Combining steaming and anchor light

[Beccara 25]

Yeah fair point at up close like that

[Black Panther 1,591]

We've started doing two anchor lights, a good one at the masthead and a cockpit level one.

[ScottiE 174]

"but mister maritime rule investigator - we were driving a launch looking through a rain-sodden windscreen on a dark night peering around for buoys, nav lights and other vessels . . . when we hit him side on - how were we to know he had two anchor lights burning"

:twisted: :twisted: :twisted:

[Jon 360]

This time last year we were in the Caribbean so I would hang a LED lantern off the boom at night as there was alway boats moving around and with lights everywhere from superyachts and onshore the chances of someone missing our anchor light was quite high I felt.

It takes 4 D size batteries and I only changed them once between the Med and NZ

[Jon 360]

One of these, $8.50 at Bunnings

Cheaper than marmite too

I've got the euro model which I can dial down the light though

 

http://www.bunnings.co.nz/lantern-camping-mini-click-_p00279397

[wheels 543]

It is important to have the correct lights and correct number of lights for the size of vessel, because those lights are displaying more information than just that they are at anchor. The lights tell another boat about it's size for instance, Direction it is facing, distance, whether it is engaged in other activity than just anchored. For instance it may be a Vessel towing or dragging a net or whatever.
I am real anti the silly garden type light or any of those "Bunnings" type stupid things. Many of those LED things are not the correct white colour for a starter. If it is a clear starry night, many of those LED things will look just like another Star set in the sky. I nearly ran a boat down coming into an anchorage one night because they were displaying one of those LED garden Lights. I could not see him at all against the dark background of hill behind him. I just suddenly felt very uneasy, something wasn't quite right and I grabbed the Bino's which enhanced just enough star light to show the slightest of ghostly illumination of something right in front of me. I jammed the gear in reverse and opened the throttle. The Yachtie will never know how close he came to be run down by 22Tonne of FC.

[Island Time 1,239]

I know I'm reiterating, but IMO a masthead light is fine. Another skipper DOES NOT NEED TO LOOK UP TO SEE IT. It is visible with normal horizontal vision until closer than 2 mast lengths away. If he has not seen you by then he's not looking

 

No problem with two lights, it makes it easier to identify your boat in a fleet of lights.

 

Just sayin...

[Black Panther 1,591]

Our el cheapo cockpit/anchor light that backs up the real one at the masthead is solar powered, no batteries, looks good and provided enough light for the girls to play their guitars in the evening sing songs. Perfect.

I have been T boned by a dinghy in the middle of a bright sunny day so there's no 100% guarantee.

[Jon 360]

Buy it from CRAp if you like

I was just giving an example, I put it under the Bimini then it isn't an anchor light but a cockpit light which makes the boat findable coming home drunk

 

By the way I got fined n St Martin for operating a dink after dark without a touch

I was a bit slow though I could have shined the light on my phone in there eyes but it's funny how us kiwis seem to go dumb when looking at the wrong end of coastguard automatic guns

Life jackets not needed though

[ScottiE 174]

Wheels, I don't believe your comments on "correct white lights". There's nothing in any regs that I could find and I did a bit of research in the winter looking for "the ideal white light colour". I do understand your sentiment however. Also if you look at any light display at the swindlerys you will find a multitude of white colours. The closest criteria covering navigation lights is the vis distance and as far a I interpret them they don't actually apply to anchor lights. Which is why Jon's suggestion is also valid. My kids got one each for Xmas last year and so they'll be repurposed - 'bout time they contributed!

[Beccara 25]

I don't think there is a colreg's that digs deep into the colors but there is a AYBC spec under A-16, This lays our the acceptable color area under SAE color spec's J578 which calls for testing under a yelow-ish white light of 2800ish K

[Fogg 427]

I know I'm reiterating, but IMO a masthead light is fine. Another skipper DOES NOT NEED TO LOOK UP TO SEE IT. It is visible with normal horizontal vision until closer than 2 mast lengths away. If he has not seen you by then he's not looking

 

No problem with two lights, it makes it easier to identify your boat in a fleet of lights.

 

Just sayin...

Disagree. Experience to prove it. You've even made my point yourself with your 2 mast length threshold. Because boats coming in/out of busy marinas or narrow channels can easily come within 2 x 15m (30m) of each other!

[Black Panther 1,591]

Know what you mean Jon, I was held up at gunpoint in San Diego - no registration numbers on my dinghy (couldn't convince them I didn't need them). But I did sail to Mexico without paying, wonder if I'll get arrested if I go back.

[ScottiE 174]

ABYC? Yeh couldn't read a copy of that - think you have to pay for it!

[Beccara 25]

Isn't the world of closed standards fun!

 

Yeah best i could find was a 97 version, I doubt the color matching has changed much but it could have done I guess

https://law.resource.org/pub/us/cfr/ibr/001/abyc.A-16.1997.pdf

 

As for the SAE spec, same thing

 

https://law.resource.org/pub/us/cfr/ibr/005/sae.j578.1995.pdf

[rigger 47]

Wheels, I don't believe your comments on "correct white lights". There's nothing in any regs that I could find and I did a bit of research in the winter looking for "the ideal white light colour". I do understand your sentiment however. Also if you look at any light display at the swindlerys you will find a multitude of white colours. The closest criteria covering navigation lights is the vis distance and as far a I interpret them they don't actually apply to anchor lights. Which is why Jon's suggestion is also valid. My kids got one each for Xmas last year and so they'll be repurposed - 'bout time they contributed!

 

The Col regs

In NZ Part 22

 

Colour specification of lights

(1)

The chromaticity of all navigation lights must conform to the following standards, which lie within the boundaries of the area o

f the diagram specified for each colour by the International

Commission on Illumination (CIE).

(2)

The boundaries of the area for each colour are given by indicating the corner co

-

ordinates,

which are as follows:

(a)

White

X

0.525

0.525

0.452

0.310

0.310

0.443

Y

0.382

0.440

0.440

0.348

0.283

0.382

(

Green

X

0.028

0.009

0.300

0.203

Y

0.385

0.723

0.511

0.356

©

Red

X

0.680

0.660

0.735

0.721

Y

0.320

0.320

0.265

0.259

(d)

Yellow

X

0.612

0.618

0.575

0.575

Y

0.382

0.382

0.

425

0.406

sorry did not paste well but go to http://maritimenz.govt.nz/Rules/Rule-documents/Part22-maritime-rule.pdf page 29 of 34

[ScottiE 174]

Well there ha go - thanks Rigger - never got round to go that far into that document. I guess that stuff is really only relevant to the manufacturers and suppliers.

 

Wheels - my apologies for having doubted you!

[wheels 543]

Hey no prob. But yeah when you dig into all those regs etc, it brings up some very interesting legal requirements and that word "Legal" is the sobering part. Because if one does not have the correct light and are hit or cause accident to another vessel, guess who lives in the world of those Legal words??? yours or theirs insurance company.
The light "colour" is why many of the earlier LED lights and most certainly the current cheaper ones, were/are not approved for use. Even though they could be sold and I often thought that was far from fair. You expect that when you buy something that is made for a purpose and it would be fit for such purpose. It is also the main reason why approved lights are so damn expensive. Even if you stick to a plain old Bulb, those Hella Bulbs are stupid expensive for just being a bulb. But the bulb is "special" in that it has the correct colour temp and brightness.
    Also important and this clarifies the argument above about light at the top of a mast and angle of view etc etc. The rule of what is required has a change point in relation to vessel length, of boats above and below 12m. This is because boats below 12m tend to have masts lengths far shorter than those above 12m. So the height the lesser intensity light is shining from is lower.
Every single point of difference that many take for granted, tells a story to the other boat in the dark. It is a language just like Braille is to the blind. In the dark, the lights tell the other boat important information. So I now know by the type of light and it's height, how big the vessel at anchor is. Or for that matter, if it is still moving, I know size of boat, is it under sail or power and thus give way or not, is it engaged in a fishing activity, of which I now have to consider it may not be able to give way to me even though I am under sail and etc etc etc.
I remember an incident several years back where many of us honestly thought we we about to see a fizz nasties occupants have their heads removed. A commercial vessel had stuck on the mud. Another commercial vessel was in the attempt of pulling it off the mud bank. They had a long steel tow line and all the relevant day shapes hoisted to show they were in the process of a Tow. Even that aside, you could see that the two boats were engaged in some kind of shared activity and so we were all stunned to witness what we saw take place. As the towing vessel made a run to gather speed, the fizznasty ran right between the two and had just by the skin of it's propellor, passed as the steel cable came up out of the water and pulled taught. Those people probably still don't know how close they came to losing their lives.
Years ago I learned how long tow cables can be on between Tugs and Barges and it is scary long and many a mistake has been made at night(and day for that matter) where a boat has passed the stern of a tow vessel not knowing that a mile away, there is a barge that it is connected to. All that info is displayed in lights at night and hoisted shapes by day. Towing is just one of the examples of course. As I said earlier, that Pilot vessel had it's own required lights to show ot was a Pilot vessel. I have to allow rigger to take this part further. but I would imagine the boat would likely revert to more standard colours once the Pilot has been discharged to the Ship. The point of the different lights is to signify to the Ship, which vessel of perhaps many around him, is the Pilot vessel he is lined up to take aside.

[Terry B 71]

At night, i carry a laminated fold up card thingie (I think I got it at one of the chandlers years ago when I did the boatmaster course) that has little piccies of all the lights and shapes from all angles. I can't remember all the lights, just the basic ones, so I just refer to that when needed. Which is rare.

[rigger 47]

Part of my job has required a fair bit of rule study recently. Still learning....