NAV Lights - masthead or deck level ?

[CPD]

I should know/remember this but the choice is masthead (increased visibility at distance) or deck level (easier repair/maintenance, less visibility). Okay to have both but NEVER ON TOGETHER. Is that it or am I missing something ?.

 

[RupertW]

I should know/remember this but the choice is masthead (increased visibility at distance) or deck level (easier repair/maintenance, less visibility). Okay to have both but NEVER ON TOGETHER. Is that it or am I missing something ?.

That sounds right to me - we have the masthead on when out to sea but tend to use deck level when around harbours.

 

[Neeves]

That sounds right to me - we have the masthead on when out to sea but tend to use deck level when around harbours.

+1

 

[rogerthebodger]

I should know/remember this but the choice is masthead (increased visibility at distance) or deck level (easier repair/maintenance, less visibility). Okay to have both but NEVER ON TOGETHER. Is that it or am I missing something ?.

Also don't forget that when under power you need deck level lights and a steaming light above the side and stern lights

 

[Kwik Decision]

Correct, however it has been said that deck lights can often be easier to see than a single masthead light, well above the sea.

A Rolls Royce solution in this age of low power LEDs would be to use the usual deck nav lights, and have an all round red over green at the top of the mast. This would give the best visibility, and make it very clear you were sailing. I've only ever seen this once, and that was on a huge 3 mast sailing ship taking part in the tall ships races last year.

 

[VicS]

I should know/remember this but the choice is masthead (increased visibility at distance) or deck level (easier repair/maintenance, less visibility). Okay to have both but NEVER ON TOGETHER. Is that it or am I missing something ?.

Fit both but use which ever is most appropriate for the conditions/ cicumstances.

It' s all in the Colregs ... http://www.collisionregs.com/MSN1781.pdf

This diagram shows the legal alternatives for boats under 12m
( I have to add, or some pedant will, that boats under 7 m with a speed less than 7 knots are permitted to show just a single allround white.

 

[prv]

deck level (easier repair/maintenance, less visibility).

Better visibility in inshore waters

Pete

 

[awol]

Better visibility in inshore waters

Pete

Depends how big the waves are!

 

[CPD]

Thank you gentlemen

 

[LittleSister]

Deja vu!

DIdn't we have a near identical thread (with, seemingly, the same points made by the same posters) only about 10 days ago?







p.s. DIdn't we have a near identical thread only about 10 days ago?

 

[Graham_Wright]

Correct, however it has been said that deck lights can often be easier to see than a single masthead light, well above the sea.

A Rolls Royce solution in this age of low power LEDs would be to use the usual deck nav lights, and have an all round red over green at the top of the mast. This would give the best visibility, and make it very clear you were sailing. I've only ever seen this once, and that was on a huge 3 mast sailing ship taking part in the tall ships races last year.

Agreed but the problem is the 1m separation. The top light could be a Nasa masthead with the all round white re-equipped with red and split lower greens on the mast. Difficult to see an elegant solution.

 

[ghostlymoron]

As I understand, the mast top tricolour was introduced to save energy on a sailing boat by using one bulb instead of three. This was worthwhile when using incandescent bulbs using nearly one amp each but now that low wattage LEDs are available, the argument for a tricolour has disappeared and it is more convenient to use deck level lights with LED bulbs. No problems with replacing mast top bulbs or inmast wiring problems or dodgy mast foot connections. The colregs allow a sailing boat to display port, starboard and stern lights so that's what I do now.

 

[lw395]

The masthead tricolour does have other advantages than low power.
It's above the waves.
It's not obscured by sails. Or silly ensigns on sticks!
It's pretty safe from damage up there.
It's not lighting up anything of your own boat, ruining your night vision.
You can be seen moving through an anchorage or mooring area.

And the big plus point, it lights up the windex.

 

[[70521]]

The masthead tricolour does have other advantages than low power.
It's above the waves.
It's not obscured by sails. Or silly ensigns on sticks!
It's pretty safe from damage up there.
It's not lighting up anything of your own boat, ruining your night vision.
You can be seen moving through an anchorage or mooring area.

And the big plus point, it lights up the windex.

+1

 

[ghostlymoron]

I have a stiff neck and can't bend it enough to look at a windex so that's no good for me. I use woolies at eye level.

 

[prv]

The masthead tricolour does have other advantages than low power.
It's above the waves.

True, though I suspect most of us coastal sailors are not in big ocean swell all that often, and the effect is less significant when the observer is higher up, like on a ship's bridge.

It's not obscured by sails. Or silly ensigns on sticks!

Deck level lights shouldn't be obscured by sails either, and on a typical modern yacht's pulpit in front of the jib they are not. If you have a Dutch-sized ensign that hangs over the stern light then you have a problem motoring at night regardless.

It's pretty safe from damage up there.

Yes, though if it does fail (eg due to water ingress or general corrosion) then it's a pain to fix.

It's not lighting up anything of your own boat, ruining your night vision.

Indeed, though again correctly-positioned deck-level lamps shouldn't do that either.

You can be seen moving through an anchorage or mooring area.

Only from a distance. Close up, where it matters, your unlit hull is invisible. Nobody creeps around an anchorage staring up at the sky.

And the big plus point, it lights up the windex.

Can do. Though there are also dedicated Windex lights: https://www.force4.co.uk/windex-light.html . I once sailed on a boat whose skipper believed the tricolour was lighting up the windex, until one day he couldn't see the vane even though the tricolour was clearly on. Turned out he was unaware he actually had a windex light powered from the tricolour supply, and the bulb in that had failed.

Pete

 

[GHA]

This was worthwhile when using incandescent bulbs using nearly one amp each but now that low wattage LEDs are available, the argument for a tricolour has disappeared and it is more convenient to use deck level lights with LED bulbs.

Why not both for something as important as lights? Backup if one circuit fails.

Plus don't disappear in the waves out at sea, and better night vision with the lights well out of the way. .

The argument for hasn't disappeared at all..

 

[awol]

Surely ensigns and stern lights are mutually exclusive after sunset?

 

[ghostlymoron]

+1 Protocol requires the ensign to be struck at sunset doesn't it? I take mine down then to avoid it flapping unnecessarily when no one can see it.

Surely ensigns and stern lights are mutually exclusive after sunset?

 

[Iain C]

Whatever you do, just please display the correct lights. Nothing more bloody annoying than gulping down a cup of tea and tacking only to find that the ROW boat with his tric on you've just tacked for was motoring...