dinghy lights

[glowplug]

Does anyone have lights for their dinghy?
Which ones did you get and how long do/did they last?

[sparrowhawk1]

If you keep the vessel under seven knots you just need an all around white light. I carry one of these as a spare phone charger but the light is quite bright and I cut a section of a milk jug and taped it to slip over it to give me 360. If you need red and green there are LED flashlights with combo lenses that run on a single d battery just as bright and much less expensive to run than the ones that have several AA batteries. I have a dinghy with a trolling motor. I had a string of Christmas lights that are LED and through experimentation found that four of them in series run perfectly off 12 volts and are quite bright.

[Beersmith]

We have a silly but effective way of dealing with this. Our headlamps can illuminate white, red, green or blue. My wife sits in the front seat with two head lamps, one red and one green, facing the correct orientation on her head. I wear a headlamp backwards in white at the motor tiller.

Works well for us!

[sparrowhawk1]

https://www.amazon.com/Pactrade-Mari.../dp/B014VF1RJ2

These can also be used as backups to the main vessels running lights. if you lose just one light you can temporarily use one of these

[StuM]

Originally Posted by sparrowhawk1

If you keep the vessel under seven knots you just need an all around white light.

A common misconception.

A power-driven vessel of less than 7 metres in length whose maximum speed does not exceed 7 knots may in lieu of the lights prescribed in paragraph (a) of this Rule exhibit an all-round white light and shall, if practicable, also exhibit sidelights.

Cockcroft explains:
This provision takes account of the fact that small, low speed vessels may not have sufficient power to exhibit the normal navigation lights. It does not apply to a vessel capable of more than 7 knots which is proceeding at reduced speed.

[sparrowhawk1]

This has been discussed before. rule 23 a power driven vessel of less than 7 m in length whose maximum speed does not exceed 7 knots. it does not mean that the vessel could not go faster if you wanted it to. It means if you go faster you need bow running lights. PS not that this proves the law but I have never heard of anyone being warned or given a ticket for just having a all-round white light when they're going slow and I have personally gone by many many police at night with this configuration. Edit: I have also been stopped by many police at night with never a mention of my lights.

[Adelie]

I think Stu has it. While there may be a consensus of opinion in one or more of the threads here, Cockcroft is probably more in touch with the way courts will rule if somebody needs to dispute it there.

The reality is that if you are proceeding at less than 7kt you will probably be fine with just the all-around white light unless you are in a collision or encounter and overly enthusiastic Law Enforcement Officer.

[sparrowhawk1]

Wouldn't they say cannot instead of does not?

[Adelie]

I agree that the phrasing can be argued several ways. My point is that if Cockcroft is indicating a certain interpretation the that is the likely interpretation a court would follow.

[a64pilot]

people will complain that this is a lot of money, and it is, but they are USCG approved, say so right on the light and come in a nice case and can easily be disassembled and stowed until needed. Use AA batteries and as they are LED’s the batteries last a long time, and if you drop them in the water, they float and are waterproof.
we rarely use them, but they are very bright, legal on a vessel I believe up to 60 foot in length.
https://www.hodgesmarine.com/nvi769-...hoCKw0QAvD_BwE

[sailorboy1]

Have a light on your dinghy! In busy places it even pisses me off when while in my dinghy to have one come out of the darkness in my path.

[neflier]

We have the set that a64pilot provided a link to. It was $125 from Defender during their spring sale two years ago and covers us for all possible situations. Works great, used a few times a year and we change the batteries annually. A well thought out design that stores compactly in the included case.

Regarding the all around white light for vessels that don't exceed 7 kts. That's International rules and applies to vessels whose maximum speed is under 7 kts. I'll let others debate the definition of "maximum speed" as it relates to the COLREGS, but at least one US federal agency defines "maximum speed" as the fastest the vehicle is capable of, not the speed it is operated at.

When operating under Inland rules, there is no 7 kt relaxation of the rules and you need the full set of lights (red, green, all-around white). Regardless of the COLREGS, here in the US certain states require the full set.

[Argyle38]

Originally Posted by StuM

A common misconception.

A power-driven vessel of less than 7 metres in length whose maximum speed does not exceed 7 knots may in lieu of the lights prescribed in paragraph (a) of this Rule exhibit an all-round white light and shall, if practicable, also exhibit sidelights.

Cockcroft explains:
This provision takes account of the fact that small, low speed vessels may not have sufficient power to exhibit the normal navigation lights. It does not apply to a vessel capable of more than 7 knots which is proceeding at reduced speed.

Also this is only in the international COLREGS and doesn't apply to US inland rules. Inside the US 'Colregs' line, you still need R/G sidelights, not that I've ever heard of this rule being enforced.

I have one of these, and the similar all around white light, that I sometimes put on, depending on how busy the harbor is and how far I have to go. Not all the time, admittedly, but in a busy harbor, yes. Only issue I found is that after a while the battery contacts can corrode.

https://www.defender.com/product3.js...2556&id=166470

Edit: neflier beat me to it.

[Tin Tin]

We used the Navisafe light with magnetic base, carried in my pocket. Glued a big steel washer to the nose of the dinghy and at night just stuck the red/green light to it. Light is easily removed and switched to white can be used as a flashlight, it floats. The problem with fixed nav lights to a RIB is they are easily busted or are in the way. They have a white light solution too,

some folks use a tough footpath solar LED for this purpose..NAVISAFE | Navisafe Dinghy Complete

[Tayana42]

I also use the NaviSafe lights and highly recommend them.