Ric
Well-Known Member
I like the dark red sail and faux oil-lamp, but your retro-authenticity is ruined by that Plastimo anchor ball. Can't you find an old cannonball and hoist it in a netting sock?
Collaboration for DIY anchor light anyone?
- Thread starter GHA
- Start date
I like the dark red sail and faux oil-lamp, but your retro-authenticity is ruined by that Plastimo anchor ball. Can't you find an old cannonball and hoist it in a netting sock?
GHA
Well-Known Member
The cree ones were the best on offer when I was researching originally, 5mm seemed to be very much favourite in applications like this for ease of waterproofing. Are yours the flat 5050 ones? Getting them waterproofed to work forever on a full time cruising boat might be a challenge.
Also, beam width can be awkward, the cree ones have 15Deg angle where the light level falls to 50% and with 15 have 24deg spacing, which should create dark bands but in reality it's not really visible more than a few feet away. Also the Mk1 runs at 66% max current rating so should last forever.
Though Mk2 I'm edging towards using 24 LEDs with an adjustable constant current regulator so *really* bright if you want it!
I've still a load of the Cree503's so will stick with those for now, probably still as good quality as anything else around.
Thanks for the offer though!
LED's are just fantastic.
GHA
Well-Known Member
Nah
It's what works and is available way above what looks right
It is actually a proper oil lamp which never worked for more than a few minutes, remembered it one day and the fresnel lens helps focus the LEDs a bit better.
And it is a tan sail, but that's the UV strip you can see.
ta
Ric
Well-Known Member
I made my light-sensing Bebi fully automatic by wiring its power-switch to one of those super-cheap solid state timing relays you can buy off eBay, and wired the relay trigger to my anchor winch. Wind the winch down, Bebi armed. Darkness falls, Bebi illuminates. Wind the winch up, Bebi disarmed. It was cheaper than buying and installing a separate switch, and I can get to the first sundowner quicker.
GHA
Well-Known Member
Living on the hook making a little auto on photo switch was a great success!
No more having just one more sundowner feeling uncomfortable cos the anchor light wasn't on...
Hooked up to the anchor windlass is a good idea.
Getting a bit carried away here, thinking of how to wire in a little esp8266 wifi board so you can push a button on a website in the bar to strobe the light for a moment so you can find your boat again in a busy anchorage
Last edited:
solent clown
RIP
The cree ones were the best on offer when I was researching originally, 5mm seemed to be very much favourite in applications like this for ease of waterproofing. Are yours the flat 5050 ones? Getting them waterproofed to work forever on a full time cruising boat might be a challenge.
Also, beam width can be awkward, the cree ones have 15Deg angle where the light level falls to 50% and with 15 have 24deg spacing, which should create dark bands but in reality it's not really visible more than a few feet away. Also the Mk1 runs at 66% max current rating so should last forever.
Though Mk2 I'm edging towards using 24 LEDs with an adjustable constant current regulator so *really* bright if you want it!
I've still a load of the Cree503's so will stick with those for now, probably still as good quality as anything else around.
Thanks for the offer though!
LED's are just fantastic.
You shot me down in flames there old chap, without a google to try to sound better informed I bow to your superior knowledge. It is a shame you have had no results here with a collaborative effort, and I applaud your ethos of sharing ideas and innovation. We all have so much to gain from such a philosophy.
PaulRainbow
Well-Known Member
Getting a bit carried away here, thinking of how to wire in a little esp8266 wifi board so you can push a button on a website in the bar to strobe the light for a moment so you can find your boat again in a busy anchorage
I have a keyfob RF remote that turns the two saloon LEDs nearest the companionway on from across the pontoon. I plan to add spreader lights to it (it has four buttons/relays) to identify the boat better in an anchorage.
rogerthebodger
Well-Known Member
I have a keyfob RF remote that turns the two saloon LEDs nearest the companionway on from across the pontoon. I plan to add spreader lights to it (it has four buttons/relays) to identify the boat better in an anchorage.
I also have a key fob remote to switch a light on in my cockpit so it easy to get on or off by remote switching.
I do like the idea of a strobe switched on remotely so you can find your boat in a crowded anchorage. One advantage we have is we don't have to many crowded anchorages in the remote parts of the Indian Ocean but would still be useful except the lack of WiFi in the remote parts of the Indian Ocean.
GHA
Well-Known Member
Sounds handy. Though a bit of that reflective tape stuff on the mast seems to light up from a long way away with a head torch good enough, might be as easy and work as well as some high tech fun.I have a keyfob RF remote that turns the two saloon LEDs nearest the companionway on from across the pontoon. I plan to add spreader lights to it (it has four buttons/relays) to identify the boat better in an anchorage.
Being able to strobe the anchor light could be handy though if you have friends on their way over for a tipple to show where you are in the anchorage.
alahol2
Well-Known Member
Here is the latest iteration of my anchor light. a double spiral of 5050 LED string wrapped around a 35mm film canister. The auto on/off circuit is on a bit of vero board in the canister, The LDR on the top of the canister.The canister is glued to the inside of a spice jar lid and the wires exit from there. A few beads of PU40 will, I hope, keep the whole thing sealed.
Previous version was similar but in a plastic spice jar which split from UV exposure and started to leak. That one lasted a good few years so I'm hoping this new one will too.
Very bright at anchor.
Previous version was similar but in a plastic spice jar which split from UV exposure and started to leak. That one lasted a good few years so I'm hoping this new one will too.
Very bright at anchor.
GHA
Well-Known Member
If it works it works! :encouragement:
noelex
Well-Known Member
Great thread.
I agree a low anchor light is necessary, preferably one that illuminates the superstructure. This is where a DIY light can be better than than the commercial alternatives.
However, I would suggest people avoid the forepeak as a location. It has already been mentioned that this shines in the foredeck hatch, but the more significant problem is that it makes it difficult to keep an eye on boats anchored ahead. Boats dragging into you can be a significant problem. So it nice to be able to keep visibility ahead especially in bad conditions. The other issue is the anchor light can be difficult to see from the rear as the mast will obscure the light in this sector. The small separation distance between the light and the mast means a significant arc is blocked and boats entering the anchorage at night will be approaching the boat from this direction. Many cruising boats have enough junk on the back that even forepeak deck illumination is difficult to see when approaching from the rear.
An anchor light towards the rear solves these problems. Many people think this illegal but that is not my interpretation of the collision regulations.
The light will have a greater separation from the mast than on the foredeck and with some deck illumination is usually satisfactory from the front, but if custom making the anchor light two lights at the rear are even better. Two lights creates redundancy, removing the blind spot completely and makes your boat easy to spot from shore. There is more debate if this legal, but it is a very practical solution.
To remove any legal ambiguity, using a commercial anchor light at the top of the mast means you do what you like with lower lights providing you call the lower lights "deck lights" rather than "anchor lights", even if the primary purpose of the lower lights is to stop other boats running into you at night.
I agree a low anchor light is necessary, preferably one that illuminates the superstructure. This is where a DIY light can be better than than the commercial alternatives.
However, I would suggest people avoid the forepeak as a location. It has already been mentioned that this shines in the foredeck hatch, but the more significant problem is that it makes it difficult to keep an eye on boats anchored ahead. Boats dragging into you can be a significant problem. So it nice to be able to keep visibility ahead especially in bad conditions. The other issue is the anchor light can be difficult to see from the rear as the mast will obscure the light in this sector. The small separation distance between the light and the mast means a significant arc is blocked and boats entering the anchorage at night will be approaching the boat from this direction. Many cruising boats have enough junk on the back that even forepeak deck illumination is difficult to see when approaching from the rear.
An anchor light towards the rear solves these problems. Many people think this illegal but that is not my interpretation of the collision regulations.
The light will have a greater separation from the mast than on the foredeck and with some deck illumination is usually satisfactory from the front, but if custom making the anchor light two lights at the rear are even better. Two lights creates redundancy, removing the blind spot completely and makes your boat easy to spot from shore. There is more debate if this legal, but it is a very practical solution.
To remove any legal ambiguity, using a commercial anchor light at the top of the mast means you do what you like with lower lights providing you call the lower lights "deck lights" rather than "anchor lights", even if the primary purpose of the lower lights is to stop other boats running into you at night.
Last edited:
GHA
Well-Known Member
Maybe on big boats with big masts but not really a problem on mine, even flat calm there's nearly always enough movement for the light to be seen either side of the mast.
noelex
Well-Known Member
Yes it will vary from boat to boat. It worth fitting the anchor light on temporary basis and rowing around the boat at night to see exactly how visible it is from different directions. I tried this on our previous boat and was surprised how difficult a foredeck light was to see when approaching from the stern. Unfortunately this is the direction boats coming into the anchorage at night are likely to approaching from.
Making the anchor light as visible as possible is I think a worthwhile goal. The low power consumption of LEDs mean we can make the boat bright enough so it is seen even in the worst case where perhaps the approaching boat has a tired and distracted crew and there are a number of shore lights and heavy rain making things harder.
I think a low down foredeck anchor light is better than the traditional masthead light, but fitting a lower anchor light towards the stern is generally an even better solution. As a bonus it leading wires from the stern is often easier and importantly you we still be able to keep an eye on the boats anchored ahead without the glare from a foredeck light making things harder.
Last edited:
Ric
Well-Known Member
My Bebi is centrally mounted on the rear-arch, about 40cm in front of the wind-generator stub-mast. It is possible to discern a slight diminution of luminosity from ahead (from the mast) and astern (from the stub-mast), but it is not totally extinguished. As somebody on here once eloquently argued, it is a bit like a fat-man hiding behind a lamp-post.
Nevertheless, I do also use occasionally use my mast-head anchor light if I am somewhere with notoriously over-zealous authorities - eg in some anchorages in Elba.
Mike k
Well-Known Member
Sorry if this sounds thick but I am after a anchor light that is either battery operated or can use a cigar lighter push in jobby that can fit on top of a pole. . In order to avoid any obstructions/ blank spots I could do with one that I can sit on say a fishing rod or other pole arrangement and plonk it into rod holder assembly that sits on my cabin roof. All I can see are those that hang down so always some obstruction by the thing that holds it up. Any suggestions from here would be welcome.
Ric
Well-Known Member
For my dinghy night light I have a 2m piece of 20mm pic pipe with one of those plastimo MOB beacon holders attached to one end, and a battery powered all-round white light clamped into it. You could do something like that. The light lasts for days - I once left it accidentally switched on and left the boat for four days - still bright when I came back.
Jungle Jim
Well-Known Member
bit late, sorry guys, but for pcb's try these people
https://www.pcbgogo.com/
low cost and they can do odd shapes as well.
https://www.pcbgogo.com/
low cost and they can do odd shapes as well.
lw395
Well-Known Member
Neeves
Well-Known Member
I'm not suggesting you fly to the east coast of Australia to buy one but I simply cannot believe that our local chandlery's offerings are not available elsewhere.
https://www.whitworths.com.au/12v-led-all-round-plug-in-anchor-light-600mm
We have a masthead light but having seen the value of low lighting we have installed two of these, ours are 'something similar', either side of our cockpit roof. We install manually, plug the pole into the base, when we arrive somewhere. We have 2 because the poles are not very high, and the lights are at boom height and anyone approaching from the direction of the bow might have one light hidden by the mast (though so unlikely I'd discount it). We have reflective strips also sewn on the boom cover. The lights are simply wired into the 'domestic' lighting circuit, but have their own fuse and switch.
But having seen the value of lighting the deck, or cabin roof, on other yachts we will be retiring the pole lights, on the transom, in favour of our new LED which will light up the whole of the foredeck (I''l find the link to the lights, eventually). These latter lights are 2 LEDs, like old fashioned bulbs (on long cables), with a solar panel and batteries, auto switch on at dusk - bought as one kit from China, for peanuts. It also has a remote timer control - but not having wired them in we have not worked out how useful it will be.
Most yachts today have a whole host of paraphernalia on the transom, including (often) dark coloured biminis and I cannot suggest an aft located light will have the same impact as one located over a clear and commonly white fore deck. If you are worried about the security of yachts ahead of you - instead of worrying about them all night (and getting up to watch them) - we would simply move and have a decent and uninterrupted nights sleep. But each to their own.
The other reason not to have transom lights is that they are not common and might be misinterpreted for the more usual foredeck light - and if the yachts ahead of you do need to move then seeing your light in the more common foredeck position will make their task that much easier as they relocate. People without regulation lighting have little basis for complaining about the activities of others.
Jonathan