Why don't yachts have foghorns?

[Ohlin Karcher]

All yachts have some form of nav lights, but why are they not designed and supplied with built-in fog horns?
A button in the cockpit and a loud hooter, mounted or concealed somewhere suitable, seem so obviously essential. Instead we have these aerosols, (go flat) mouth trumpets, (not very loud) or VHF's with foghorn wiring.
( I have a PA horn connected to the VHF, but by the time you've gone below, found the reading glasses, scrolled through the menu and selected Foghorn, the moment has passed..)
It's a winter project to fit a truck horn or similar on my yacht with a waterproof button and a relay, but why don't manufacturers fit them? It's a very odd omission.
I have a 12v klaxon, would it be illegal to sound it at sea?

 

[PetiteFleur]

I have a home made old car horn, fitted on a wooden base with a handle and push button, a power lead to a 12v outlet socket. Works well but not used in anger for some time( I prefer not to sail when it's foggy...)

 

[johnalison]

I know someone with a Fisher that has a foghorn. It doubles as a speaker, which was something of a surprise to the owner's wife when she was on the foredeck and subjected to loud instructions from on high.

 

[Achosenman]

All yachts have some form of nav lights, but why are they not designed and supplied with built-in fog horns?
A button in the cockpit and a loud hooter, mounted or concealed somewhere suitable, seem so obviously essential. Instead we have these aerosols, (go flat) mouth trumpets, (not very loud) or VHF's with foghorn wiring.
( I have a PA horn connected to the VHF, but by the time you've gone below, found the reading glasses, scrolled through the menu and selected Foghorn, the moment has passed..)
It's a winter project to fit a truck horn or similar on my yacht with a waterproof button and a relay, but why don't manufacturers fit them? It's a very odd omission.
I have a 12v klaxon, would it be illegal to sound it at sea?

They do if the owner fits it. Mine is part of the VHF. The hailer/horn sits on the mast just below the radar.

 

[nortada]

Thought all vessels are supposed to carry the means to make sound signals appropriate to their size and class of vessel.

On my power boat I have an electric powered horn on the sail boat a aerosol horn. Neither is big enough to warrant a ships bell.

 

[JumbleDuck]

I have a PA horn connected to the VHF ...

"Oh, are you not going to get out of the way? I suppose that's all right. Some people might think it was selfish but if you feel so important don't mind me. Go right ahead. I don't suppose you'll care about any damage either, but that's fine too. Well, not fine, but typical. ..."

 

[Poignard]

Perhaps because the officer on the bridge of the vessels we most fear being in collision with would be unable to hear any sound that a small yacht is capable of making.

 

[Elessar]

All yachts have some form of nav lights, but why are they not designed and supplied with built-in fog horns?
A button in the cockpit and a loud hooter, mounted or concealed somewhere suitable, seem so obviously essential. Instead we have these aerosols, (go flat) mouth trumpets, (not very loud) or VHF's with foghorn wiring.
( I have a PA horn connected to the VHF, but by the time you've gone below, found the reading glasses, scrolled through the menu and selected Foghorn, the moment has passed..)
It's a winter project to fit a truck horn or similar on my yacht with a waterproof button and a relay, but why don't manufacturers fit them? It's a very odd omission.
I have a 12v klaxon, would it be illegal to sound it at sea?

I completely agree. You need one to comply with the colregs. I never understand why so few yachts can easily make a sound signal.

I also don’t understand why your VHF is hidden down below.

 

[Elessar]

Perhaps because the officer on the bridge of the vessels we most fear being in collision with would be unable to hear any sound that a small yacht is capable of making.

This is absolutely not true. They can hear you and react to a sound signal.

And why would only big boats need to hear a sound signal? Gets rid of the “guess what I’m doing” dance small vessel to small vessel.

 

[capnsensible]

This is absolutely not true. They can hear you and react to a sound signal.

And why would only big boats need to hear a sound signal? Gets rid of the “guess what I’m doing” dance small vessel to small vessel.

Whilst I agree the use of a sound signal is quite productive and I do myself show people how to do this, the notion that the average yacht vuvuzela can be heard further than obout ten feet away is.....imaginative.

 

[Poignard]

This is absolutely not true. They can hear you and react to a sound signal.

And why would only big boats need to hear a sound signal? Gets rid of the “guess what I’m doing” dance small vessel to small vessel.

In that case, the hearing of watchkeeping officers must have improved greatly since I was in the Merchant Navy, given that the bridge of something like a super tanker is likely to be several hundred feet away from the yacht under its bow.

 

[capnsensible]

"Oh, are you not going to get out of the way? I suppose that's all right. Some people might think it was selfish but if you feel so important don't mind me. Go right ahead. I don't suppose you'll care about any damage either, but that's fine too. Well, not fine, but typical. ..."

Dogs doodahs for a bit of seagoing karaoke though. :encouragement:

 

[Sticky Fingers]

I completely agree. You need one to comply with the colregs. I never understand why so few yachts can easily make a sound signal. ...

Colregs are woefully vague.

The word “whistle” means any sound signalling appliance capable of producing the prescribed blasts and which complies with the specifications in Annex III to these Regulations.

...

a) A vessel of 12 metres or more in length shall be provided with a whistle, a vessel of 20 metres or more in length shall be provided with a bell in addition to a whistle, and a vessel of 100 metres or more in length shall, in addition, be provided with a gong, the tone and sound of which cannot be confused with that of the bell. The whistle, bell and gong shall comply with the specifications in Annex III to these Regulations. The bell or gong or both may be replaced by other equipment having the same respective sound characteristics, provided that manual sounding of the prescribed signals shall always be possible.

So almost anything will do. Annex III is riddled with get outs.

 

[Elessar]

In that case, the hearing of watchkeeping officers must have improved greatly since I was in the Merchant Navy, given that the bridge of something like a super tanker is likely to be several hundred feet away from the yacht under its bow.

The hearing hasn’t improved but they fit microphones apparently. Any merchant seamen here know for sure?

I’ve had a ferry react in the past - I 5 hooted him as he was erroneously not giving way. . And I exchanged hoots with the queen mary to clarify my intentions as she was manoeuvring. 2 examples I can think of.

And I don’t understand why you think k sound signals are only to signal large ships.

 

[Zing]

I have a dual tone air horn up the mast. Very loud and very good. I’m surprised not everyone has one I thought they were compulsory and the hand held thing can run out. I also have a hailer, which can do automated sound patterns from the VHF, but it is much quieter.

 

[PilotWolf]

The hearing hasn’t improved but they fit microphones apparently. Any merchant seamen here know for sure?

I’ve had a ferry react in the past - I 5 hooted him as he was erroneously not giving way. . And I exchanged hoots with the queen mary to clarify my intentions as she was manoeuvring. 2 examples I can think of.

And I don’t understand why you think k sound signals are only to signal large ships.

I wouldn't trust 90% of the people I worked with over the last 6.5 years to know what the sound signals your are making mean...

PW

 

[Neeves]

In that case, the hearing of watchkeeping officers must have improved greatly since I was in the Merchant Navy, given that the bridge of something like a super tanker is likely to be several hundred feet away from the yacht under its bow.

If the yacht is UNDER the bow I don't think any sound signal will stop the inevitable.

I actually think it arrogant and less than intelligent to think that any sound signal will have any impact on a large commercial vessel. Yachts and super tankers (and their ilk) don't mix very well and yachts should simply keep clear - and thus there is no need to consider using one to draw their attention.

Jonathan

 

[cmedsailor]

My boat, brand new Elan Impression bought 6 months ago, does have a fog horn installed by the factory. It wasn't mentioned in the specifications (neither as an option) but during the factory visit they told me that it was installed due to changes in the legislation. Same boat bought 3 years ago from a friend didn't have a horn installed.

 

[Iliade]

The foghorn/loud hailer I have aboard had a previous existence as a police car siren. Unless the bridge were triple glazed and the crew retired gunners a merchant ship should hear the thing from miles away!
It also acts as a microphone when in the listening phase of the fog horn pattern. Being based on the south coast it gets a modest amount of use. What I don't yet have is an enclosure to make it pretty so it is on a flying lead.

Funnily enough the simple marine horn I ordered to augment it for manoeuvring signals arrived just yesterday.

I'm often steering from inside with no opening window to easily poke my head out of to shout and it takes a good few seconds to get outside to discuss the ColRegs...

 

[prv]

the notion that the average yacht vuvuzela can be heard further than obout ten feet away is.....imaginative.

That's rather the point of the thread

I have a hailer/horn driven by the VHF - it's good for fog signals, but as the OP says, it's not really convenient for unanticipated manoeuvering signals (unlike him I don't need to go below and fiddle with glasses and so on, but it still takes a few button-presses on the handset at the helm to get it ready to sound). Ideally the VHF would have an input wire (short to ground, or apply 12v, to immediately generate a horn tone) that could be wired to a dedicated button, but they don't. I have a plan to put together a signal generator and an audio relay, that switches the speaker away from the VHF and then sends a tone to it, and I actually added the "horn" button for it to the helm along with some other work. But so far I've been a bit hampered by my lack of analogue electronics knowledge and haven't built the driver circuit.

Pete