Marine Sight Finder

Navigation is the science of directing a craft by determining its position, course, and distance traveled. Early mariners followed landmarks visible on shore and studied prevailing winds for clues to direction and used the stars to set their course. Marine sight finder, a historical, 19th century navigational device, allowed ships to determine their position and distance. These were used to measure the distance from the instrument to a selected point or object and were widely popular amidst sailors.

The navigator finds his position by measuring the course and distance he has sailed from some known point by the help of marine sight finder. Starting from a known point, such as a port, the navigator measures out the distance and each day's ending position would be the starting point for the next day's course-and-distance measurement.