MacGregorSailors.com

Do you turn your mast light on when you beach your boat? Just wondering, sometimes I do in case some fisherman comes by at night.

opie wrote:As the season for many of us approaches, I could not resist posting a beaching pic of ours. We beached stern-to about 10am one warm day. The high tide line is about 8 feet aft of boat. We got off again about 5 pm when the tide returned. During the afternoon, several other boats anchored at the shoreline and came by to oogle and ahh (and probably think we were crazy) but we had great seats for the afternoon, a fine lunch, walks on shore, and good vibes about the Mac. Enjoy.

No costs for anchoring only camping fees.

We use to beach our last boat all the time, people were amazed, keelers were envious.

Glenn

That anchor light question is a good one. My gut tells me beaching would be considered a form of anchoring, and unless you are in an 'anchorage' COLEGS would require you to turn on your anchor light.

...and I probably wouldnt do that, honestly.

Im guessing the definition of navigable waters extends to the high tide line on the beach (MHHW) in this argument.

I have to pay some bills in the NSW Maritime office this week, I'll ask about the Australian legal requirements, I have never left the anchor light on and have never seen and of the fishing and ski boaters leaving theirs on.

Glenn

Self portrait: 7 inches of water, middle of the Saint Lawrence River with the Laurentian mountains in the background

Good Question..
Depends where you are I guess. Not too much boat traffic where I am but I would still keep a light on.
By the way.. How much battery power is used in leaving a mast light or running light on all night? I hope I can start up the engine at dawn!

-T

I think they are roughly 20W lights to meet COLREGS visibility

That means roughly 2 amps draw, and 24 Watts draw per hour.

A group 24 battery carries about 1kWhour capacity, so if you sleep for 6 hours

(2 amps)*(12 Volts)*(6 hours)/(1000 W hour) = 0.14 approximately



you would draw your battery down about 14% each night.

Or you could have a two battery system on board, with one battery dedicated to the motor.

Ray

LED anchor lights are availalbe, supposedly CG approved and only draw .1 amp.
The drain on your house battery is a negligible 1% per night if my math is close.
http://svhotwire.com/info/?cat=115

I've also seen ad's for self contained solar charged anchor lights but I doubt
they shine all night or are bright enough.

? You should show an anchor light when tied to a mooring ball, right ?
But not when secured to a dock? I had issues recently.

Homeland security (for those who are concerned about such) seems to feel that: A vessel aground shall exhibit the lights prescribed in paragraph (a) or (b) of this Rule and in addition, if practicable, where they can best be seen;
two all-round red lights in a vertical line; three balls in a vertical line.
(b) said A vessel of less than 50 meters in length may exhibit an all-round white light where it can best be seen instead of the lights prescribed in paragraph (a) of this Rule.
I don't know what this all means, of course Homeland Security is an oxymoron so why should any of this make sense. I guess you just show your white light and hang your 2 red lights or 3 balls hanging vertically under it. Some place in this there has to be an off color joke.
Now if you are interested in building your own anchor light or a tricolor for the masthead you might take a look at what they have made here.
I have no personal interest in this site and stand to gain nothing by recommending it, just thought it has interesting items.

I think we would fall under this code or this is the one I would exercise in a court case. Good to know the US code now.

(f) A vessel of less than 12 meters (39.37 foot) in length, when aground, shall not be required to exhibit the lights or shapes prescribed in subparagraphs (d)(i) and (ii) of this Rule.

I just finished the install of the Davis Mega masthead light. I saw the Davis mega utility light while sailing with c130king and loved the product. I also have a 10watt solar panel. I have had my mast up in my driveway, anchor light on for 3 days now. Have noticed no drop in my batteries charge.It has been fairly overcast for the last two days so I think this will be a decent set up when I put her back on the ball next month. The draw is 0.11 amps. Using the formula provided by KHE and extending the "on" time to 12 hours, my light still uses very little energy and my house battery should be okay. The solar switch works like a champ.
This model has been discontinued and WM has what ever stock left discounted. I paid 37 bucks for the unit. It can easily be modified to run off a 12V cigarette lighter and can be used just like the Davis mega utility light.
I don't know if it meets regulations but I can easily see the light from 1.5 miles away (the end of my street).

if you were going to repeatedly beach your boat would you take any extra steps to protect the bottom? One of the reasons i decided on this boat was the beaching capabilities, i can find a break and set up camp at the nearest (safe) deserted beach

Dangerdog wrote:if you were going to repeatedly beach your boat would you take any extra steps to protect the bottom? One of the reasons i decided on this boat was the beaching capabilities, i can find a break and set up camp at the nearest (safe) deserted beach

Depends on the softness of the beach. But an advertiser offers a "keel guard" that should protect the bottom if concerned.

ah, just googled and found something called keelshield that looks pretty promising.

carry on good sirs, i continue to lurk and drool i got about 8 months of truck payments left then i get to start looking for mine!! (didnt want to take on too much at once, been there, done that.)

till then i pour over these forums daily