This bulletin board, hosted by the CDSOA, Inc., is the on-line meeting place for all Cape Dory owners and groups. We welcome everyone's questions, answers and comments about Cape Dory sailboat
Russell wrote:A terrific option for an anchor light is to go to home depot or any sort of home & garden center and buy those lights designed to light up your garden, they have internal batteries and little solar panels on them, no need to wire them into your system, and they can be hung anywhere. Just hang it off your boom or some other spot, great anchor light. Unfortunately masthead anchor lights are too high in some situations. I make a judgement based on the anchorage wether to light the masthead or a boom hung anchor light. Most anchorages a boom hung light is more ideal and you could certainly get away with that being your only light, but if needed you can always run one of these lights up a halyard.
Yup i got a nice stainless steel one from big lots for 17 bucks. It had a hanging bail. I hung it from the boom on a typhoon on the hook in an inland lake. worked great. Low tech, cheap and effective. The only downside of the boom mounting was that it did lure bugs into the cockpit...a few chose to make my boat their final resting place.......no big deal. welcome to the lake lol. tim
viejo wrote:Question, don't anchor lights have to be of 2 mile visibility? If they have that range of visibility, then one should have no problem with seeing it.
And, keeping it low will cause it to be obstructed at one point or other, defeating the 360 degree requirement, wouldn't it?
I am sure it would ,, but then one has to look at the application. Legal and workable are two different things. On a boat with no electrical system any light is better than none. I question if you can see my light for two miles .... I know if you are out at night on the indland lake running along the shore ,, at legal speeds you will see the light before you run into the boat. rat
I spent last week sailing around Cape Cod with my family and noticed an interesting lighting solution while in P'town harbour. A vessel next to my CD was a very well maintained traditional looking wooden schooner. As I looked her over (OK... I was snooping) I noticed many modern upgrades that did not distract from her traditional appearance. At night she had a typical masthead anchor light, but she also had a softer light embedded in the end of her wooden boom. The boom light provided nice cockpit lighting and illuminated it sufficiently to make the boat very visible to any approaching vessel.
I thought this was a fantastic idea from a safety/visibility point of view, but it also made the cockpit much more inviting for entertaining or a late meal.
On the other side of the coin, I also noticed many boats with only their Steaming Lights illuminated while at anchor. This is obviously against all USCG regulations and only further complicates the general understanding.
I use the masthead anchor light mainly because it DOES satisfy the visibility requirements. For years I would hoist a 6volt lantern--with a photoelectric switch even though it was likely underpowered--if I was leaving RESPITE for the day and not likely to be back in time to switch on the "real" anchor light (probably the major battery drain on the boat).
When aboard I light up the cabin in an effort to be more visible to those not looking up. Last year I bought a stainless steel rail mounted solar recharging LED lamp--with photoelectric switch--for about $20. PERFECT! It provides an eye level indication to those under way, and it allows me time to return to the boat as twilight approaches. I still use the masthead unit, but will replace it with an LED unit, soon.
Mitchell Bober
Sunny Annapolis (where Masthead Anchor Light is available in bottles & on draught), MD
Just to state the obvious, if you do run a lantern up a halyard, remember to attach a tag line to it. Whatever lantern you run up your halyard will not weigh as much as your halyard rope. It will never come down under its own weight. I know. My 1975 CD25 has no masthead anchor light, so I routinely run an LED lantern up to the masthead using the jib halyard. I once had to sail for two days under mainsail alone because I couldn't get the @&*#%!^!! lantern down . That's a mistake you only make once.
Carl
CDSOA Commodore - Member No. 725
"The more I expand the island of my knowledge, the more I expand the shoreline of my wonder"
Sir Isaac Newton
According to the Coast Guard Navigation Rules Rule 30 "Anchored Vessels and Vessels Aground", "(ba) A vessel of less than 50 meters in length may exhibit an all-around white light where it can best be seen ..."
Also, "(c) A vessel at anchor may, and a vessel of 100 meters and more in length shall, also use the available working or equivalent lights to illuminate her decks."
Deck lighting (that which illuminates the boat, not one that shines in someone's eyes) is a good addition to the anchor light.
Carl Thunberg wrote:Just to state the obvious, if you do run a lantern up a halyard, remember to attach a tag line to it. Whatever lantern you run up your halyard will not weigh as much as your halyard rope. It will never come down under its own weight. I know. My 1975 CD25 has no masthead anchor light, so I routinely run an LED lantern up to the masthead using the jib halyard. I once had to sail for two days under mainsail alone because I couldn't get the @&*#%!^!! lantern down . That's a mistake you only make once.
Carl
Amen, Carl. My first adventure going up the mast was the last time I failed to rig a downhaul on anything other than a sail sent aloft.
Has it stopped raining, yet?
Carter Brey
Sabre 28 Mk II #532 "Delphine"
City Island, NY
. That's a mistake you only make once.
