NavList:
A Community Devoted to the Preservation and Practice of Celestial Navigation and Other Methods of Traditional Wayfinding
From: Frank Reed
Date: 2026 Aug 14, 11:07 -0700
David Pike, you wrote:
"This looks real"
Right. This is one of the more obnoxious fakes / counterfeits because it is crafted to look more like a utilitarian instrument. Nonetheless, it is a fake.
You wondered:
"My question would be "are they any good?" You can only find out if you buy one and try it."
Done that. I acquired one, effectively at no cost, and tested it out in a variety of ways. Please see the NavList discussion from late last year:
FakeTamaya sextant analysis.
You suggested:
"might work as well as an EBBCO, which are getting a bit worn by now. The prices appear similar."
Even a beat-up old EBBCO wins hands down. And in a similar price range, a nearly new Davis Mk 15 or Mk 25 beats the EBBCO. As far as this FakeTamaya goes, there's no competition. The FakeTamaya is disqualified before the race begins. These things resemble practical sextants, but they do not work at all. It's not a case of reduced accuracy. They simply do not function as sextants even at a rudimentary level.
Frank Reed
