NavList:

DaveP wrote: Yes, holding a bubble sextant steady needs a firm hand.  Unfortunately, we’re not all like the Captain Marvel/Marlborough County figures appearing in WW2 sextant company adverts.  You need a bit of help.  British MkIX bubble sextants had a little curly pig’s tail hook on the top of the sextant and another in the top of the astrodome, but at home you can simply sit your sextant on a window ledge and level it up with playing card shims.  You end up on your knees, but so did Christopher Robin.  Now you know why Air Navigators tend to avoid the Moon unless they’re really trying to impress. 

I use a camera tripod.  Before I discovered I had a friend who is quite good at designing things from scratch for 3D printers, I would put a pillow atop the tripod and balance the bubble sextant (various makes) on top.  Just don't let go!  Easier on the body as a whole and fewer playing cards scattered about the windowsills.  :-)

As an aside, I am one of those bubble sextant users who tends to shy away from using the Moon as a target, but this discussion has made it clear that my horizons need to be expanded so I'll give it a go once the Moon clears the trees.

-- AL