
New Hampshire native Dennis Fisher has built and used all the instruments in this book, some during a recent cruise from New England to Bermuda and the Virgin Islands. A graduate of Maine's Colby College who has written about navigation for New England Coastal News , he runs a printing business when not at his workbench building traditional navigational instruments.
Table of Contents
| Acknowledgments |
| Introduction |
| 1 Tools and Materials |
| 2 The Latitude Hook |
| 3 The Kamal |
| 4 The Astrolabe |
| 5 The Quadrant |
| 6 The Astronomical Ring |
| 7 The Sundial |
| 8 The Nocturnal |
| 9 The Cross-Staff |
| 10 The Backstaff |
| 11 The Dry-Card Compass |
| 12 The Traverse Board |
| 13 The Hand Lead |
| 14 The Heaving Line |
| 15 The Chip Log |
| 16 The Weatherglass |
| 17 The Pelorus |
| 18 The Sun Compass |
| 19 The Octant |
| Appendix A Tools and Materials |
| Appendix B Navigation Equipment |
| Appendix C Marine Catalogs |
| Bibliography |
| Index |
