Nav lights

[halcyon]

Is it worth the effort in learning the standard ones, when there are all the freelance???

Sitting typing a mail just and two vessels went up river,

1/ low level green, high level green, ( I can only see one side )

2/ high level alround white, 1/2 way between this and the water a green. ( ditto )

Any takers ??

Brian

 

[jimi]

1. Yacht with both tricolour & normal nav lights on?

2. Anchor light + nav lights?

both wrong

Guess 2 thinks he has his steaming light on?

Marks out of 10?

ps I'm not sad .. but still working!!!!


Jim

 

[halcyon]

Give you 5

1/ was under power, no steaming light, not uncommon around here.

2/ also a yacht under power, but with a bi-colour nearly half way up mast, most original layout we have had up the river.

If you meet no 2 running with other yachts with correct lights, would show as motor vessel heading almost straight at you, but a distance behind other vessels,
dodgy if you dive through the cap.

Brian

 

[peterb]

If you didn't learn them all, then you wouldn't know they're wrong.

Example 1 is clearly wrong. The only vessel to show two greens is a small trawler, and that would have an all-round white as well.

Example 2 is less obvious. Under Rule 23(c)(i) a power-driven vessel less than 12 m long can show an all-round white light and sidelights, and under Rule 21(b) the sidelights may be combined in one lantern carried on the fore and aft centreline.

The rules covering the positioning of the lights are in Annex I. The requirements are:-

2(g) The sidelights shall be placed at a height above the hull not greater than three quarters of that of the masthead light;

2(h) The sidelights, if in a combined lantern (i.e. bicolour), shall be placed not less than 1 m below the masthead light.

Surprisingly, there appears to be nothing to stop you carrying a bicolour halfway up the mast, though it would obviously be obstructed if you were carrying a foresail and would not then reach the required visibility range. But assuming that she was under power, without a foresail, then she was legal. It would still be a silly arrangement though, since she would need a second set of lights when under sail.

 

[jimi]

True .. if you were on another boat you would'nt see the all round as an all round, it would appear either as a steaming light or a stern light depending on where you were. It would however be wrong to display it in conjuction with another white stern?

Jim

 

[Cornishman]

The whole problem of incorrect lights and daylight shapes is one of no policing. How often have you seen a trawler going hell for leather back to port to catch the market, get to the pub before closing time etc, with the 2 cones firmly in place? In the Westcountry they even have them in place when hauled out on to the quayside, often welded into the rigging.
Large Scottish trawlers which used to come down here to catch mackerel couldn't start their engines without the 'engaged in trawling' lights coming on. Nobody ever says anything to them, or to yachts which leave their tricolours on while under power, a common mistake. Would you care to challenge them?

 

[peterb]

Correct. If you use an all-round white to replace the stern/steaming light pair, then you don't use a separate stern light as well.

 

[peterb]

You are right. Perhaps that's why Rule 26(e) exists: "A vessel when not engaged in fishing shall not exhibit the lights or shapes prescribed in this Rule, but only those prescribed for a vessel of her length."

I'm told that many fishermen believe that "engaged in fishing" covers them all the way from leaving their berth to unloading their catch. But if you look at the definition (Rule 3(d)) you'll see that it only covers vessels ".....fishing with nets, lines, trawls or other fishing apparatus which restrict manoeuvrability.....".

 

[dickh]

My friend when he bought his boat had a tricolour, bicolour halfway up the mast and bicolour on the bows. The wiring was such that both the bicolours came on together. From the condition of the bicolour halfway up the mast it had been like that for many years. He did take a lot of persuading that it was wrong and had the choice of getting a new white lens(B****y expensive!) or a complete new lamp - we eventually picked up a nackered lamp without innards from a boat jumble and swopped lenses.

dickh
I'd rather be sailing...