Mooring Light ?

[E.L.Green]

this seemed the best place to put this so here goes. i have a santana 2023 and as of yet do not have a masthead light ( this will change next season ). so as of right now i use a 360 degree waterproof signaling flashlight rated for up to two miles. i prefer to hoist it up the halyard then lash it off about 3/4 of the way back to the boom so it will have a bit more altitude and less chance of being blocked by the mast, but my father insists that it is better to leave it on the jibsheets when it is furled. can some body give me some input on where is the best spot? the only time im anchored after dark is overnights in the coves in low anchored traffic around my area and never leave the boat. both methods i described above have been used many times and have had no issues with being spotted, but i do want opinions of others for safety. thanks in advance.

[Laidback]

I have seen a number of Santanas that are trailered with the mast down - if yours comes down, then mast head LED light first project.

[Dockhead]

I do not believe that it is required to be at the masthead. On our old boat we used to use a portable LED anchor light in lieu of the power-hungry masthead light. We hung it off the backstay at head height and I think it was perfectly adequate.

[FSMike]

I recall reading somewhere that you are not supposed to have an anchor light aft of the mast, the rationale being to warn other boats away from your anchor rode. I think the most important thing is being easily seen.

[GordMay]

Originally Posted by E.L.Green

... my father insists that it is better to leave it on the jibsheets when it is furled...

30 (a) A vessel at anchor shall exhibit where it can best be seen:

1. in the fore part, an all-round white light or one ball;

See Inland RULE 30:
ANCHORED VESSELS AND VESSELS AGROUND

➥ Rule 30 & 31: Anchored Vessels & Vessels Aground and Seplanes

Then thank your father.

[E.L.Green]

thanks for the info. ive been looking at a mast crane that has one mounted and that is the next real project.

[E.L.Green]

as far as being unbroken line of sight, for having it on the jibsheets, wouldnt the furler have the chance to block line of sight as well?

[David M]

Smaller boats swing so much at anchor its not worth worrying about. The backscatter from the light will prevent it from being completely hidden as well.

[cal40john]

Originally Posted by GordMay

30 (a) A vessel at anchor shall exhibit where it can best be seen:

1. in the fore part, an all-round white light or one ball;

See Inland RULE 30:
ANCHORED VESSELS AND VESSELS AGROUND

➥ Rule 30 & 31: Anchored Vessels & Vessels Aground and Seplanes

Then thank your father.

Gord you only posted part of the rule.

You are required to put one in the fore part if you are going to have another one at the stern at a lower height.

From the link you posted:

(a) A vessel at anchor shall exhibit where it can best be seen:

1. 1. in the fore part, an all-round white light or one ball;
   2. at or near the stern and at a lower level than the light prescribed in subparagraph (i), an all-round white light.

If you are less than 50 meters, then you can display one light. It goes where it can best be seen, not necessarily in the fore part.

From link above:

(b) A vessel of less than 50 meters in length may exhibit an all-round white light where it can best be seen instead of the lights prescribed in paragraph (a) of this Rule.


John

[cal40john]

I use a hanging light like this one, but with an LED bulb.

aquasignal Produkt Katalog

The places I anchor I'm worried about recreational boaters seeing me. I believe they're more likely to see an anchor light closer to eye level than at the top of a 50 foot mast. And if it needs repair I don't have to go to the masthead to fix it.

John

[GordMay]

Originally Posted by cal40john

Gord you only posted part of the rule ...

I think my distaste for erroneous information is fairly well known around here.
Fortunately, one never need be wrong for long, on the CF.
Thanks John!!!

[PyotrBee]

Its common here for boats not to use anchor lights at all. We went into Whitehouse bay last weekend at night. 4 boats anchored in there already, only one anchor light! And one of them was a new 50 foot catamaran... Can't understand how you can have money for such a thing and not put on your anchor light!

[svHyLyte]

Originally Posted by PyotrBee

Its common here for boats not to use anchor lights at all. We went into Whitehouse bay last weekend at night. 4 boats anchored in there already, only one anchor light! And one of them was a new 50 foot catamaran... Can't understand how you can have money for such a thing and not put on your anchor light!

In the US, in designated anchorages, one is not obligated to show a light although why one would not do so escapes me. Several years ago we had an occassion in the anchorage on the Manatee River where a boat arriving in the dark bashed into the side of an unlit yacht as the helmsman on the arriving boat was watching the lights of the other boats beyond the unlit boat and simply could not see it until too late. Fortunately the damage was only scraped paint and a few bent stanchions but...

In addition to our masthead light, we also hoist a Davis Mega-Lite from the back-stay:



FWIW...

[svcambria]

The preferred way of showing an anchor light in Mexico and south, and common over the South Pacific, is to hoist a small light up about eight or ten feet off the deck, before or after the mast but usually aft of the mast on the backstay. The thinking is not to warn ships that they are there close to the coast but to warn local pangas and dinghies traveling through the anchorage that they are there; those drivers are usually looking ahead along the horizon, not up in the sky, so the lower light is felt to be more effective.
Mexico has a practical approach: a boat is not required to show a light, but if you don't and get hit, you are at fault.
I use an LED light made by Bebi (in Fiji):
LED Anchor Light-Waterproof & Rugged for Marine RV and Offgrid Use
Lots of illumination, low wattage, and durable enough to get a lifetime warranty.

Michael

[bewitched]

There's the colregs requirement.....and then there's the practical requirement.

I've been on a anchored boat that's been hit by a Thai fishing boat in the middle of the night. Waking up in the galley with water coming down the companionway is not a nice way to wake up. Fortunately it was a steel boat and didn't hole, but the repair was extensive.

Since then, I have battery operated flashing lights that have a solar switch so that they come on at night and go off during the day. I hang one down each side of the boat in all but the quietest anchorages.

Not colregs compliant - don't care