Anchor Light on an X

[Divecoz]

about those Styrofoam blocks found in mast of at least the M's??

[capncarp]

Good point. None on an X.
carp

[DaveB]

I use a WallMart LED that has 7 bulbs but only turn on 3 of them as they are very bright, has a top bracket to attached to my backstay and put it as high as I can reach. Lasts 78 hrs on the 3 lights and uses 4 aaa batteries. (I use rechargable Kodac 2500) . I have been useing them for 2 years and at $5 each for the light I bought 4, one for anchor,one for cockpit and 2 spares.
They still sell them in camping section and they are about 5 inches height and 2-1/2 inches diamiter.
No cord.no fuss and Coast Gard boarded me twice at anchorage with just the 3 led's lit.,if I am in a heavy travel area I will use all 7 led's and that still lasts 32 or more hrs.
They also don't use up Battery house bank.
I perfer to be seen and not have a light up 32 ft. were only a person a mile away can see it but not dingies or powerboats close by.
Dave

[Gypsy]

I am not complaining about MacGregors , don't get me wrong . I am glad that Roger designed and builds a boat that is so verstal and affordable . To keep it affordable He must cut corners .
Thats why we chose one , after much shopping.

But ,, As far as a 'from the factory ' anchor light . My switch panel came with an unused switch . By moving the stern white light to this unused switch , there is now white light all around , as the rules mandate , by turning on the masthead light and the stern light , while turning off the red/grn nav lights.

I plan to make this slight modification to my , but I also like someone elses suggestion of some car LED lights mounted to the spreaders and plugged into the mast light socket.
This makes a lot of sense as light shining down on the white decks and water would really do a lot of reflecting , lighting up the boat and surronding area. Its nice to have as many dual systems as possible aboard a boat.
Another reason I bought a Mac !

[Russ]

But ,, As far as a 'from the factory ' anchor light . My switch panel came with an unused switch . By moving the stern white light to this unused switch , there is now white light all around , as the rules mandate , by turning on the masthead light and the stern light , while turning off the red/grn nav lights.

That will probably make you legal. At least you'd have a good argument with the officials.

Anchor Light Requirements

The Inland Rules specify that any vessel under 50 meters (164.1') at anchor must exhibit a white 360-degree light where it can be seen and have a two-mile visibility in most situations. Vessels less than 7 meters (23.9') must display anchor lights when anchored in or near a narrow channel, fairway, or anchorage, or where other vessels normally navigate.

A 360-degree white all-around light with two-mile visibility fulfills this requirement. Wire gauge and length of wiring, as well as battery condition, can affect a light's performance. Follow manufacturer's instructions to ensure compliance with U.S. Coast Guard regulations.

But you'll be pulling about 2 amps to run those 2 lights. That's gonna suck about 20% of your battery down. Replacing those with LEDs will fix this problem.


--Russ

[Gypsy]

must display anchor lights when anchored


If you directly copied that it says lights , plural . Which should cover a masthead and stern light on together .
I had an older cabin cruiser that had a light pole mounted on the windshield . Running , a white light shown forward , anchored the same light pole had a white light showing to stern .

I agree , 2 amps is a lot of pull , so I would ratheer have something else , but this system will be there should the LED anchor light fail .
As I said earlier , its nice to build in dual systems when possible.

[capncarp]

Sorry Gypsy but I think your reading this wrong. What you are exhibiting is a boat under power. It doesn't matter that your bow lights are out. They only cover 225 degress anyhowand are not seen from astern. Your lights are a two different levels not all around. Also the above quote says vessels so "lights" is the proper verbage. It also said 7 meters. You probably wouldn't get a ticket but, if you were hit your insurance company probably wouldn't pay.
capncarp,

[Gypsy]

Sorry Gypsy but I think your reading this wrong. What you are exhibiting is a boat under power. It doesn't matter that your bow lights are out. They only cover 225 degress anyhowand are not seen from astern. Your lights are a two different levels not all around. Also the above quote says vessels so "lights" is the proper verbage. It also said 7 meters. You probably wouldn't get a ticket but, if you were hit your insurance company probably wouldn't pay.
capncarp,

What you are saying sounds logical ,, hmmm , back to the drawing board.

[Catigale]

without getting too legal (im not a lawyer) your insurance company would pay, but the blame may rest more on your shoulders than if you had a totally legal solution. For claims this size, the insurance companies would duke it out between them out of court...legal fees would far outstrip any property losses on our 'value point' boats.

If death/dismemberment were involved, this might get uglier.

[Gypsy]

I was going from the following rule book , given to me by a good , but anal friend . He knows every faction of the law .
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Rule 30 : Anchored Vessels and vessels aground
(a) A vessel shall exhibit where it can best be seen :
(i) in the fore part , an all around white light or one ball ;
(ii) at or near the stern and at a lower level than the light prescribed in sub-paragraph (i) an
all-round white light.
(b) A vessel less than 50 metres in length may exhibit an all around white light where it can be best instead of the lights prescribed in paragraph (a) of this Rule.

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What I am proposing to do , mast and stern light as anchor light , I think is covered by (i) and (ii)
BUT , they are not 'all around' white lights . However there is no way to approach the boat , without seeing at least one of them .
The key words are all around , but in many cases more than one light makes up all around , such as the old cabin cruiser , I had , with two white lights on a pole.

[Russ]

Yea, I think as long as a light can be seen from 360 degrees at 2 miles you are legal. The steaming/stern light should provide 360 coverage. But like I said, mine suck a lot of power which is why I changed 'em all out to LEDs for night sailing.

And of course being legal is one thing. Waking up with a hole in your boat from some drunken yahoo is another. If power were free, I'd light the whole deck and underneath as well.



--Russ

[Gypsy]

Yea, I think as long as a light can be seen from 360 degrees at 2 miles you are legal. The steaming/stern light should provide 360 coverage. But like I said, mine suck a lot of power which is why I changed 'em all out to LEDs for night sailing.

And of course being legal is one thing. Waking up with a hole in your boat from some drunken yahoo is another. If power were free, I'd light the whole deck and underneath as well.



--Russ

You are exactly Right Russ !
Whats the use of being right if you are dead ?

I worry more about the night time drunks than I do the early fishermen , at least the fishermen are sober.
I'll repeat the story I told once before about getting woke up around 3:00 am by what I thought was a 747 trying to land on the river , just to find three penis boats racing on the stretch of river we were anchored on . I was well out of the channel , but one ( according to his wake ) had come very near us. I turned every outdoor light we had on , and hung my 12vdc flourescent work light as well , in the hopes their drunk A**es would see us.

We had on the standard ( Bayliner puts anchor lights on their boats) anchor light , but would their drunk a**es see it at 80 - 100 mph , at night ?

[DaveB]

I like to anchor in thin water or on a beach and do it often. I wouldn't want a Navigator come in a dark night seeing my bright light tucked around a sand Spit like Cayo Costa ,Pelican bay and aim for my light. They will hit the sand spit well before they hit my boat. 5 mo. ago a 26 ft. fast boat manage to climb a concrete seawall 5 ft. above tide and landed it intac on the grass. Boat was total and 3 members on boat in serious condition. They say it hit over 40 knots enough to ride over the rock reinforcement to become air born. Thats a YAHOO.
Dave

Yea, I think as long as a light can be seen from 360 degrees at 2 miles you are legal. The steaming/stern light should provide 360 coverage. But like I said, mine suck a lot of power which is why I changed 'em all out to LEDs for night sailing.

And of course being legal is one thing. Waking up with a hole in your boat from some drunken yahoo is another. If power were free, I'd light the whole deck and underneath as well.

--Russ

[vizwhiz]

So Dave, you're suggesting that the light should be lower rather than higher?
I thought the rules also said the anchor light had to be on the highest point of the boat...not the case?

[Gypsy]

The book I quoted from doesn't say anything about height .
It just says it has to be seen from all around 360 degrees around the boat.

It does say if you are using two lights the stern light should be lower than the forward light .

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(a) A vessel shall exhibit where it can best be seen :
(i) in the fore part , an all around white light or one ball ;
(ii) at or near the stern and at a lower level than the light prescribed in sub-paragraph (i) an
all-round white light.
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