need a light and small grab and go setup

[pfishuk]

I have owned telescopes before so not a total beginner. moved on to a boat 4 years ago and got rid of my sky watcher 127 mak as it was just too much hassle carrying it away from the boat to use it. The boat is moored in a marina and the pontoon moves too much too use anything on it other than binoculars. 

just got my grandson a cheap 70mm scope for 25 quid and it got me thinking that there might be smaller stuff out there that might work.....ive seen the ST80 and ST102 and they seem to fit the bill nicely but think i would need a camera tripod to mount as storage on the boat is also at a premium. does any one have any thoughts on a simple setup that is as small and portable as possible whilst allowing me to get back into some star gazing.....would i regret those over say an ED scope to start me off?

cheers

[Elp]

A 50-60mm refractor might fit the bill, but you likely know small doesn't necessarily mean cheap.

I have recently bought a 50mm guidescope which I can use visually, it's not really that much larger than a can of beans, mounted onto and alt az and small CF tripod it's very compact indeed.

A tabletop dobsonian is fairly cheap and works well I believe, but you'd need a table to set it onto to use.

[pfishuk]

i see a lot of good things about the heritage 130P and it seems to go down to a small size for storage - any one have one that they could comment on pros and cons.......

 

[Geoff Lister]

I have a 127 Mak and a Heritage 130P. The 130P, OTA in its retracted form is about the same size as the 127 Mak, and the Heritage's Dob mount is not very compact.

I would suggest a Dwarflab Dwarf 2. It comes with a small tripod, and the complete kit is in a small bag with volume and weight similar to a cased pair of decent 10x50 binoculars. It will also fit on a lightweight photo tripod. It is also excellent for viewing/photographing wildlife during the day. As it uses an Android or Apple phone/tablet as the controller and "eyepiece", you can share the views with your grandson. I am very pleased with mine. Dwarflab is about to launch a Dwarf 3, so The Dwarf 2 is now available at reduced prices from the likes of FLO.

This is an image of galaxies M81 & M82 as recorded direct from my Dwarf 2

Geoff

[Carbon Brush]

A good suggestion from @Geoff Lister. Adding to consider a Seestar. They both have their good and bad points.
Sticking with visual, you have good suggestions from earlier posts.
I used to own an ST102 refractor some years ago. The view for the ££ spent was very good.
I have a 127mak and am pleased with it for planetary and lunar. But of course it is a narrow FOV for large objects.
If planetary and lunar are a choice, why not a smaller (102 or 90) Mak to save a little space.
Right now there is a lot of used kit on sale so there are bargains to be had compared to new price - subject of course to buying from a trustworthy place.
HTH, David.

[pfishuk]

after talking to a variety of people i have stumped for the SeeStar S50.....fingers crossed.....

[M40]

I dont think you will have any regrets with the seestar 👌 now, how do we build a fixed pier? 🤔😉