Anchor Ball.

[robp]

Shanklin Snail.


However I registered mine on the advice given at the time cos I like to get the details right and SWMBO wanted to fly a red ensign.

In which case I think you wear an ensign? Just feeling pedantic today and I only saw this on here yonks ago!

 

[tinkicker0]

Andygc

Thanks for clearing that up. I wondered at the amount of vessels on the river flying the flag that did not have SSR numbers on.

Nevermind, at least I have my registration ready for when I win the lottery and go live in Greece.
SWMBO says she would not part with Moonie, as she calls the boat, despite having dosh to spend on something with an electric kettle and a TV.

 

[alan_d]

Flying any other ensign or flag on the ensign halyard or staff is illegal,

[My bold type]

Could you direct me to a reference for the illegality of flying a non-ensign from "the ensign halyard or staff"?

 

[lenseman]

. . . . as mine can't be seen anywhere astern.
Yes I could get a pole to mount it on . . . .

But any boat approaching from astern is the 'give way boat' as they are two points abaft and some.

 

[lenseman]

The size of cone or ball for yachts under 12 m can be smaller and comensurate with the size of boat. So if its 0.6 m dia for supertankers a golf ball would seem to be OK.

Rule 30
Anchored Vessels and Vessels Aground

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

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

(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.

(c) A vessel at anchor may, and a vessel of 100 meters and more in length shall, also use the available working or equivalent lights to illuminate her decks.

(d) A vessel aground shall exhibit the lights prescribed in paragraph (a) or (b) of this Rule and in addition, where they can best be seen;

* (i) two all-round red lights in a vertical line;
* (ii) three balls in a vertical line.

(e) A vessel of less than 7 meters in length, when at anchor not in or near a narrow channel, fairway or where other vessels normally navigate, shall not be required to exhibit the shape prescribed in paragraphs (a) and (b) of this Rule.

 

[andygc]

Could you direct me to a reference for the illegality of flying a non-ensign from "the ensign halyard or staff"?

Merchant Shipping Act 1995 Part 1 Sec 2. There is, no doubt, scope for debate over the definition of improper colours in Section 4, so I would happily concede to a barrister's or solicitor's opinion on the interpretation of the Act.

I apologise for a small mistake previously, a police officer cannot seize improper colours, it can only be any commissioned naval or military officer, any officer of customs and excise, or any British consular officer.

 

[lw395]

Quote:
Originally Posted by beneteau_305_553
The size of cone or ball for yachts under 12 m can be smaller and comensurate with the size of boat. So if its 0.6 m dia for supertankers a golf ball would seem to be OK.

Rule 30
Anchored Vessels and Vessels Aground

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

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

(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.

(c) A vessel at anchor may, and a vessel of 100 meters and more in length shall, also use the available working or equivalent lights to illuminate her decks.

(d) A vessel aground shall exhibit the lights prescribed in paragraph (a) or (b) of this Rule and in addition, where they can best be seen;

* (i) two all-round red lights in a vertical line;
* (ii) three balls in a vertical line.

(e) A vessel of less than 7 meters in length, when at anchor not in or near a narrow channel, fairway or where other vessels normally navigate, shall not be required to exhibit the shape prescribed in paragraphs (a) and (b) of this Rule.



The rules actually say in annex 1 ' Positioning and technical details of lights and shapes', 6c 'In a vessel of less than 20m in length shapes of lesser dimensions but commensurate with the size of vessel.....'
Why do people misquote so much?
And how many meters is your boat? Mine is a vessel of two voltmeters and an ammeter. It's 12 metres long.

 

[[32511]]

One of the West Highland yachtie week competitors in Tobermory tonight is flying a red duster with the saltire replacing the union flag. Naughty! (sorry about Fred Drift)

 

[laurance]

Flying any other ensign or flag on the ensign halyard or staff is illegal, it may be confiscated by a commissioned officer of the armed forces or by a police officer, and the offender can incur a heavy fine. This prohibition includes the ridiculous Cornish "ensign" that is currently scattered across the south west. I don't mind people flying a Cornish flag with pride at their port spreader, they are perfectly entitled to be proud of their heritage, but I do object to them defacing the Union Flag by sticking it in the corner of the Cornish flag.

I would regard a persons right to display their feelings of belonging to a particular part of the 'union' via a 'their' ensign worn on a yacht they may well have sweated blood to be able to afford as a democratic right far more important than your Daily Mail sensibilities. Most do so with tongue firmly in cheek anyhow.

 

[beneteau_305_553]

Sorry I misquoted . It is boats under 20 m and not 12 m that can have a ball of reduced size . But what is comensurate? If your boat is 12 m long and a supertanker 420 m long maybe a 30 mm dia ball is comensurate with a 600 mm dia ball... I don't know , just asking.

 

[alan_d]

Merchant Shipping Act 1995 Part 1 Sec 2. There is, no doubt, scope for debate over the definition of improper colours in Section 4, so I would happily concede to a barrister's or solicitor's opinion on the interpretation of the Act.

Sec. 1 Defines a British ship.
Sec. 2 Defines the British flag.
Sec. 4 Defines offences - which basically amount to a non-British ship pretending to be British or a British ship pretending not to be.
Sec. 5 ("Penalty for carrying improper colours") makes it clear what the offence is.

(1) If any of the following colours, namely— .
(a) any distinctive national colours except— .
(i) the red ensign, .
(ii) the Union flag (commonly known as the Union Jack) with a white border, or .
(iii) any colours authorised or confirmed under section 2(3)(b); or .
(b) any colours usually worn by Her Majesty’s ships or resembling those of Her Majesty, or .
(c) the pendant usually carried by Her Majesty’s ships or any pendant resembling that pendant, .
are hoisted on board any British ship without warrant from Her Majesty or from the Secretary of State, the master of the ship, or the owner of the ship (if on board), and every other person hoisting them shall be guilty of an offence.
​

It therefore seems to me that the offence is is what is colloquially known as sailing under false colours, and that as a British ship provided you do not fly the "distinctive national colours" of another nation or pretend to be the Royal Navy, you can hoist what you want where you want without committing an offence under this part of this act.

 

[Mariner69]

Sorry I misquoted . It is boats under 20 m and not 12 m that can have a ball of reduced size . But what is comensurate? If your boat is 12 m long and a supertanker 420 m long maybe a 30 mm dia ball is comensurate with a 600 mm dia ball... I don't know , just asking.

The ball should be as large as you can sensibly fit. The sole requirement is that the anchor ball tells everybody that you are not underway and thus unable to (not required to) abide by the collision rules.

 

[beneteau_305_553]

The ball should be as large as you can sensibly fit. The sole requirement is that the anchor ball tells everybody that you are not underway and thus unable to (not required to) abide by the collision rules.

No. The regulations state that for boats under 20m the ball can be smaller than 600 mm diameter but comensurate ( proportional) to the size of vessel. It does not state the ball should be as large as you can sensibly fit.

The original poster asked if a size was specified in the colregs and the responses are showing that there is nothing specific for boats under 20 m.

I agree that the ball should be as large as possible so that a boat trawling or boats constrained by their draft are aware you are not going to get out of their way but the regulations dont say what size it must be.

 

[laurance]

No. The regulations state that for boats under 20m the ball can be smaller than 600 mm diameter but comensurate ( proportional) to the size of vessel. It does not state the ball should be as large as you can sensibly fit.

The original poster asked if a size was specified in the colregs and the responses are showing that there is nothing specific for boats under 20 m.

I agree that the ball should be as large as possible so that a boat trawling or boats constrained by their draft are aware you are not going to get out of their way but the regulations dont say what size it must be.

Comensurate with size, agreed, is not as specific as a given number of cm but it clearly rules out a golf ball, unless one has put to sea on one of one's bath toys. Having said that .6m is not far off on a VLCC.

 

[Leonidas]

anchor Black ball

Col regs require to display a black ball ( as well as anchor lights) when anchored. Size 12 inch for vessels under 20 m LOA, and 24 inch for vessels above this loa.
Lalizas sells black plastic disks with a slot cut at half diameter which when assempled they resemble a black anchor ball when viewed from the distance. These are pre drilled and can be tied up with cordage. When not in use they can be stored flat.
Yes, it is a very good practice to display the black ball when at anchor if you do not want fall foul with your underwriters if some other vessel happens to hit you when anchored.

 

[John100156]

Anchored in a small bay in a large lagoon a short distance from our marina yesterday. It was a very nice day and there were 25 boats of varying size, all at anchor, but not one anchor ball in site! I therefore did not deploy mine.

When I was in Gib early 2008, I did notice a lot of boats/ships deploying their day shapes, so I deployed mine.

I suppose I really should continue to do so.....

 

[oceanpilgrim]

"GOD" I WAS TOLD SAILING WAS FOR FUN,we will be asking for it to be a hanging ofence soon,I put mine up but so what, if the yacht along from me does not its down to them,

 

[l'escargot]

...if you do not want fall foul with your underwriters if some other vessel happens to hit you when anchored.

Why do you think someone would not be responsible for hitting a boat that was not displaying an anchor ball? You have a responsibility to avoid a collision under any conditions and I don't think "He wasn't displaying an anchor ball..." would be the best defence for hitting a stationary boat.

 

[shmoo]

Why do you think someone would not be responsible for hitting a boat that was not displaying an anchor ball? You have a responsibility to avoid a collision under any conditions and I don't think "He wasn't displaying an anchor ball..." would be the best defence for hitting a stationary boat.

Of course not, but it might be all his insurers need not to pay out, which would leave you with the more difficult task of recovering damages from him.

 

[l'escargot]

Of course not, but it might be all his insurers need not to pay out, which would leave you with the more difficult task of recovering damages from him.

It wouldn't even be a factor unless there was a clause to the effect in the policy - what next you wouldn't be able to claim on your car isurance because you parked it without leaving the hazard lights on? People make all these claims about not being able to claim on insurance but can they come up with actual examples to support them or are they just more urban myths?