Visibility While at Anchor

[Snowpetrel]

Originally Posted by boatman61

Most folks night vision is pretty trashed anyway with all the displays one has in cockpits these days..

Sadly very true, and they never seem to dim down very well. nothing like the sun cover, or the big off switch!

[Snowpetrel]

Originally Posted by Dockhead

Definitely. Not because of this thread, but because of the accident I had last fall which resulted (indirectly) from a fishing boat's not having seen my anchor light.

I will be using my deck lights in future, until I come up with a suitable lantern to hoist into the foretriangle.

In addition to my normal anchor light.

Careful there Dockhead, if you use a Mast Top anchor light and a foretriangle light you are inadvertently displaying the lights incorrectly under collregs, as with anchor lights the fwd light should be higher than the after most light.

I'd be more inclined to mount another all-round white light down aft, say on the dodger or targa bar, that way you comply with collregs, and can still add decklights for extra visibility. And you have a backup legal light in case of a blown globe up the mast.

[StuM]

Originally Posted by cruisersfarm

Ah.,. should have pulled the book out.

I'd hate to find out I'm at 7 degrees in the event of collision though.

An angle of 6° subtends approximately 10.5cm at a distance of 1m.
Obviously an all round light will be more than a point source, so there is still a bit of wiggle room even at that distance.

So just make sure your light is at least 10 times as far away from your mast as its width.. If you have a 15cm (6") wide mast, the light just needs to be at least 1.5m (5') in front of or behind it.

[StuM]

Originally Posted by Snowpetrel

Edit: see Nigel beat me too it, the upshot is that a masthead or steaming light coupled with a stern light is acceptable in lieu of a conventional anchor light.

No!

Masthead lights and stern lights are not "all round lights"

And even if they are all round lights, they can probably be distinguished as two separate lights at 1Nm.

[jackdale]

Originally Posted by Dockhead

In addition to my normal anchor light.

I quite like these. Hoist it up in the foretriangle with a line attached to the bottom and the bow roller.

[jackdale]

Originally Posted by StuM

No!

Masthead lights and stern lights are not "all round lights"

And even if they are all round lights, they can probably be distinguished as two separate lights at 1Nm.

Rule 23

(d) (i) A power-driven vessel of less than 12 meters in length may in lieu of the lights prescribed in Rule 23(a) exhibit an all-round white light and sidelights.



Turn off the sidelights and you have an anchor light.

[Stu Jackson]

Originally Posted by Dockhead

Definitely. Not because of this thread, but because of the accident I had last fall which resulted (indirectly) from a fishing boat's not having seen my anchor light.

I remember that.

I got hit while at anchor last November. Boom, bang, thank you, mam. Jerks had just left a dock and wasn't looking.

Insurance company blamed him entirely.

So much for the apportionment of blame argument. I understand fully the concept, but sometimes reality intrudes.

We have a light dodger and use an LED battery light underneath in addition to the older Davis mega light anchor light up top.

What's so hard about BOTH? Why does it always have to be either or? Oh, wait, it's CF!

[Snowpetrel]

Originally Posted by StuM

No!

Masthead lights and stern lights are not "all round lights"

And even if they are all round lights, they can probably be distinguished as two separate lights at 1Nm.

All‑round lights shall be so located as not to be obscured by masts, topmasts or structures within angular sectors of more than 6 degrees, except anchor lights prescribed in Rule 30, which need not be placed at an impracticable height above the hull.
(ii) If it is impracticable to comply with paragraph (b)(i) of this section by exhibiting only one all-round light, two all-round lights shall be used suitably positioned or screened so that they appear, as far as practicable, as one light at a distance of one mile.

Its all in interpretation isn't it. A lawyer could have a field day with this stuff...

[StuM]

Originally Posted by jackdale

Rule 23

(d) (i) A power-driven vessel of less than 12 meters in length may in lieu of the lights prescribed in Rule 23(a) exhibit an all-round white light and sidelights.



Turn off the sidelights and you have an anchor light.

Fine if you are anchoring a power-driven vessel of less than 12 metres which has those sort of lights. I'd hazard a guess that it doesn't apply to many cruisers on this forum.

[Snowpetrel]

Originally Posted by Stu Jackson

I remember that.

I got hit while at anchor last November. Boom, bang, thank you, mam. Jerks had just left a dock and wasn't looking.

Insurance company blamed him entirely.
It was dockheads insurance company, so of course they would blame the other party entirely.. things could have got more ugly if the other boats insurance had stepped in, but anyway what I remember of the case the impact was not due to the "assisting boat" not seeing DH, but poor manoeuvring skills
So much for the apportionment of blame argument. I understand fully the concept, but sometimes reality intrudes.

We have a light dodger and use an LED battery light underneath in addition to the older Davis mega light anchor light up top.

What's so hard about BOTH? Why does it always have to be either or? Oh, wait, it's CF!

Got no problem with Both, its just those that insist that a single mast top all-round is a wonderful way to light up your boat at anchor and everybody should have no issues seeing them.

......

[Robin3]

Well here we are nearly midnight, looking out from our (3rd floor) balcony at the ICW passage anchorage in front of our home condo block. 3 boats out there not one even has a light tonight. On other nights we see the whole range from boats leaving all their nav lights on, via strobe lights competing with those on the various tall structures on land ( we are on the glide path for both Daytona Beach and Orlando international airports and not to mention Embry Riddle air University locally who do lots of night flights. There are the usual solar garden path lights too that are usually gone dark by the time I wake up in the night for a pee, even before midnight this time of year. Oh and boats do pass at night, even occasionally anchor overnight like 2 nights ago whe there was a pusher tug/batge combo out there which had a white all round light on forward mast and a blue thing on the back deck area, it also left its port and starboard lights lit at deck level.
Moral of all this? who knows.

[monte]

And here in Antigua. Busiest day of the year...

[Stu Jackson]

Originally Posted by Snowpetrel

......

Snow, please reread my last. It was MY boat I discussed, not Dockhead's. Two different stories.

[Jim Cate]

Originally Posted by StuM

An angle of 6° subtends approximately 10.5cm at a distance of 1m.
Obviously an all round light will be more than a point source, so there is still a bit of wiggle room even at that distance.

So just make sure your light is at least 10 times as far away from your mast as its width.. If you have a 15cm (6") wide mast, the light just needs to be at least 1.5m (5') in front of or behind it.

Excellent rule of thumb, Stu. We should all note it whilst messing about with our anchor lights.

Jim

[Snowpetrel]

Originally Posted by Stu Jackson

Snow, please reread my last. It was MY boat I discussed, not Dockhead's. Two different stories.

Ahh, Opps, Thanks, what sort of lights did you have up, for interests sake?