Anchor lights need to be viewed through 360 degrees... steaming lights do not (I think from memory it's 170 degrees).

Toph said..
Anchor lights need to be viewed through 360 degrees... steaming lights do not (I think from memory it's 170 degrees).

Steaming Light 225 degrees, sidelights 112.5, stern light 135 degrees, anchor light 360

troubadour said..

Toph said..
Anchor lights need to be viewed through 360 degrees... steaming lights do not (I think from memory it's 170 degrees).

Steaming Light 225 degrees, sidelights 112.5, stern light 135 degrees, anchor light 360

Thanks for the correction

As far as being visible is concerned:
Use whatever lights you need to be comfortable with making yourself visible to incoming boats or tenders.

An anchor light is an 'action or doing' light. A single anchor light is a vessel under 50m. Two (one lower than the other) is a vessel greater than 50m at anchor.. It doesn't have to be seen from eye level. Your boat should be seen at eye level and then you ask yourself what is that boat doing, you look up and realize it's anchored..

the laws on the rms website are, as per most the stupid laws regarding boats in nsw not clear. " Where it may best be seen " is what it says. Mick the dick from maritime JB will say it needs to be on the mast head. Cause hes a d...k
Here in nz? No hassles.

Sectorsteve said..

southace said..
Placing a anchor yacht below your mast head is technically not viewable 360 degrees as your mast will obstruct a amount of degree.
Also on a note those garden solar lights from Bunnings etc should only be used as a emergency back up. After just returning from a 20 days of cruising I watched a yacht over a period of 3 days with smoke haze fail with there anchor light due to not enough solar. All the other cruisers with LED mast heads continued to like up as they should.

in jervis bay where there is often fog you cannot see where the boats are with masthead anchor lights. Mine however lit up the entire cockpit and boom/sails.

That's fair enough but it's not classed as a anchor light. In a emergency storm a boat lit up like that could be a hindrance to others trying to navigate using the required navigation lights. I experienced this over Christmas in a 50 knot onshore thundersqaul, 3 boats had left there underwater blue lights on and of coarse they where the ones dragging to the shore. This really made finding the other boats with the required lights hard to pick.

southace said..
Placing a anchor yacht below your mast head is technically not viewable 360 degrees as your mast will obstruct a amount of degree.
Also on a note those garden solar lights from Bunnings etc should only be used as a emergency back up. After just returning from a 20 days of cruising I watched a yacht over a period of 3 days with smoke haze fail with there anchor light due to not enough solar. All the other cruisers with LED mast heads continued to like up as they should.

Most cruising yachts in QLD mount at least one, cats sometimes 1 on each corner, garden light at the stern
so as to be seen at water level IN addition to the require mast head anchor light.
This came about after that jetski crashed into a yacht in the Brisbane River some years ago. Both killed I believe.

Both killed I believe.

Wasn't that Jill Knight , and just the jet ski driver deceased?

I certainly don't want to get in a flame war with the Mast head anchor light Jihadists... but.

No, the light doesn't have to be on top of the mast as some have indicated, even though this is sadly becoming the most common.
At one time ,when we first started cruising ,very few were. Only rich buggers with short masts and lots of steps were. Kerosene lamp was hung anywhere you could reach. The tech at the time was an incandescent bulb , mounted in a Vegemite jar, and hung in the fore triangle each night. The advent of production boats and tri lights certainly make the mast top light an easy solution and permanently mounted one.
.
At times it is not the best solution.

You certainly wouldn't mount your Anchor Shape on the mast head , you hoist it in the foretriangle, so why not the light?. Your not protecting yourself from super tankers when anchored in 6 meters of water, just tired yachtsmen arriving late
or drunk dinghy hoons, where some light thrown on deck gives one distance perspective.

Ok Off my soap box.

southace said..

gwiongwion said..

Both killed I believe.

Wasn't that Jill Knight , and just the jet ski driver deceased?

I certainly don't want to get in a flame war with the Mast head anchor light Jihadists... but.

No, the light doesn't have to be on top of the mast as some have indicated.
At one time ,when we first started cruising ,very few were. Only rich buggers with short masts and lots of steps were. Kerosene lamp was hung anywhere you could reach. The tech at the time was an incandescent bulb , mounted in a Vegemite jar, and hung in the fore triangle each night. The advent of production boats and tri lights certainly make the mast top light an easy solution and permanently mounted one.
.
At times it is not the best solution.

So 358 degrees visible is Legal on a yacht? Also take into account the globe wattage is a legal requirement.

Since when has a lamp source provided a pin prick of light?
Not may use hi res lasers for anchor lights
You really need to get out more.

End of the day you can do what you want. It's not about who's right and who's wrong. Unfortunately it's more about can you convince the man/women with the white curly wig in the event of a law suit
Hint, the current colregs say visible through 360 degrees. So that's a good start. Maybe once upon a time a candle in a glass jar sufficed.

As Toph points out one allround white light for vessels our size and you may light up your deck. Thats not to say the light needs be at the highest point of the vessel, you could have a light either side of the mast for example as long as it's viewable from allround so if you have a pilot house or a mizzen it has to higher than them, also doesn't need to be a permanent fixture so a light on a flagstaff could be sent aloft on a masthead halyard. Just some random thoughts

There is no requirement for an anchor light to be unobstructed by the mast in Victoria. The Maritime Safety Victoria website is very clear:-
Vessel navigation lights:- "All recreational vessels must show an all round white light while at anchor."
Specific lights / All round white light:- "An all round white light shows over a nominal arc of the horizon of 360 degrees. ......... As a general rule, an all around white light should not be obscured by masts and other structures by more than 6 degrees of arc."

If my maths is correct, for a 100mm wide mast the light should be at least 2m from the mast to comply with the 6 degree rule. A light on the forestay, above the level of the mainsail stored on the boom, will comply with this rule on the average yacht.

I suspect there may be a similar rule in other states, even if not publicised and the boating officers are not aware of it.

Donk107 said..
I find it interesting that at anchor you need to show a light but on a mooring you don't

Regards Don

This is true Donk, mooring areas should be highlighted on good up to date charts as they do. Same as marinas your in a zone.

Sectorsteve said..


in jervis bay where there is often fog you cannot see where the boats are with masthead anchor lights. Mine however lit up the entire cockpit and boom/sails.

Apologies for revisiting this thread , but I just noticed Sectorsteve s' contribution quoted above.

Good point Sectorsteve.


I encountered one of these infamous Jervis Bay fogs whilst departing bound for Sydney prior to Xmas.
During the transition to a southerly buster around Midnight, I dropped the courtesy PARKS? mooring , Callala Bay, in clear weather. 20 minutes later, the fog became so thick I was battling to see my own bow mounted Nav lights 10 meters away.

Ghosted out through the heads, the light house only becoming visible after the Southerly ripped through.

Interesting times.

PS

The Alloy Sundeer 60 ?? on the outer mooring at Callala bay is lit up like a Xmas tree at deck level.
I now understand why. :)
Many thanks to the owner.