Quote:
Originally Posted by Martinini
The fixture yes, but I challenge you to show me where it says anything about the bulb except at what distance it has to be seen at, and that distance is calculated under ideal conditions,I checked. If an atorney can't prove this bulb is brighter than that one, I darn sure would't want him either. Took a look at THAT ONE and why would I spend $175 to over $300 when I can buy a $10 bulb of sufficiant brightness to go into my exsisting fixture and still meet the Regs! If you actually read the Regs you will see I'm right. Or find it in the Regs and post it here, where it says anything about what bulb you can use. It only says how far you need to be able to see the light.
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For that you'd need the rules behind the rules. The CFR clearly defines lights:
The question is not really one of legality. The USCG will certainly NOT be climbing your mast & checking your bulbs & usually only checking to see that you use them.
The question of matter comes into play with our sleazy legal system at least here in the US. If you are involved in a nigh time
accident it will likely become your job, and your expense, to prove in court that your fixture/light met the color, beam, horizontal, vertical and distance standards.
Any good maritime lawyer could attempt to make his entire case based on your use of non-certified
LED lights especially when there are now plenty of "certified" options.
I was personally involved with a night time
boating death (best friends father was killed). The forensics testimony, on just the nav
lighting, was two full days of testimony. Both boats had legal certified bulbs and it still went on for two days. Imagine if you had non-certified bulbs..
It's not the USCG you need to worry about it's the Jim Sokolove's of the world..
The specificity for lights is well defined in the CFR.
The question is a LOT more in
depth than just, can you see it 2 miles away.
Below is the criteria nav lights must meet to be USCG certified..
From 33 CFR 84:
Colors
� 84.13 Color specification of lights
(a) The chromaticity of all navigation lights shall conform to the following standards, which lie within the boundaries of the area of the diagram specified for each color by the International Commission on Illumination (CIE), in the "Colors of Light Signals", which is incorporated by reference. It is Publication CIE No. 2.2. (TC-1.6), 1975, and is available from the Illumination Engineering Society, 345 East 47th Street,
New York, NY 10017. It is also available for
inspection at the Office of the Federal Register, Room 8401, 1100 L Street N.W.,
Washington, D.C. 20408. This incorporation by reference was approved by the Director of the Federal Register.
(b) The boundaries of the area for each color are given by indicating the corner coordinates, which are as follows:
(1) White:
x 0.525 0.525 0.452 0.310 0.310 0.443
y 0.382 0.440 0.440 0.348 0.283 0.382
(2) Green:
x 0.028 0.009 0.300 0.203
y 0.385 0.723 0.511 0.356
(3) Red:
x 0.680 0.660 0.735 0.721
y 0.320 0.320 0.265 0.259
(4) Yellow:
x 0.612 0.618 0.575 0.575
y 0.382 0.382 0.425 0.406
Intensity
� 84.15 Intensity of lights
(a) The minimum luminous intensity of lights shall be calculated by using the formula:
l = 3.43 x 106 x T x D2 x K-D
where: I is luminous intensity in candelas under
service conditions, T is threshold factor 2 x 10-7 lux, D is range of visibility (luminous range) of the light in nautical miles, K is atmospheric transmissivity. For prescribed lights the value of K shall be 0.8, corresponding to a meteorological visibility of approximately 13 nautical miles.
(b) A selection of figures derived from the formula is given in Table 84.15(b).
Table 84.15(b)
Range of visibility (luminous Minimum
range) of light in nautical luminous intensity of light
miles in candelas tor K = 0.8
D I
1 0.9
2 4.3
3 12
4 27
5 52
6 94
Horizontal Sectors
� 84.17 Horizontal sectors
(a)
(1) In the forward direction, sidelights as fitted on the vessel shall show the minimum required intensities. The intensities shall decrease to reach practical cut-off between 1 and 3 degrees outside the prescribed sectors.
(2) For sternlights and masthead lights and at 22.5 degrees abaft the beam for sidelights, the minimum required intensities shall be maintained over the
arc of the horizon up to 5 degrees within the limits of the sectors prescribed in
Rule 21. From 5 degrees within the prescribed sectors the intensity may decrease by 50 percent up to the prescribed limits; it shall decrease steadily to reach practical cutoff at not more than 5 degrees outside the prescribed sectors. (b) 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, and the all-round white light described in Rule 23(d), which may not be obscured at all. (c) If it is impracticable to comply with paragraph (b) of this section by exhibiting only one all-round light, two all-round lights shall be used suitably positioned or screened to appear, as far as practicable, as one light at a minimum distance of one nautical mile.
NOTE to paragraph (c): Two unscreened all-round lights that are 1.28 meters appart or less will appear as one light to the naked eye at a distance of one nautical mile.
Vertical Sectors
� 84.19 Vertical sectors
(a) The vertical sectors of
electric lights as fitted, with the exception of lights on sailing vessels underway and on unmanned barges, shall ensure that:
(1) At least the required minimum intensity is maintained at all angles from 5 degrees above to 5 degrees below the horizontal;
(2) At least 60 percent of the required minimum intensity is maintained from 7.5 degrees above to 7.5 degrees below the horizontal.
(b) In the case of sailing vessels underway the vertical sectors of
electric lights as fitted shall ensure that:
(1) At least the required minimum intensity is maintained at all angles from 5 degrees above to 5 degrees below the horizontal;
(2) At least 50 percent of the required minimum intensity is maintained from 25 degrees above to 25 degrees below the horizontal.
(c) In the case of unmanned barges the minimum required intensity of electric lights as fitted shall be maintained on the horizontal.
(d) In the case of lights other than electric lights these specifications shall be met as closely as possible.
If you feel you can go up against Jim Sokolove or his buddies who would potentially be prancing about a courtroom with the above standards for nav lights then by all means go for it.
I will mention this again, it is not the USCG who will care but the lawyers will if and when you are involved in a night time accident. It is not the USCG you need to worry about it is the ambulance chasers who are looking for a case, any case, to show why their drunk defendant deserves to get off scott free.
If you have read the above CFR for nav lights and still believe you can meet these horizontal, vertical, color spectrum and intensity parameters, or feel comfortable with your choice and know they don't meet the standards, than you're good to go...
Let's run this scenario:
You are at anchor with your non certified, blueish colored LED anchor light that you saved big
money on by
purchasing it from an autoparts store or Mastlight.com. Joe six pack in his 32 foot
Baja with 550 H.P. has been drinking all day and is blasting home when he plows into your boat and kills your child. Fast forward about two years to the trial where the lawyer for the defendant is blaming you, and convincing the jury that because you were a
cheap skate, you are the reason your child is dead because his drunk defendant could not see your anchor light and thought it was a "blueish planet" or star on the horizon not a boat...
A stretch? Possibly not. I sat through two days of this type of testimony during the trial of the defendant who killed my friends father. It was two days of nav light testimony only these were certified nav lights, and yes that was brought up, and the bulbs were examined by a forensics expert to determine if the bulb was on at time of impact. The case would have been made much easier if Kim's dad had simply installed aftermarket LED's as it would have given the lawyers
food for fodder..
I am in NO WAY saying or advising you not to install aftermarket bulbs but rather presenting potential outcomes, which may make you think about it more, and also what it takes to be a certified nav light.
Again I still have two non-certified bulbs on my own vessel and one of them will be changed shortly (the one Dr. LED mislead me on). The other is a secondary redundant anchor light as I feel that any light, certified or not, is always better than none..