Is this still legal?

[Gitane]

I was at anchor off osea island last week and decided to see if I could use the hurricane lamp as anchor light in case I need to do this one night.

However the question I have:- Is using a hurricane lamp as an anchor light still within the collision rules? Is the light bright enough?

Gitane

 

[sarabande]

so long as it shines through 360 degrees, and can be seen for two miles (highly likely) and is white(ish), then it's OK.

I'll ferret for technical stuff about candelas...


EDIT

The first col is range in miles, the second is the number of candelas required (height asl will be a factor, clearly)
1 0.9
2 4.3
3 12
4 27

The colour is clearly defined by the International Commission on Illumination (CIE) for having the following boundaries..

(i) White
x 0.525 0.525 0.452 0.310 0.310 0.443
y 0.382 0.440 0.440 0.348 0.283 0.382


It looks as if a good hurricane lantern produces 6 to 8 candelas, it should reach >2 miles. I've found a big difference in brightness using different qualities of lamp oil. A well-trimmed wick is also critical.


HTH

 

[FullCircle]

It's all I have ever used....

 

[Jomo]

It's all I have ever used....

+1

 

[pioneer]

I now use an LED version of the hurricane lamp, which is whiter and seems brighter, no need to carry seperate fuel and a set of D batteries last a long time, I've yet to exhaust a set. When I first started sailing (more years ago than I like to remember) my instructor said that, a hurricane lamp, whilst not strictly conforming with the collregs neither did the price! If suspended above the foredeck the mast will obscure part of the arc so it's not an "all round" light. On the plus point I think that a light at about eye level of an approaching vessel is more readily seen than one at the top of the mast many more feet up in the air - only my opinion of course.

 

[sailorman]

I now use an LED version of the hurricane lamp, which is whiter and seems brighter, no need to carry seperate fuel and a set of D batteries last a long time, I've yet to exhaust a set. When I first started sailing (more years ago than I like to remember) my instructor said that, a hurricane lamp, whilst not strictly conforming with the collregs neither did the price! If suspended above the foredeck the mast will obscure part of the arc so it's not an "all round" light. On the plus point I think that a light at about eye level of an approaching vessel is more readily seen than one at the top of the mast many more feet up in the air - only my opinion of course.

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;
21(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 metres 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.


It only mentions "An all-round white light"
Not white light visible from 360`so the mast is irrelevant

 

[wingdiver]

I now use an LED version of the hurricane lamp

What model did you buy and where did you get yours from?

 

[Behome]

Lighting the anchor light is a ritual on our boat, another excuse to crack a bottle. Also, it gets you up on the foredeck before settling down for the night to give the anchor rode one last check.

 

[pioneer]

It was some years ago and if I recall it was from a Coopers type catalogue and was about £17, now I'd try the internet. I recently found a small torch type light that has an all round feature. It's called a Cyber Stretch Light- got it on Amazon for under £9.00 incl delivery, uses 3xAAA batteries. I now keep it as an emergency spare in case I flotation/impact test the main light!! Again don't think it will comply but it's better than nothing.