While you can certainly navigate a boat or ship using modern sonar, depth finders and radar, there are many pieces of equipment that can help you sail the seas and yet require no electricity. While many of these navigational instruments were invented hundreds of years earlier, they are still used today, albeit production quality has improved and the designs are sometimes a bit more complicated.
The alidade is an interesting piece of navigational equipment. This instrument is used to locate distant objects. Once you have found the object, you use the line of site to perhaps measure the angle of the object from another specific point of reference. These instruments have been used for centuries to help create oceanic and land maps. Foresters and firefighters use alidades to pinpoint the location of a fire in a vast forest.
A three-arm protector is another tool that is useful for navigational purposes. This type of protractor can be used to find the position of a boat or ship on a navigational map, which is why the protractor is generally transparent to allow easy viewing of the map. The central portion of the three-arm protractor is fixed in place, while the two other arms can move around. The first three-arm protractors were designed in the early 1800s and are still commonly used by sailors today.
Different types of compasses also are found on ships. While there are many types of computerized or electronic forms of navigational equipment on board ships today, all ships still have high quality compasses. A high quality surveyor's compass, for example, can be an essential tool to use if one's electrical system ceases to function and the watercraft is stranded at sea.
The first sextant was created by astronomer John Bird in the 1750s, although designs for the device appear several decades early. The sextant is still used today, although those created today have accuracy of 10 seconds of arc or better. One uses the sextant to measure the angles between two celestial objects, and this calculation can be used to find Greenwich Time. Knowing Greenwich Time allows a navigator to pinpoint the longitude of their ship. Typically, measurements are taken at night and the navigator uses the position of the moon in relation to a planet or a star.
There are also special binocular systems available that mount to the deck of a boat or ship and provide the ability to view distant objects at particularly high levels of magnification. The system includes the binocular assembly, the carriage assembly that allows the binocular to move freely and the pedestal that attaches to the ship itself.
The alidade is an interesting piece of navigational equipment. This instrument is used to locate distant objects. Once you have found the object, you use the line of site to perhaps measure the angle of the object from another specific point of reference. These instruments have been used for centuries to help create oceanic and land maps. Foresters and firefighters use alidades to pinpoint the location of a fire in a vast forest.
A three-arm protector is another tool that is useful for navigational purposes. This type of protractor can be used to find the position of a boat or ship on a navigational map, which is why the protractor is generally transparent to allow easy viewing of the map. The central portion of the three-arm protractor is fixed in place, while the two other arms can move around. The first three-arm protractors were designed in the early 1800s and are still commonly used by sailors today.
Different types of compasses also are found on ships. While there are many types of computerized or electronic forms of navigational equipment on board ships today, all ships still have high quality compasses. A high quality surveyor's compass, for example, can be an essential tool to use if one's electrical system ceases to function and the watercraft is stranded at sea.
The first sextant was created by astronomer John Bird in the 1750s, although designs for the device appear several decades early. The sextant is still used today, although those created today have accuracy of 10 seconds of arc or better. One uses the sextant to measure the angles between two celestial objects, and this calculation can be used to find Greenwich Time. Knowing Greenwich Time allows a navigator to pinpoint the longitude of their ship. Typically, measurements are taken at night and the navigator uses the position of the moon in relation to a planet or a star.
There are also special binocular systems available that mount to the deck of a boat or ship and provide the ability to view distant objects at particularly high levels of magnification. The system includes the binocular assembly, the carriage assembly that allows the binocular to move freely and the pedestal that attaches to the ship itself.
About the Author:
Carey Bourdier enjoys writing reviews on precision scientific instruments. To get more info regarding surveying instruments like a compass tripod, or to find other navigation instruments, visit WarrenKnight.com now.
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