Masthead nav lights question

[kevsbox]

Hi All
At the top of our mast on our Centaur where have a working port/starboard nav light system which we never use. We also have nav lights on the pushpit and pullpit which we do use.
This is the mast setup

Now I have never looked inside this fitting but hopefully someone can advise. Is it possible to replace the red/gress lens with a clear on so we can use this as a anchor light (do they tend to be a standard fit)?
Also is the bulb likely to be white and simply colored by the outer lens or do the build tend to be two (red and green)
Any thoughts please
Thanks

 

[Sandy]

Masthead lamps are usually tricoloured, red, green and white.

Might be easier to replace the unit with something more efficient.

 

[dansaskip]

Pretty hard nay almost impossible to tell from just that picture, but it looks a newish unit?? So I suspect it is LED. If it is a filament bold type them the bulb will be white but if it is a LED then I think the LEDs will be coloured. Others will correct me if I am wrong.
Nevertheless there are many good reasons to keep a masthead tricolour in use and use instead of pushpit/pulpit level lights instead.

 

[doug748]

It looks like/similar to an Aqua Signal 40 masthead light, though I don't quite recognise the fixing ring. They commonly use a incandescent bulb like this:



You can replace these directly with a white LED unit from Boatlamps:

Bayonet Replacement LED Lamps

Though these are not tested against regulations and there is some thought that they are therefore unsuitable. Your masthead light would normally draw much less from the battery than using the lower lights the LED even less, to the point of being very little.

You can't buy replacement lenses for these types of lamp, which is a pain and a waste because you end up buying a complete new unit. Unless there is a special reason it might be easier to keep the masthead as it is and use an anchor light from the deck which is considered by many as the better option anyway.

.

 

[john_morris_uk]

The good reasons being that one bulb at the masthead uses less battery and is much more visible.

If it’s no good replace it with a combined LED tricolour and anchor light?

 

[Boathook]

An anchor light lower down is much better.

 

[john_morris_uk]

An anchor light lower down is much better.

Only sometimes. It’s best to have both options IMHO.

 

[Daydream believer]

Get a glass bottle of the right diameter. (clear wine bottle etc)Cut it with a dremel & place it in the place of the existing lens. Stick a white bulb in & use it as an anchor light or as a steaming light & rear white light when under power with the p & s light on the pulpit
Lot depends on how the screws go. If they go from top to bottom & not through the lens then Ok. If not then it is a no go

 

[alahol2]

Sorry, Link no good

 

[john_morris_uk]

Here's a cheap one... Local

Unfortunately for non-members the advert section is hidden.

 

[PetiteFleur]

I also use an anchor light hoisted in the fore triangle. Much better in my opinion. Also fitted with a night gadget which turns it on at dusk and off at dawn. My masthead is a DIY led tricolour which I rarely use.

 

[alahol2]

That's a pain, I'll pm the details if he wants them.

Here's a screen grab...

 

[john_morris_uk]

What on earth is with the “I never use my masthead light comments?” Masthead tricolour lights (especially ones with incandescent bulbs) save electricity compared to bow and stern lights and are much more visible when you’re at sea.

In an anchorage you might choose masthead or fore triangle but to claim the fore triangle is ‘the best’ is simply a nonsense. IMHO.

 

[Pye_End]

Hi All
At the top of our mast on our Centaur where have a working port/starboard nav light system which we never use. We also have nav lights on the pushpit and pullpit which we do use.
This is the mast setup
View attachment 188055
Now I have never looked inside this fitting but hopefully someone can advise. Is it possible to replace the red/gress lens with a clear on so we can use this as a anchor light (do they tend to be a standard fit)?
Also is the bulb likely to be white and simply colored by the outer lens or do the build tend to be two (red and green)
Any thoughts please
Thanks

Do you have a motoring white as well (in addition to stern white)?

 

[Dellquay13]

An anchor light lower down is much better.

A masthead white isn’t that high on the OPs Centaur, you would need to be staring at your feet to miss it

 

[Sandy]

An anchor light lower down is much better.

Whenever I hear that argument I suggest that the skipper and the entire crew should visit Specsavers, other opticians are available, as they are clearly not keeping a good look out.

If you are entering an anchorage/mooring field you should be looking not chatting about what is for supper or will you get to the pub before closing time. I've even had crew out on the bow with torches making sure I did not run over a mooring.

It is very, very rarely totally dark and you should see most things, under a full moon it can be extremely light.

 

[penberth3]

....Is it possible to replace the red/gress lens with a clear on so we can use this as a anchor light (do they tend to be a standard fit)?

Obviously, you'd have to find a suitably robust clear glass that fits. That might not be easy.

I'd worry about the rest of the existing unit, are the plastics weathered and brittle? Anything nasty happening inside?

I'd replace the whole thing. Cost and effort will be about the same.

 

[Halo]

Since you can now get bright led battery lanterns that shine all night why bother with a mast head anchor light??
If you have a tricolour mast head use it for sailing and haul up a lantern when you anchor.

 

[Boathook]

Whenever I hear that argument I suggest that the skipper and the entire crew should visit Specsavers, other opticians are available, as they are clearly not keeping a good look out.

If you are entering an anchorage/mooring field you should be looking not chatting about what is for supper or will you get to the pub before closing time. I've even had crew out on the bow with torches making sure I did not run over a mooring.

It is very, very rarely totally dark and you should see most things, under a full moon it can be extremely light.

I entered Cawsand early one morning and couldn't see any boats. The white lights at distance looked like street lights and as you got closer like stars. It was a moonless night and the boats were hidden except for a few with low level lights.
We were also shorthanded so no spare crew to wave torches around and our eyesight at the time was good !

 

[Pye_End]

Since you can now get bright led battery lanterns that shine all night why bother with a mast head anchor light??
If you have a tricolour mast head use it for sailing and haul up a lantern when you anchor.

An all round masthead anchor light is often used, in conjunction with a bow light, for motoring.

I tend to agree that a lower down anchor light is easier to spot in a busy anchorage, and is what I do in spite of having the masthead option.