danbouy light and horseshoe light

[colvic987]

Has anyone had any experience of these lights not working properly, or intermittently, i bought these items 2 seasons ago, but only fitted them this year, the danbouy light has a magnetic switch which lights the bulbs after the clip on the side of the light has been taken off , and vice versa, the bulb and battery are working ok, but once assembled it does not work, the same problem with the horseshoe light, it should light from around 90' from vertical, but only works erracticaly, the horseshoe light is very crude form of light with a spring and bent piano wire to connect to the batteries when upright,

i feel that these items should be made to a good quality standard, but seem to lack this immensely, and shouldn't fail (in the box) as they are expected to be working in extreme conditions, plenty of companies seem to think that for safety items for pleasure yachts, equal cheap items for top prices, i would differ to agree and would expect a quality item for a reasonable price when it comes to the safety equipment, there are plenty of other items around where they are overpriced where they can get the profit from....

these safety items could mean the difference between life and death for someone,
it they havent been tested or checked before use...


anyone had experiences of these types of lights not working properly or intermittently (fixed light only)...

 

[Guest]

I agree they are mostly useless. I have only found 1 light I like and that is the small strobe.

I would also expand the issue to the quality of the nav lights sold at huge prices. I would love to find a real light that can withstand going through waves. Never buy the ones with non-plated internal contacts. There is also a lack of cable relief on the ones that have to have free wire loops to their bases. The wire breaks after too many waves have hit it.

Also I replaced my danbouy only to find that after a few passages its outer fibreglass had disintegrated. It now gives me fibreglass rash if I touch it.

In general safety gear is very, very poor for yachts. But it is now a norm that people expect.

 

[Dave99]

Spring - sometimes if you stretch them you get a better contact, clean contacts. They are useless - I recommend people invest in the Aquaspec AQ180 i think it is.

 

[blackbeard]

I always stow the light in the boat when boat is not being used; I remove one battery to stop it switching itself on. Replace battery and test the light before putting it in the holder on the pushpit.
If you just leave it on the pushpit all the time, and don't test it regularly, it probably won't work when you need it. Should, but won't.

 

[colvic987]

I agree with you, i also store the items in the boat, where it is dry and always remove one battery when not in use, (when not on the pushpit). i bought one which has not even worked straight from the dealer...

ok we buy these items but how many times do the mags that test these items come up with failures and products which are tested in extreme conditions, not many times, maybe they need to be tested regularly and in more extreme environments, most items would test ok in a calm sea, but you need these items when you least expect, normally in a force 6/8...

 

[stephenh]

I have sailed on some 30 odd yachts in the last few years and the only dan-buoy light that was still working after a few months outside was a Jotron. Spoke to the owner - his experience was the same, he blamed corrosion and UV decay on all the others he had owned and thrown away. Said it was in it's third year, expensive, and worth it....
All the others seem to be made for keeping indoors away from salt and sunshine !!
No connection with Jotron etc....

 

[sjohn_gibson]

I store my horse-shoe with its light when I am of the boat - prolonging its life from uv rot. Hence it gets checked each time I refit it (approx weekly). On 2 separate occassions the lot got washed overboard at night in heavy conditions - never saw a thing even though we tried to spot it.

I am convinced the light, even when it is working, is useless in anything other than calm conditions.

I concentrate on making sure all stay on board because there is no chance of finding them or the horse-shoe it in the dark with a sea running.