Porthandbuoy
Well-Known Member
In this day of cheap solar powered, automatic anchor lights, is there any reason not to use one when leaving your boat on a mooring?
Anchor / mooring light
- Thread starter Porthandbuoy
- Start date
vyv_cox
Well-Known Member
None from a technical POV. Mine is on from April to October. completely self contained unit .But is there any point on a mooring? Do you suffer lots of collisions at night?
FWB
N/A
Always a chance of a collision, but main reason is to guide me back from the pub 
theoldsalt
Well-Known Member
Always a chance of a collision, but main reason is to guide me back from the pub
Yes, useful until everyone does the same then confusion
FWB
N/A
Yes, useful until everyone does the same then confusion
Not really, a number of local boats have solar lights. You get to know the pattern and it helps with orientation, esp after a bottle or three.
oldbilbo
...
Suggestions, please, for cheap and cheerful....
Porthandbuoy
Well-Known Member
My mooring is close to Faslane and both the police launch and a fast RIB patrol through the moorings. No history of collisions as far as I know.
FWB
N/A
vyv_cox
Well-Known Member
People who use garden solar lights as anchor lights are deluding themselves. Anyone who thinks they are serving a useful purpose is advised to take their dinghy away from the boat for 100 metres or so and see if they can see it. I have yet to find a garden light visible from this distance. And as for I nautical mile, forget it.
I have two superb self-contained anchor lights, clearly visible from a mile away. Unfortunately I only know one outlet for them, a chandlery at Poros in the Aegean. Their original intention seems to be to mark scaffolding poles on building sites, etc. and it is possible that some might be found closer to home with this knowledge.
FWB
N/A
Not using as anchor light. Just on the mooring. Have excellent Bebi light for anchoring.
lw395
Well-Known Member
It can be quite amusing on the water taxi at places like Salcombe, as people try to recognise their boat among hundreds on the moorings in the dark.
Mine is easily identified by the scotchlite on the life rings.
But a few low power LED deck lights can make your boat distinctive.
If you have a dark hull, sometimes low power light at low level shows the boat in dark places, people don't need to see it from 2 miles, just as they round the last bend.
A couple of 30mA leds will show the boat without destroying people's night vision or making a wild place look like Blackpool.
Varnished unlit quarter tonners with grey decks are very hard to spot from an avon dinghy, allegedly..
RupertW
Well-Known Member
I would very happily use solar lights with better and longer lasting power but I do know that the cheapo garden lights are visible across an anchorage. Anchored often enough last year in Lakka at the far end of the bay from the town and could see the lights (just) from a lit taverna. Much easier to see them once in the dinghy and a few yards from lit shore. That must be at least 250m. And that's plenty for anchorages where the danger is being hit by something slow moving and 100m vis is fine as long as it defines where the bow and stern are.
We do add an extra set of tiny solar lights now across the bimini arch which are easily visible from shore and help us see quickly which boat is ours (the one that looks like a cheap circus tent, but are not flashing as I've recently seen quite a lot on other boats).
We do add an extra set of tiny solar lights now across the bimini arch which are easily visible from shore and help us see quickly which boat is ours (the one that looks like a cheap circus tent, but are not flashing as I've recently seen quite a lot on other boats).
vyv_cox
Well-Known Member
I think the big danger in Greece is small fishing boats in which the helm is probably single-handed, peering through murky glass in a tiny wheelhouse or standing at the tiller where he can see nearly nothing forward. Some of them are anything but slow-moving. I much prefer to draw their attention by using a light that is as bright as possible, within reason.
prv
Well-Known Member
My anchor light is a Bebi Owl, hanging just above the anchor ball. When I originally bought it for Kindred Spirit, I had the idea of it doubling as a cockpit light, so I bought the one with warm white LEDs on the bottom as well as the cool white ones facing outwards. I wouldn't now use it as a cockpit light, but the downward-facing LEDs illuminate our foredeck and make the boat very easy to see.
When I was looking at radio-controlled relay boards for the anchor windlass, I did think of getting one of the longer-range ones (about a fiver from China) and wiring it across the deck light switch (our LED deck lights are very bright). Water-taxi man says "which boat is yours?", press the button, "that one!"
. But a bit OTT I think...Pete
GrahamM376
Well-Known Member
Many of the boats on our moorings use anchor lights as there's a fair amount of night time traffic. Ours is under the sprayhood but with reflections gives good enough visibility in most directions to be seen from around a mile and may deter some light fingered visitors.
RupertW
Well-Known Member
That's good advice and you've been sailing Greek waters a lot longer than the one short season I've done so far. Just need to find that powerful self-contained solar light - dont mind if it's a bit bigger as they will be pretty much permanantly attached (although I would want an OFF switch for marinas).
vyv_cox
Well-Known Member
This is the supplier of the light I showed above. Never seen anywhere else selling it and he keeps the name of the manufacturer very quiet! He told me last year when I bought my second one that he will do mail order. These really are the best I have seen, well worth buying. http://pavloubros.com/En-Electrics.shtml
