Does anyone use an anchor ball?

[tcm]

Not very much in the UK, it seems, tho larger "crewed" boats seem to do so in the med and elsewhere. However, I have noticed that a close inspection of the regs says that the ball or facsimile thereof must be 0.6m diameter. So, mine is illegal, dang. Mind you, all the dive boats are also illegal as their rigid Alpha flag should be 1m high. Or are there exceptionsd for smaller craft?

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[squidge]

Of course ! doesnt everyone !

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[Mirelle]

Er, my black plastic job, same as everyone else's, is certainly less than 0.6 of a metre in diameter. It is hoisted when (a) I can find it (b) I want to feel virtuous and (c) it seems that there might otherwise be some doubt about what I am up to.
If, for instance, I am inshore of someone who has already hoisted one, I may not bother, whereas if I am on my own I surely will.

Oh, what about anchor lights "in the fore part of the vessel" vs using the masthead all round white....

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[StephenSails]

We do when we dont forget, I notticed a lot of people in the West Country do as well this summer.

What gets on my nerves is the fishing boats flying their baskets even when they are not fishing.

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[Twister_Ken]

I suspect my mast is well forward of the halfway mark!

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[Jacket]

Yes, I nearly always use it.

I find its useful if people anchored near a fairway show them, as unlike a mooring bouy, its not always easy to see the anchor cable until you're quite close.

Also, if you're at anchor without a ball up and someone hits you, I bet the insurance companies will refuse to cough up.

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[sailorman]

as far as im aware an "all round white" is the only nav light req. for a vessel under 7metres.
it is NOT an anchor lamp!!!!

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[andyhail]

We anchored along cliff reach on the River Crouch on Saturday (favoured anchorage of many) we put our anchor ball up, within an hour 6 other boats dropped anchor but no anchor balls.

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[peterb]

Annex 1 of IRPCS specifies the ball as having a diameter of not less than 0.6m, but then goes on in 6(c) to say that "in a vessel of less than 20m in length shapes of lesser dimensions but commensurate with the size of the vessel may be used". Under rule 27(d) vessels carrying out underwater operations (which include diving) should show the ball-diamond-ball together with the two balls and two diamonds to show dangerous and safe sides for passing. If the vessel is too small to show these shapes, then there is a let out under 27(e) which allows the use of the rigid replica of flag A. Since the flag A rule is already a letout for small craft, you can't get a further letout by reducing it's size.

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[hylas]

Yes I also nearly always use it.. It is part of the mooring equipment and very easy to install..
Here on Spanish territories, some boats have been fined for not showing the mooring ball...

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[Reap]

<blockquote><font size=1>In reply to:</font><hr>

as far as im aware an "all round white" is the only nav light req. for a vessel under 7metres.
it is NOT an anchor lamp!!!!

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The rule you refer to is for power driven vessels underway and has nothing to do with vessels at anchor or sailing vessels.

Rule 23c(ii) actually states: a power driven vessel of less than 7 meteres in length whose maximum speed does not exceed 7 knots may in lieu of the lights prescribed in paragraph (a) of this rule exhibit an all round white light and shall, if practicable, also exhibit sidelights.

Also note the words (if practicable). I would think that in most cases it would be practicable to fit them except perhaps in the tender. making it legally very thin ice not to fit them.

Regarding anchoring:
Rule30(e) states:
A vessel of less than 7 meteres in length, when at anchor, not in or near a narrow channel, fairway or anchorage, or where other vessels normally navigate, shall not be required to exhibit the lights or shape prescribed in paragraphs (a) and (b) of this rule.

Which would again make it legally very dodgy in most places not to bother with lights or ball for anchoring.



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[sailorman]

sorry i didnt state "under-way".
but is a vessel anchored displaying an all round white at the mast hd or a vessel of 7m or less steaming ?.

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[charles_reed]

Nearly always, though it's more like 500mm in diameter.

I also use an oil lamp after dark as a riding light, but it doubles up as cockpit illumination.

I, in common with most people who have them fitted, occasionally use the masthead all-round white light, which is actually specified and sold as an anchor light.

Apropos of Hylas' comment the new harbourmaster at Faro had great fun in 2001 in fining people, on the spot, for not exhibiting an anchor ball or riding light - he also did quite a few for overloading their dinghies.

The shape for which I can see no practical reason is the motoring cone.

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[Reap]

Or indeed the stern light of a 250,000 tonne tanker!!!
This is why it is not a good idea to use an all round white light if under 7m and steaming as it is far from clear what you are! And as the rule states ' if practicable, also exhibit sidelights'

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[Reap]

Whilst to most 'Sailors' the motoring cone may seem pointless, the whole point of it is to allow other water users to be able to tell whether a yacht is sailing or under power. After all it may be obvious to us that a yacht with only a mainsail up heading directly into the wind is under power, but this is not clear to everybody, and the rule of the road implications of any misundersanding could be disastrous, no?

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[TonyD]

Re: Does anyone use an anchor ball? -or motoring cone!

Surely the main use of a motoring cone is to show that you are motor sailing, and therefore should be treated as a vessel under power, not a sailing vessel. in accordance with the ColRegs.

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[Mirelle]

Like you, I sometimes use the masthead all round white, usually when stowing up aand before organising a proper riding light, or if really knackered, but, like you, I much prefer to hang an oil riding light on the forestay, making it absolutely clear what I am and what I am doing. I rather deprecate the use of the masthead all round white as a riding light. I did not know that they were actually marketed as anchor lights.

I think the cone is a good idea, but it makes much more sense to do as some people do and hoist it from the spreaders. I once got an almighty telling off from a Belgian police boat for not showing one, so have become more cautious.

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[Violetta]

Of course it is

Ambiguous situations arise quite frequently, especially when people are genuinely motor sailing - i.e. being propelled by sail AND machinery, rather than simply motoring with a sail up. Often you don't know the boat you've just altered course to avoid was motoring until you see the exhaust. You just thought it was a fast boat! Cones are getting more important, not less. Not using them is just lazy.

Same with anchor balls. Apart from the legalities, it is often genuinely helpful to boats moving among others that are anchored or moored. But it seems we (sailors in general) are less and less willing to do something for the sake of all of us, not just our own selves, or see something from the other person's point of view.

Masthead anchor lights are often ineffective. Entering an anchorage at night - especially a starry night and/or an anchorage with a background of shore lights - straining your eyes to identify obstructions in the darkness - the last place you naturally look is up. It's not much trouble to hang something in the rigging - be it an oil lamp or one of those excellent electric ones with a whotsit cell to turn it off at dawn. A light that illuminates the boat itself a little when you get close is far better than one that is nothing but a light in the sky.

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[zephyrsailor]

so i'm under 7 metres underway with a 40 foot mast on my 7 metre craft when i show my anchor light at top of mast?

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[david_e]

I don't, but I might start to use one in the future. Main reason for doing so would be to let the hordes of marauding jetskiers know that we are a boat at anchor and not part of a slalom course)

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