Which Nav lights do what?

[Quidi Vidi]

Hi again, had a great day down the boat today despite the weather. Sorted out and replaced some of the charging/starting electrics and even managed to get the engine to start and run. Whilst i was there with a charged battery i decided to test the switch panel to see if the Nav lights and interior lights work. Only 1 interior light works and i couldn't work out the Nav lights. My boat is 6.7M has a tri-color at the masthead, a white light for'd of the mast about half way up and also port and starb'd lights on the cabin sides. My question is, which lights are supposed to be on when i make the steaming switch and which ones should be on when i make the Nav lights switch? Also should there be a light at the stern?
Your help and advice would as always be much appreciated as i intend to start on renovating these electrics next

 

[aquaplane]

Lights all come under what are generally termed "Col Regs".

You should know at least the basics, and have a working knowledge of all of them.

Study these:

http://www.mcga.gov.uk/c4mca/msn_1781-2.pdf

The bottom of page 14 onwards is where lights are covered.

Some folk will say you need to know tham all verbatim or you will die a horrible death and are the spawn of the Devil for putting all Mariners at risk, that's debatable.

 

[Dipper]

Aquaplane makes a valid point but to help you with your immediate task of wiring the switch panel you will use:

Under sail - the tricolour on its own

Under power - the white light on the mast (steaming or masthead light), the port and starboard lights and a white stern light.

There are other options including an exemption for boats under 7 metres but this will require extra switches and/or lights.

When you buy a stern light make sure it IS a stern light. Stern lights have a smaller arc of visibility than steaming lights. I had my boat 5 years before I realised a previous owner had fitted a steaming light on the stern.

 

[Quidi Vidi]

Thanks aquaplane, i've had a look at the link and it confirned what i already knew, however my question was about which switch controlled which lights. I am confused as i have 2 sets of port and stb'd lights and to show both sets at once would be against the colregs, there fore which ones should be shown when or could i dispense with the lights on the cabin sides altogether?

 

[Quidi Vidi]

Thanks Dipper, perhaps my title should have said which Nav switch does what? I'm confused by the cabin side lights, as i read it i can use the tri-colour and masthead/steaming lights together or have i missed something? At the moment none of the lights work and i need to do a complete rewire and it would help if i knew which switch is supposed to be wired to what

 

[VicS]

I'm sure I quite follow what you are asking but underpower you need the deck level lights (port starboard and stern) and the "steaming" light formally called the "masthead light" in the regs.
The port and starboard side lights can be combined into a single bicolour and the stern and steaming light can be combined into a single all round white light.

When sailing you need port and starboard lights , (which may be combined into a bicolour) and a stern light. Alternatively just a tricolour alone.

Remember lights atop the mast may be difficult to see from the bridge of a ship against a back ground of shore lights. So if you have tricolour on or an all round white in place of steaming and stern the ship following you into harbour may not see you. It is good in these situations to be able to use all deck level lights.

The diagram I did a while back shows all the legal combinations for vessels under 12m under power or sail.

It does not show the option of a single all round white which may be acceptable for vessels under 7m with a speed of less than 7knots wnem the above lights cannot be displayed

 

[Pye_End]

Does your masthead ticolour include an all round white, probably labelled as an anchor light?

Does your white light half way up the mast shine down on to your deck, or forward, back to 22 1/2 degrees abaft the beam?

 

[Dipper]

You can't use the tricolour with any of the other lights so one switch for the tricolour on its own. This means only one bulb is draining your battery under sail.

A second switch for the other four when you are using your engine.

Read on if you want to complicate things!

If you have enough switches you could have the steaming light on a separate switch.

So you could then use the port, starboard and stern lights under sail but with three lit bulbs and no engine, you will flatten your battery quicker.

Part of the confusion arises with the term 'masthead light' which on sailing boats is halfway up the mast. Many sailors call this the 'steaming light' which is perhaps easier to understand.

 

[salinia]

I used to use port/starboard/stern lights/ when night sailing a Swift 18 and I had a battery operated steaming light I could fasten to the mast when motoring (it also came off its bracket to use as an anchor light). This year we have a Parker 235 (7.14m) it has a tricolour and nothing else it is my understanding that this combination light can be used for night sailing and I am not to sure as yet if I could use my battery operated steaming light when motoring in combination with the tricolour...hopefully someone will be along to continue this post with more advice.

 

[VicS]

I used to use port/starboard/stern lights/ when night sailing a Swift 18 and I had a battery operated steaming light I could fasten to the mast when motoring (it also came off its bracket to use as an anchor light). This year we have a Parker 235 (7.14m) it has a tricolour and nothing else it is my understanding that this combination light can be used for night sailing and I am not to sure as yet if I could use my battery operated steaming light when motoring in combination with the tricolour...hopefully someone will be along to continue this post with more advice.

Emphatically NO

the steaming light must be at least 1m above the port and starboard lights.

See my diags above

Well you could but you would be recognized as some jerk not showing lights correctly Nobody would really know if you were motoring or sailing

 

[Quidi Vidi]

Thanks everyone, I guess what had me confused was the under 7 meters colreg and the fact that I don't have a fitting for a stern light on the transom, not sure what the previous owner did.

 

[salinia]

Another job then! Thanks VicS

 

[Quidi Vidi]

Yes VicS, the list gets longer everytime I go down the boat! To think a year ago I knew nothing about engines or electrics and now I'll have a go at fixing anything, mainly thanks to the people like yourself on this forum, so once again thanks everyone

 

[VicS]

If it is any help my panel wiring is below.

S2 is labelled nav lights obviously it has to be switched on for the nav lights

S8 is a double throw switch. When its up the tricolour comes on.
When it's down the side lights and stern light come on.

S3 switches on the steaming light , but only when the side lights are already on.

S2 and S8 could be combined into a switch with a centre off position.

My stern light is on a short mast that drops into the Ensign staff socket and plugs into a deck socket. A spit pin stops it rotating. It holds it above the outboard even when that is raised.

I don't have an all-round white

 

[prv]

If it is any help my panel wiring is below.

Cheers - interesting!

Any particular reason to have its own switch for the compass light? If you have the nav lights on, are you not pretty much guaranteed to also need the compass illuminated (soon if not right away, as the sun sets)?

Personally I've designed my new panel so that the steaming light is controlled by a relay in the engine circuit. If the nav light switch is on, the steaming light goes on and off as the engine does. I only have one set of nav lights (bicolour high on the mast, but far enough below the steaming light, and stern light on the mizzen masthead) so don't need to avoid the tricolour / steaming light snafu.

Pete

 

[nimbusgb]

I'm sure I quite follow what you are asking but underpower you need the deck level lights (port starboard and stern) and the "steaming" light formally called the "masthead light" in the regs.
The port and starboard side lights can be combined into a single bicolour and the stern and steaming light can be combined into a single all round white light.

When sailing you need port and starboard lights , (which may be combined into a bicolour) and a stern light. Alternatively just a tricolour alone.

Remember lights atop the mast may be difficult to see from the bridge of a ship against a back ground of shore lights. So if you have tricolour on or an all round white in place of steaming and stern the ship following you into harbour may not see you. It is good in these situations to be able to use all deck level lights.

The diagram I did a while back shows all the legal combinations for vessels under 12m under power or sail.



It does not show the option of a single all round white which may be acceptable for vessels under 7m with a speed of less than 7knots wnem the above lights cannot be displayed

Great diagram Vic. You need to add the optional Red over Green all round masthead light to the sailing option though.

 

[john_morris_uk]

Its a good diagram and I considered doing a similar thing when I rewired Serendipity. In the end I just put seperate switches on all the lights and I then can choose the right combination for whatever I am doing.

Its not obvious to many newcomers that using the all round white at the masthead (which is often labelled 'anchor light') with the bicolour on the pushpit is perfectly acceptable for motoring - so long as you are less than 12 metres long.

One final point; I can envisage a situation when at anchor and when I would like the compass light on, but no other nav lights on. (We often use an oil lamp as an anchor light to save electric.) The compass light might be on for me to have a quick squint at a distant fixed light across the top of the steering compass to see if we are dragging.

 

[prv]

The compass light might be on for me to have a quick squint at a distant fixed light across the top of the steering compass to see if we are dragging.

Fair point. Fortunately it doesn't apply to me as my compass is a bulkhead one you can't sight across.

(I say "fortunately" as I want to spot any reason I *shouldn't* wire up my new panel as planned, before I do so)

Pete

 

[peterb]

I only have one set of nav lights (bicolour high on the mast, but far enough below the steaming light, and stern light on the mizzen masthead) so don't need to avoid the tricolour / steaming light snafu.

Pete

Bicolours are usually mounted on the pulpit, so that they can be seen from ahead when sailing. I would think that the sails obstruct the bicolour when it's mounted on the mast.

 

[prv]

Bicolours are usually mounted on the pulpit, so that they can be seen from ahead when sailing.

Try that when you have a six-foot timber bowsprit instead of a pulpit.

I would think that the sails obstruct the bicolour when it's mounted on the mast.

That's because you're probably assuming I have a big modern genoa.

Pete