What lights should install for easy mooring and anchoring in a Lagoon 39?

[patolega]

What permanent lights and what searchlights?

[805gregg]

Anchor before dark

[Cheechako]

Just good spreader lights. Take a rechargeable hand held search light.

[boom23]

Do not anchor/moor at night.

Get a good red/white headlamp for yourself.

[Jim Cate]

Originally Posted by 805gregg

Anchor before dark

Originally Posted by boom23

Do not anchor/moor at night.

Get a good red/white headlamp for yourself.

Good grief... what silly advice. One does not always get to an anchorage when you want to be there, and it is seriously important to be able to anchor or moor in the dark. Cruising is like that, ya know...

The personal head lamp is, however, a good idea. They keep getting better, and having selectable beams and white/red choices is helpful.

For the boat, a good foredeck light (not typical spreader lights which point down at the mast base) is helpful. However, when one is standing on the bow, one's shadow tends to wipe out the very area you need to see... that's where the headlamp comes into play. Our deck light is LED, adapted from the off-road accessory market. Works well, fairly low drain on the battery.

On our boat we use hand signals between foredeck (me) and helm (Ann). Without the deck light, she can not see me well enough to see the signals, so the light is useful even if my shadow interferes with my vision of the chain and roller, etc.

The other thing that is useful is a powerful hand spotlight, used to pick out other boats or things that might go bump. Ours is old and uses a halogen bulb and a big battery. Works ok, but I expect that the newer ones with high intensity LEDs might be better, lighter and longer lasting.

One thing: be sure that whatever chain/rode markers you use are interpretable in low light conditions. Many are not, and it makes it hard to know how much chain you have deployed.

Cheers,

Jim

[boom23]

As a rule, we never anchor at night unless we know the anchorage extremely well. In S. Pacific islands there are bommies (outcrop of coral reef, which are not charted) and the charts are can be very inaccurate to begin with. It is a recipe for disaster.

Mooring can be a different story. But, you still cannot trust a mooring until you dive down and examine its condition. Again, in S. Pacific, moorings can be in very bad condition. Frankly, I always prefer to anchor as I know the condition of my anchor and rode.

So, I always plan to arrive way before sundown, just in case I do not like the anchorage I selected or the weather changed.

If one is doing coastal cruising and he intimately knows the anchorage or mooring, he can risk anchoring/mooring after sundown. A good headlight is all that I would need.

[JPA Cate]

boom23,

Quite right about arriving at new to you coral infested anchorages in the afternoon, like not later than 4 or 5, in the equatorial regions, where the sun sets fast with no twilight. You want to still be able to see the coral heads in the water, for sure. We used to aim for 3 pm arrival, where possible.

However, for coastal cruising, I think it is different. You have a familiar destination in mind, there will be other vessels there already, and having a spotlight to spot them is useful, as many are not adequately lit. A good hand torch [flashlight] will do it, but we like having a powerful spotlight, it illuminates hulls further away.

Anchoring after dark where the obstructions are charted isn't preferable, especially when the anchorage is unfamiliar, but if you are prepared for it, it means you can sail longer and not motorsail to arrive on a schedule, and, imo, it is a good idea to plan for it, ahead of time, in case one gets caught out, so good on the OP for asking.

Ann

[UNCIVILIZED]

I've toyed with the idea of having a red tinted pair of spreader lights, in addition to white ones, so that it's possible to light up the boat/deck without frying everyones night vision. Thoughts?
Either way, I'm a fan of wiring spreader/deck lighting so that it's possible to light up the foredeck & cockpit seperately. It doesn't fully preserve your night vision if you're the one on the helm & the foredeck needs to be lit up, but it helps.

Also, now's a good time to think about what you also want in terms of lighting at the masthead as well as for steaming & nav lights, & other wiring in the mast. Such as a masthead tricolor/combo anchor light, steaming lights, instrument wiring, masthead/mast mounted strobe, spreader lights, radar etc.

One key thing is that it's easier to remove lights than it is to add them, once the stick is in place. Given the issues with running wiring inside of the mast. And on that topic, whenever anyone has their mast down I always suggest running a couple of extra sets of wiring up the spar, to remain unused when it's re-stepped. That way it's much easier to add more gear to the mast later on, without the hassles of trying to install wiring for it from a bosun's chair.

[Franziska]

I'd suggest a handheld searchlight and not a fixed one.
On Lady Rover I even have a waterproof 12v socket at the bow for this.
This way the crew can light up the surrounding without creating a lot of reflection from ones own boat.

For the anchoring itself we use headband style lights.

Spreader lights come on once you are on location and for clearing up.

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