anchor light

[Michael Berry]

Michael,

The Hinkley had and used a mast top anchor light in the Chippewa Harbor anchorage a few years later, but I did not determine if that same light was aboard the day after the near collision with him. I was doing well to get the boat name and hailing port for the log book. But it being a Hinkley Gold Plater, it had to have come with some anchor light up topside, wouldn't you think? Maybe it was bad or something..or maybe it was more romantic to use the kerosene light...??

As I mentioned, radar showed a single target because the targets (2) were aligned fore and aft with each other, and only 150 ft apart, and then only 300 ft. off shore. So the shoreline got involved, as did a longer range on the radar than would be optimum, since we had already arrived at our destination effectively.
The lights being shone were also confusing to some extent, with the light from the little powerboat looking like the right distance for the radars target, yet the sailboats 'anchor' light seemed to be a dying fire on the beach..or that is how three of us saw it at 1am in the morn.
Point is that while it all made sense until I picked up on the loom of the nav lights, all was well. But once we saw the problem, we had maybe a few seconds to adjust course and then figure out what happened to fool us. There was no time for conjecture or debate even..just a big SH*T! Hard to Port! to warn the others that something was happening. I felt like a fool after that one, and mention it in the hopes that it will help others to remember that things are not always the way you see them, and that anything that another boater can do to make his boat apparent to you (no klieg lights though, please..)would likely benefit all parties concerned.


Larry

FWIW, I agree 100% with Larry.

I have an oil lamp that I use in my cockpit for ambiance and lighting purposes but it never replaces the need to keep a proper anchor light (at the top of the mast) on while at anchor or even at a mooring. I don't know how many times I've been told that it's not necessary to put on the anchor light because we were in a designated anchorage or mooring site but I put on the anchor light anyway. Why? The purpose of an anchor light should be viewed from the prespective of other boaters. The light is to be visible to them for safety reasons. It should be (as required) visible for 2 miles. The idea is to help other boaters from hitting you in the middle of the night preventing injury or damage. Why would anyone compromise safety? If someone hit your boat in the middle of the night and you had a kerosene lamp lit for an anchor light you would be liable in a lawsuit.

Don't get me wrong, I use an oil light all the time in the cockpit. It looks nice and warm on a cozy evening. But there's a proper anchor light lit on the top of the mast as well. Why wouldn't a sailor do otherwise? I just can't figure it out. Most have one but fail to turn it on. Amazing.

Ed Haley
s/v Mokita
CD330 #1
Kingston, ON
(about to be on the hard in Clayton, NY)

Larry, Ed and Joe,
I guess with all the legal liability at stake here with our pride and joys it would be best to err on the side of wisdom and safety.
I was a professional driver for 28 years plus and the last question if there was an accident, whether right or wrong in the eyes of the police, was "Did you do everything in your power to prevent the accident?" results on my record as a preventable or non-preventable.
Your story Larry of the near collision with the Hinkley is an interesting situation. Did he try to post an anchor light as perhaps that is all he had? An emergency anchor light?
What did radar really reveal?
Michael

Larry,
Perhaps the Gold Plater feels that he is privy to certain things, that not being thuoghtful enough to others in displaying the proper anchorage light. I admire the Hinkley's very much as a thing of beauty but cannot overlook some of the accessories that go along with them.
What I am admiring on this board is the true sense of seamanship. You've described a situation that, yes, others that read this board will indeed learn from and that is what it is all about. As what we had discussed earlier in my question of keeping proper logs, this is one instance.
So, proper logs, proper anchorage lights would in the end prove very invaluable if needed. At this point I would like to certainly reccomend that anchor lights be used, not the latern other than for the romance as mentioned.
And with that..back to the love affair.
Michael

[Tom]

Simplest possible arrangement. Since I only deploy the anchor light when I'm at anchor, I take it down and put it in a drawer when I'm not. Then when I want to use it, I take it out of the drawer uncoil the wire that I've wrapped around it, plug it in, and hang it up. The wire runs from the cigarette lighter outlet below, then between the top wash board and the hatch across the cockpit any old way to the light which hangs from the backstay. I can't use the forestay because I have roller furling. I could use the staysail stay and halyard, but the backstay seems to work fine and the run is shorter to there. For the wire I just use regular lamp cord from the hardware store. I started out with solid phone wire because it's small and solid. But discovered that with many windings and unwindings it worked through the insulation and shorted out. So I switched to lamp cord. Being stranded rather than solid it coils easily and has relatively beefy insulation because it's intended for 120 volts. If you were going to run wire to the masthead, I'd use marine grade pre-tinned wire from Anchor because that wouldn't be easy to replace like lamp cord is. Lamp cord is about about 6 cents a foot or something so you can replace it every year for 50 cents if need be. Unlike incandescent bulbs, LEDs throw very little light out to the side so you have to aim the tops outward through the focus point. LEDs come on two stiff little wires so they are easy to bend into any direction, but you have to do it or you will be disappointed. Also be careful not to wire them in reverse, because that will fry them instantly. They come with one wire longer than the other and there is a diagram on the back showing which wire is the positive and which the negative.

I had a brass anchor lanern made by Holland. The kerosene container on the bottom twists out so it can be refilled. What I did was make a wooden copy of the base so that I can twist in either the oil bottom or my wooden bottom. The wooden one has a wire running into it and the LEDs mounted in a piece of PVC pipe (They generate no heat unlike bulbs.) Thus I can twist in either the electric bottom with LEDs, or the oil bottom and use it the designed way. The fresnel lens helps spread the light and it's handy to hang on the backstay. With the ss pelican hook going through the round eye on the Aladdin cleat there is no way it can blow off and it's a quick way to set it or release it without halyards etc. Put the lantern as high as you can reach for best visibility. You can also plug it in and use it as a cabin light below when you're not at anchor and even read by it, but the funny shadows from the fresnel lens make it a little awkward to read by and it's pretty bright for a cabin light.

Ok - I'm not an electrical wizard! I understand about installing the bulbs, and the cigarette plug adaptor, but where do you run the wires back to the battery? From the anchor light to the base of the mast, then to the battery, or some other arrangement? If I can figure out how to do it, it sounds like a great idea, because I like the oil lamp look.
georgia
Typhoon 127 "Prairie Orchid"

TomCambria@mindspring.com

[Tom G]

The inland and international navigation rules clearly state that a vessel less then 50 meters, at anchor may exhibit an all-round white light where it best can be seen and not obscured. It says nothing about the mast head light being on. A vessel less then 23 feet requirs no lights when anchored. A vessel less then 20 meters in a special anchorage is not required to exhibit the anchor light. The secretary of transportation designates these areas,there are thousands all over the east coast marked on the charts

A Masthead light on a vessel smaller then forty feet is required to be visible for 2 miles,which is a minimum luminous intensity 0f 4.3K(candelas).

IMHO if my vessel making way at night comes into contact with an anchored vessel, I violated at least three navigation rules, and am not sure if the court would find me blameless. These are rule 5, proper look-out, rule 6 safe speed, and rule 7 risk of collision.

I believe boats at anchor, for safety's sake, should have bright lights on them. I would like to see everyone use bright anchor lights but the law doesn't always require it. It requires me to go slow as conditions require, keep a proper look-out and use all means necessary to avoid contact with another vessel.

Tom
S/V Ambuscade



While an anchor light hung from the boom end is romantic and harkens back to times when this was done widely, I feel strongly and with just cause, that this is a poor policy to be promoting. Allow me to explain a bit:

That kerosene or paraffin powered lamp is probably not legal from a brightness standard.

It simply cannot be seen 360 degress if it is mounted on the tail end of a boom, and no amount of wishing will make it so.

It probably cannot be seen at two miles or more, which is the required visibility that an anchor light should have, according to the CG.

If it is mounted high in the forepeak area, or high up on the backstay and has 360 vis. then that objection would be removed.
If it had a sufficiently large wick area to cause the light to be bright and unmistakeable at 2 miles, then I would remove that objection.
If it was mainatined and built to withstand winds so that it was not blown out occasionally, and that the owner religiously trimmed the wick and filled the resevoir daily, assuring to his best ability that the lamp would not be shut down at night then I would remove that objection.

Here is my experience with these dim lamps:

Sailing at night, under radar, from Bayfield Wisc. to Stockton Islands' Presque Isle Anchorage, a distance of around 20 miles. Under sail we had the anchorage in view with the radar, and could clearly see 6 or so other boats scattered over the 3-4 mile long anchorage field. I picked our spot where we would anchor safely and approached it. On radar, I noted a blob return from that spot but could see nothing in front of us at all. Since it was a moonless night, about all that could be made out were indistinct dark shapes here and there, which generally matched up with the radar echos.
Finally, I saw a smnall white light ahead and closer to shore, which I figured must be the blob that I see on radar, so satisfied, we continue into the anchorage. All of a sudden, the loom of our navigation lights mounted on the bow rail reflected off of a large sailboat, dead ahead..15 ft. away at most, and we were still traveling at 3 kts.
I put the helm over hard to port, and our starboard side passed not 10 ft. away from this guy. He had a damnable kerosene lantern hung on a lanyard from the backstay, about 6 ft. off the deck. It was horribly dim and yellow.
I had seen this light earlier, but totally assigned it to a dying campfire on shore, directly behind this unlit boat by about 300 ft. The 'blob' return that we had seen on radar WAS this guy afterall, and the white light we also saw and assigned to this blob? That was a smaller powerboat, close in shore, with his white anchor light out. It was a coincidence that he was in line with the larger sailboat, so they appeared to be one image on radar.

This happened perhaps 4 years ago now, and it still shakes me up recalling it.
If you listen to anyone else in all your sailing life..listen to this. We almost hit that boat at right angles. While the owner thought that he was doing his traditional best hanging a salty little korean knockoff anchorlight on his backstay, he was in total violation of the required visibiliity of an anchor light. If we had hit the guy, it would have likely ended my time on the water, resulted in a law suit which we would have won according to the CG, and could have resutled in injuries to either party.
This boat was a 40ft. Hinkley out of Madeline Island, and we had the opportunity to talk with the owner two years later, on Isle Royale, when we met up with him and his 'secretary' in Chippewa Harbor. I recounted this story, then revealed to him it was his boat we almost hit. He was a tad taken aback, sputtered a few things then sat down and looked fairly serious and said.."really?"
He was sleeping in the cabin that night (as it was hot out and the vberth was too closed up for him), on the port side settee, right where we would have struck the boat.

The boat is worth probably $750k..certainly is gorgeous enough to garner that kind of price tag. So he had used a cheap knockoff of a trawler lamp as his anchor light, that cost him maybe $50. What he stood to lose was far more valuable than that...considering life and property.

Use a proper anchor light located at the mast head so that it can be seen 360 deg. That IS where everyone is looking for a light...and no, they Do Not look like stars unless you are without your glasses or common sense...or have never seen a night sky before.

Be careful out there,

Larry DeMers
s/v DeLaMer
Cape Dory 30 Lake Superior

Need some recommendations on a hanging anchor light (oil). Decided not to put on a masthead light...going with an anchor light on the backstay. Thanks. Bill

[John D.]

Hi all, Very interesting subject, solid threads. There is one thing that I was hoping that someone might include. Heres what I do. When I am coming into a mooring area, especially if I am unfamiliar with it, I whip out my 1,000,000 candlepower handheld spotlight and see what's going on up ahead. See and be seen. Play it safe. Your friend, John Dunn Oswego, N.Y. on

I will assume that you wrote this part of the verbosely quoted text, but incorrectly assigned the italicized character to it.

Do you hit Channel markers that don't have lights on them?

No, of course not. But they are not secreted off into the shallows where other boats are anchored either, are they? Most if not all channel markers on Superior are marked with lights, at least where I sail. Otherwise, they ARE noted on your charts and you should be aware of them.
I guess I do not understand the point of your question. Perhaps you will become a bit more clear?

Larry DeMers
s/v DeLaMer

Choppedliveroy@aol.com

[Woody]

After reading all these threads (most interesting and informative I might add) on anchor lights, I am convinced that there "is" a subject that can produce more opinions than what to dress your teak with.



ewood29289@aol.com

[georgia]

Robin - that sounds like the one I used to have. I checked Boat US a while ago for one. SOunds like I should check again.
Thanks!

I purchased a light from Boat U.S. ($70-$90 range) which has a solar triggered on/off switch. I raise it on a halyard, tied off so it doesn't swing into the rigging. It is very handy as a backup if the masthead light goes out OR when I leave my boat anchored in a secluded cove at a friend's house for 2-3 days.

Robin Meigel
s/v "Pacem"
1979 CD 27

[georgia]

Tom- thanks for the info.
Isn't this a great board? I learn so much!
georgia

Simplest possible arrangement. Since I only deploy the anchor light when I'm at anchor, I take it down and put it in a drawer when I'm not. Then when I want to use it, I take it out of the drawer uncoil the wire that I've wrapped around it, plug it in, and hang it up. The wire runs from the cigarette lighter outlet below, then between the top wash board and the hatch across the cockpit any old way to the light which hangs from the backstay. I can't use the forestay because I have roller furling. I could use the staysail stay and halyard, but the backstay seems to work fine and the run is shorter to there. For the wire I just use regular lamp cord from the hardware store. I started out with solid phone wire because it's small and solid. But discovered that with many windings and unwindings it worked through the insulation and shorted out. So I switched to lamp cord. Being stranded rather than solid it coils easily and has relatively beefy insulation because it's intended for 120 volts. If you were going to run wire to the masthead, I'd use marine grade pre-tinned wire from Anchor because that wouldn't be easy to replace like lamp cord is. Lamp cord is about about 6 cents a foot or something so you can replace it every year for 50 cents if need be. Unlike incandescent bulbs, LEDs throw very little light out to the side so you have to aim the tops outward through the focus point. LEDs come on two stiff little wires so they are easy to bend into any direction, but you have to do it or you will be disappointed. Also be careful not to wire them in reverse, because that will fry them instantly. They come with one wire longer than the other and there is a diagram on the back showing which wire is the positive and which the negative.

I had a brass anchor lanern made by Holland. The kerosene container on the bottom twists out so it can be refilled. What I did was make a wooden copy of the base so that I can twist in either the oil bottom or my wooden bottom. The wooden one has a wire running into it and the LEDs mounted in a piece of PVC pipe (They generate no heat unlike bulbs.) Thus I can twist in either the electric bottom with LEDs, or the oil bottom and use it the designed way. The fresnel lens helps spread the light and it's handy to hang on the backstay. With the ss pelican hook going through the round eye on the Aladdin cleat there is no way it can blow off and it's a quick way to set it or release it without halyards etc. Put the lantern as high as you can reach for best visibility. You can also plug it in and use it as a cabin light below when you're not at anchor and even read by it, but the funny shadows from the fresnel lens make it a little awkward to read by and it's pretty bright for a cabin light.

Ok - I'm not an electrical wizard! I understand about installing the bulbs, and the cigarette plug adaptor, but where do you run the wires back to the battery? From the anchor light to the base of the mast, then to the battery, or some other arrangement? If I can figure out how to do it, it sounds like a great idea, because I like the oil lamp look.
georgia
Typhoon 127 "Prairie Orchid"

[Matt Cawthorne]

Larry,
You present one end of the spectrum of sailors. It does not have to be done badly like the Hinley owner did.

I used an oil powered anchor light for years. Like everything it must be done right. You must have a lamp designed with a Fresnel lens. You must use clean fuel and you must set the wick high enough to make it bright, low enough that it does not smoke and will have fuel all night. My opinion as to why the USCG will never approve them is that it is too easy to set the wick too low and not have sufficient visibility. I would occasionally row out and check my lamp. It could easily be seen for more than a mile, probably close to two. It would never even flicker in a 35 knot wind. You can not use a cheap lantern or a trawler lamp for this job. There is a blind spot, but I would mount it on the inner forestay, well above the boom to minimize the angle. The 'dead-zone' is pretty narrow, and on all but a calm night the boat tacks around enough to present the light to all angles within one minute. A traditional system would have you leave the stern light on (it would also have been kerosene) to cover the gap. One advantage is that it can be set at a height where a drunk in a power boat is more likely to see it. The fresnel lens was much larger than any electric light that I have ever seen and it was not possible to interpret it as anything but a light fairly close.
Now that all that is said, I now use electric. It was just too much time spent setting the thing up each night and stowing it when I wanted to sail in the morning. I currently have an aqua signal that draws too much current and it will be replaced by an LED system soon. The idea that electric is better is only good if you have a good set of well charged batteries. If one is low you are likely to leave the other unused so that you can be certain of starting the engine in the morning. You are then running the anchor light on low voltage and you will not have the advertised 2 mile brightness. It could be significantly below that. One of the advantages of the Deep Creek design is that it has voltage compensation and can keep the same brightness over a wide range of voltages. That will probably not happen with a home made unit.

If I am in an area with lots of traffic or the potential of drunks motoring around at night I use both the electric on the top of the mast and the kerosene down low. The more the better. It is also an excellent backup for when the bulb dies and you don't want to go up the mast at night to replace it.

Matt



mcawthor@bellatlantic.net

[Larry DeMers]

Matt,
Your approach is reasonable and safe. You have a prudent system of checks setup to determine if you are legal or at least effective. That is not the situation that I write about, as you note. The Hinkley guy got lazy probably, and it was pure luck that we did not have a court case develope out of that night..thank neptune for that.
I agree that the work to maintain the kerosene light is a bit more than you want to do at "0-dark-30" at night, so that becomes part of their liability.
True, a weak battery will reduce the effectiveness of the mast head anchor light, and that speaks to maintenance of the boat, knowledge of the boat and it's systems etc. If a person gets aboard once a month for an overnight, then he better save a little time before departure to check out things like the battery etc. It should be in working order. But it does happen, certainly.

So in that sense, I also like the LED lights, because they operate with a lot of 'headroom'. That is they incorporate a voltage regulator that outputs the needed 2v to the LED, and basicly does not use the excess 10-11v in the battery. If the battery does go low on you, the anchor light will still function in a limited mode (also getting dimmer once the 'overhead' has been burned up)until the voltage drops into the really low area around 5v or lower. Then there is not enough headroom for some voltage regulators to work without restricting the current draw somewhat. In this sense, LEDS will give you a longer light on a lower battery than an incandescent bulb will.
As I mentioned someplace in the blizzard of messages in this thread, I have become convinved that the new CHIME LEDS are extremely brite and my sense says brite enough for an anchor light if 6 or 8 are used with a focusing or fresnel lens system. The current savings will be terrific!

I still love the brass Trawler Lamps my Mason 33 friend has. They are so pretty and beefy..but after my experience with Mr. Hinkley's owner, I don't think I can be convinced that an oil light is the right answer for the anchor light.

Cheers,

Larry DeMers
s/v DeLaMer

Larry,
You present one end of the spectrum of sailors. It does not have to be done badly like the Hinley owner did.

I used an oil powered anchor light for years. Like everything it must be done right. You must have a lamp designed with a Fresnel lens. You must use clean fuel and you must set the wick high enough to make it bright, low enough that it does not smoke and will have fuel all night. My opinion as to why the USCG will never approve them is that it is too easy to set the wick too low and not have sufficient visibility. I would occasionally row out and check my lamp. It could easily be seen for more than a mile, probably close to two. It would never even flicker in a 35 knot wind. You can not use a cheap lantern or a trawler lamp for this job. There is a blind spot, but I would mount it on the inner forestay, well above the boom to minimize the angle. The 'dead-zone' is pretty narrow, and on all but a calm night the boat tacks around enough to present the light to all angles within one minute. A traditional system would have you leave the stern light on (it would also have been kerosene) to cover the gap. One advantage is that it can be set at a height where a drunk in a power boat is more likely to see it. The fresnel lens was much larger than any electric light that I have ever seen and it was not possible to interpret it as anything but a light fairly close.
Now that all that is said, I now use electric. It was just too much time spent setting the thing up each night and stowing it when I wanted to sail in the morning. I currently have an aqua signal that draws too much current and it will be replaced by an LED system soon. The idea that electric is better is only good if you have a good set of well charged batteries. If one is low you are likely to leave the other unused so that you can be certain of starting the engine in the morning. You are then running the anchor light on low voltage and you will not have the advertised 2 mile brightness. It could be significantly below that. One of the advantages of the Deep Creek design is that it has voltage compensation and can keep the same brightness over a wide range of voltages. That will probably not happen with a home made unit.

If I am in an area with lots of traffic or the potential of drunks motoring around at night I use both the electric on the top of the mast and the kerosene down low. The more the better. It is also an excellent backup for when the bulb dies and you don't want to go up the mast at night to replace it.

Matt

demers@sgi.com

[Chris Scheck]

Gentlemen:

I have been following the discussion of kerosene vs electric anchor lights with interest. It's been rather illuminating! However, the larger question is when an anchor light is required, from both a legal and a common-sense standpoint. My understanding is that you are NOT required to display an anchor light when in a "designated mooring area" (shown on the chart?) In Newport Harbor or the Great Salt Pond on Block Island, where there are hundreds of boats anchored on a summer night, it seems that about half of them have anchor lights on, and half don't. On the other hand, if you anchor in an area that is frequently travelled by other boats, and there are not a lot of other boats anchored near you, you certainly have every obligation to mark yourself ... even if that means staying up and blowing a fog horn. That being the case, when I am underway on a foggy night, I feel it is my obligation to be able to see whatever is ahead of me, lighted or not. I try not to motor faster than conditions permit. That usually means putting someone on the bow with the searchlight. Regarding liability in a collision, there is the legal doctrine of "last clear chance" ... if you hit someone who is not adequately marked, you still had an opportunity to avoid the collision. I wonder how the courts have held in cases like this?

Chris Scheck
RAGTIME CD33
Newport



cscheck@aol.com

[Larry DeMers]

Chris,

I suspect that if one vessel involved in a collision is not lit legally, he would be the go-to guy for the insurance companies. Then he would have to in turn try to prove contributory negligence by the other vessel. But if the other vessel had done everything normally expected of that vessel, he would be ok I suspect. Not a lawyer, even in my grandest nightmares, so this is..pure opinion.

I would say that for myself, lighting the anchor light is common sense. When you need to be seen, light it. Motoring in fog during the day? Light your nav lights and steaming light to allow another vessel a chance to see you. Use your radar and VHF to notify traffic of your position, should that be needed. There may be regulations that cover each and every condition or permutation of these conditions, but I doubt it. In the end, I suspect it is going to fall back to common sense, and what has been accepted practice by the CG and the boating public thru the years.

In looking over the charts for our section of Lake Superior, we have NO designated anchorages here at all. In classes we took years and years ago, our Nav instructor told us that this is true country wide. Designated anchorages are quite rare, and are disappearing over time. I don't know this to be fact however..have you seen any of these designated anchorages in your areas?? They should be marked with a small anchor symbol on the chart.

Even with a designated anchorage, I would not take a chance on getting clipped by someone arriving after dark. My baby is too dear to let that happen to her. So I suspect I would simply lite the anchor light as normal without a thought to should I or not.

Addrssing the battery drain of that light. Lets say you have a 10W bulb up topside. Over a 10 hour night time use, you will burn up 8.3aH. A normal Group 27 deep discharge battery will be useable to the 50% point of it's capacity, and that is about 60aH effectively.
So the anchor light cost you about 14% of your power budget overnight, plus any other loads that the boat may have used.

If the house bank is not capable of handling *that* small of a drain over that period, then our captain certainly is not doing his maintenance correctly, or there are other problems that need to be worked on before venturing out again. That boat is not well found and prepared for sea, period.

The practice of putting someone in the bow with a searchlight when needed, is a good one Chris. As would be posting a lookout for rocks when transiting a reef strewn area during the day light, or stopping and listening for a fog horn occasionally as the regs require us to do. Again..it's all common sense. Trouble is making sure that it IS as 'common' as we assume it to be, heh? There's the rub..


Cheers,

Larry DeMers
s/v DeLaMer
Cape Dory 30 Lake Superior

Gentlemen:

I have been following the discussion of kerosene vs electric anchor lights with interest. It's been rather illuminating! However, the larger question is when an anchor light is required, from both a legal and a common-sense standpoint. My understanding is that you are NOT required to display an anchor light when in a "designated mooring area" (shown on the chart?) In Newport Harbor or the Great Salt Pond on Block Island, where there are hundreds of boats anchored on a summer night, it seems that about half of them have anchor lights on, and half don't. On the other hand, if you anchor in an area that is frequently travelled by other boats, and there are not a lot of other boats anchored near you, you certainly have every obligation to mark yourself ... even if that means staying up and blowing a fog horn. That being the case, when I am underway on a foggy night, I feel it is my obligation to be able to see whatever is ahead of me, lighted or not. I try not to motor faster than conditions permit. That usually means putting someone on the bow with the searchlight. Regarding liability in a collision, there is the legal doctrine of "last clear chance" ... if you hit someone who is not adequately marked, you still had an opportunity to avoid the collision. I wonder how the courts have held in cases like this?

Chris Scheck
RAGTIME CD33
Newport

demers@sgi.com

[TomG]

If your vessel is over 23feet in length you must display an anchor light from sunset to sunrise and in time of limited visibility. Unless your in a designated anchorage, then it is not reqiuired untill your vessel is 50 meters in length. This is what the navigation rules say.

You are very wise with your thinking of speed and lookouts. Infact the rules state "Take all way off if necessary", if your having a visibility problem or not sure of a stiuation.


Tom
Ambuscade

I have been following the discussion of kerosene vs electric anchor lights with interest. It's been rather illuminating! However, the larger question is when an anchor light is required, from both a legal and a common-sense standpoint. My understanding is that you are NOT required to display an anchor light when in a "designated mooring area" (shown on the chart?) In Newport Harbor or the Great Salt Pond on Block Island, where there are hundreds of boats anchored on a summer night, it seems that about half of them have anchor lights on, and half don't. On the other hand, if you anchor in an area that is frequently travelled by other boats, and there are not a lot of other boats anchored near you, you certainly have every obligation to mark yourself ... even if that means staying up and blowing a fog horn. That being the case, when I am underway on a foggy night, I feel it is my obligation to be able to see whatever is ahead of me, lighted or not. I try not to motor faster than conditions permit. That usually means putting someone on the bow with the searchlight. Regarding liability in a collision, there is the legal doctrine of "last clear chance" ... if you hit someone who is not adequately marked, you still had an opportunity to avoid the collision. I wonder how the courts have held in cases like this?

Chris Scheck
RAGTIME CD33
Newport

tgrant9008@aol.com

[Neil Gordon]

>>After reading all these threads (most interesting and informative I might add) on anchor lights, I am convinced that there "is" a subject that can produce more opinions than what to dress your teak with.<<

The wheel vs tiller discussion beats it all the time.


Regards, Neil
s/v LIQUIDITY
Cape Dory 28 #167



neil@nrgordon.com

[Neil Gordon]

>>I would say that for myself, lighting the anchor light is common sense.<<

It's awkward to keep an anchor light lit if a boat's unattended on a mooring. But if you're on the boat, you run more risk (e.g., you might find out if your watch is really waterproof!) if you're whacked in the middle of the night. So an anchor light is a good idea even in a designated anchorage.

On the other hand, proceed with caution if you're entering a designated anchorage. There will surely be boats moored there in the dark!

>>Use your radar and VHF to notify traffic of your position, ...<<

The jerks that speed through the fog may not be monitoring ch 16. But getting on the VHF and broadcasting your position and course every once in a while is still a good idea. The tugs and barges, and the big ferries and the tankers, etc., etc., will probably hear you.

>>Designated anchorages are quite rare, and are disappearing over time.<<

That's not true on any of the New England coast charts I have. All of the mooring areas are designated "special anchorage." They're outlined in purple and have a letter in a circle that corresponds to a note on the chart.

>>The practice of putting someone in the bow with a searchlight when needed, is a good one Chris.<<

Yes, when entering an anchorage, or looking for an unlighted buoy or the like. But in general, you're entitled to assume that if there are no lights, there's nothing there that's not on the chart. In fact, the nav rules prohibit display of lights that might be confusing to others. "Headlights" might fall into that category. (And again, I'm not suggesting that hunting and pecking your way through a mooring field, etc., is not an appropriate time for a searchlight.)


Regards, Neil
s/v LIQUIDITY
Cape Dory 28 #167



neil@nrgordon.com

[Ed Haley]

Tom:
Most of us realize what the lighting requirements are for boats at anchor. I don't need to repeat them here for you. As you stated, the CG indicates that anchor lights are not required in some areas for boats anchored for the night.

However, merely doing the minimum (or in this case not doing what is not needed) to affect safety is in many cases not the smartest bet. As I stated before in a previous response, I intend to make my boat visible regardless of someone saying it isn't necessary. I work hard to keep my craft in superb condition. I want to keep it that way. If I can prevent a hard bump in the middle of the night by using a little extra battery energy I will do so.

I'm glad you have the same attitude about lighting up your boat. But we usually never know about the boater who sees our anchor light just in time to avoid a collision. That's the way I like it.

Ed Haley
s/v Mokita
CD330 #1
On the hard in Clayton NY



eghaleyNOSPAM@twcny.rr.com