light boards on shrouds

Roach1948

Roach1948

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27 Apr 2006
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www.dallimoredesigns.nl
I know they look quite workboat-like on a yacht, but was thinking of adding them to Roach. Being flush-decked I dont have for a place nav lights on the deck, and the bi-colour I fitted on the stemhead either keeps on getting smashed or submerged.

What do people that have think of them? Shall I go ahead? Can't think of any better solutions...

PS and if I do go for them how does one normally attach the board to the shrouds so that they are relatively easy to remove?
 
I think they look the part. Talisman's are lashed on to the served shrouds with Tarred Marline.
The real problem is getting the angles right. THe board should be parrallel to the sea and parrallel to the centre line.

There should be a fence foreward to exclude red from green and green from red.

Aquasignal have a good description of board design and dimensions on thier web site.
Or pm me and I will scan my copy of thier note and send it to you.

Sounds as if Roach is really coming along?

Simes
 
The problem is measuring the exact angles of the shrouds at the height you'd like the boxes at. The other problem, is getting the measurements without standing on the toerail and causing the boat to list - which really causes problems with the spirit level.

My method? I'm having to do this myself shortly:
Once the shrouds are set up at the desired tension.
Lash light battens between the shrouds athwartship so they are the same height off the toerails each side. This combined with a measure with a level ought to give you a datum line. Make sure that you get a fore and aft level the same way, as it doesn't matter if the boat lists at this point. Having set up these two datums, athwart, and fore and aft, you ought to have a credible "platform" to measure the rake and separation of the shrouds at your desired point.

OK, attachment. Once you have the boxes made, you ought to have them attached at two points, top and bottom at each shroud. I've seen several methods from lashing, resting on bulldog grips, small screw eyes used as cramps, etc. On Cleone, the boxes are supported by stout chocks of wood which match the angle of the shroud. These chocks have a semicircular groove down them, and also have a corresponding 'chock and groove' which screws into the block on the box. These two chocks then clamp the shroud between them.

It really depends on the job you want these boxes to do. Do yu want them just to support the lights? Are you using modern lights or more traditional lanterns? Will you be using the lightboxes as part of the stepping if you have ratlines rigged.

The back of the boxes is a very useful rack with cleats on, which allows the tails of the various halyards and uphauls to be hung up off deck level, keeping the deck clear of rope.

Shroudclamps01.jpg


This image is of the engine stowage on the mizzen shrouds but the light-boxes are similar, but without the bulldog grips.
 
The main reason I want them is not for Tradness but to be seen, so I will use electric lights. So any recommendations on deck plugs welcome!

I would like to be able to stand on them - yup. They would really add too my ratlines plan and could act as replacement to wooden spreaders.

As the boat is out of the water I reckon I can align the boards OK. Left the mast in to do these jobs this winter.
 
What I have done is firstly construct pinrails - two parts, a thinner outer and a wider inner with the pin holes. Clamp these together with slight notches to locate the shrouds. Don't worry about any aligning at this stage, this is merely a wooden lower ratline with inboard extension.
Obviously the whole thing needs to be parallel to the water, but you can adjust this later by slackening the bolts holding the pin rails together.
Then measure the width across at each shroud. Subtract and divide by two, and this gives the degree of inward "taper" of each set of shrouds - ie the additional thickness of mounting bracket necessary at the the front mounting.
Then establish the degree of inward slant of each shroud, by measurements to a known vertical, ie the mast.
Make suitable wedges for the front and back of the box, corresponding with the degree of shroud slant, and the thickess necessary to correct for the shrouds' not being parallel.
Fix the wedges onto the box.
Now all you need is some kind of clamp to hold each wedge to its appropriate shroud. The weight is taken on the outer section of the pin rail.
 
Thanks, that is really useful. I will get started this weekend. I will like to make them as small as possible as by boat is only titchy and I think huge ones would look out of place.

Another question. I notice some are painted green and red accordingly and others are matt black on the inside - is an "official" way of painting them?
 
The correct way is for the inside of boxes to be painted matt black. Can paint the ouside whatever colour you fancy, always thought painting them red and green looked a bit naff, a bit like having left and right on your wellies.
 
For deck plugs, Index Marine. They are not exactly plugs but waterproof glands that allow you to pass the cable (and fittings such as plugs when used for ariels etc) through the deck without a break.
 
[ QUOTE ]
The correct way is for the inside of boxes to be painted matt black. Can paint the ouside whatever colour you fancy, always thought painting them red and green looked a bit naff, a bit like having left and right on your wellies.

[/ QUOTE ]

Gosh, what an awful faux-pas I have narrowly avoided.
I haven't actually used mine yet, having made them 24 years ago shortly before I moved house and took the boat out of the water. I painted them red and green because that seemed to be what people did back then. Obviously I'll now hastily repaint them before anyone knows.

I was given a pair of red and green socks for Christmas, but I did manage to work out for myself that wearing them would be the ultimate in naffness.
 
I have to admit that I was thinking of doing the same!
The whole idea about the lightboards came to me when I was overhualed by Nancy Blackett this Summer on the Orwell, I very much admired her delighfully shaped boards and to my memory they were red and green....
 
Roach - see IRPCS annex 1 (5)

If I remember correctly this annex was introduced in the 1972 regs and was not retrospective - so any boat built before 1972 ( might be earlier ?) can have her screens painted whatever colour you choose.

I had oil lamps on my 1904 yacht and the coloured background paint certainly seemed to increase the vis of the lamps, even so they could not be seen at 2 miles.....
 
I had my nav lamps on light boards, which I painted red and green, as that was the custom in 1917, when Swallow was built. I could never understand the change to matt black, as neither colour can be seen when it's dark! It always seemed to me to be something dreamt up by some charley in a government office who had never been to sea.
Peter.
 
I think the idea of matt black was to eliminate any random shininess when the lights were powered by big lekky lamps, to make fixes at night more accurate. Not a problem with oil. Glad of the Colregs situation. I can paint my boxes red and green and not have to varnish them.
/forums/images/graemlins/laugh.gif
 
Nothing to add really.......except you all surely mean Red OR Green /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif I mean Red AND Green just clash and confuse drivers of container ships /forums/images/graemlins/wink.gif /forums/images/graemlins/wink.gif

Am I being pedantic..its been a long week and I have toothache..thats my excuse.......

Tim
 
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