NavList:

B Pine
That's good advice from Frank Reed and Colin B.  It really would help if we knew your location and if you have access to a sea horizon.  Location because someone in our community might have access to a retired mariner, or the family of one, who could be persuaded to sell a proven sextant albeit an old one, or someone who bought a new one and then decided that celestial wasn't for them.  Also, overseas postage and tariffs can become a significant part of the total amount, so if you can buy locally it helps a lot.  Situation, because if you have no boat and only visit an east, though south, to west facing seaside location once a year, you might be better off with a bubble sextant (although most are getting rather old and mucky inside these days).  Alternatively, you might have to start thinking of using an artificial horizon.  They're not difficult to use, but it's an added complication for a beginner. 

As to a suitable instruction book, if you have no instructor, go for the simplest, not the most all-covering.  You can have great fun just observing the Sun, especially around lunchtime, or Polaris at any time (if light pollution allows you).  You can get great deals on Abe Books where postage will probably be more than the price of the book.  Two books which I’ve found informative are ‘Celestial Navigation for Yachtsmen’ by Mary Blewitt and ‘Celestial Navigation’ by Tom Cunliffe, which are both nice and thin.  I also have ‘Simple Navigation by the Sun’ by David Smith, which I’ve not used, but it looks very simple and straightforward.  DaveP

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