The octant has a brass plain-pattern frame, which has been partly black-lacquered, and has a wooden handle. The tangent screw and clamping screw are positioned on the back of the frame. The octant has four shades, three red and one green, and three horizon shades, two red and one green. Index-glass adjustment is made by a screw and on the horizon glass by capstan screws. Attached to the octant is a magnifier on a 90mm swivelling arm, as well as a threaded, non-adjustable telescope bracket. The telescope is 83 mm in length with an erect image. Thesight-tube is 81 mm in length with a red shaded eyepiece and an adjusting pin, which is missing. The octant is contained in a square wooden box and inside the lid in blue-pencil is a handwritten inscription ‘J. S. Dare c/o S.S. NEDJED’.

The instrument has a bronzed limb with an inlaid silver scale from -5° to 125° by 15 arcminutes, measuring to 105°. The octant has a silver vernier measuring to 15 arcminutes, with zero at the right.