Anchor Light Switching

[RobertB]

Figured out a great way to add an anchor light without adding any switches to operate it.

The boat comes with two switches - one for the navigation lights (bow bicolor and stern white) and a second for the masthead light.

I used the much discussed method of using existing mast wiring by using an LED bulb in the masthead light and an LED anchor light at the top of the mast (and running the two lights with polarity reversed to each other). After drilling with 1/2 inch steel conduit thru the styrofoam for close to 20 feet , I enlarged the hole at the masthead light and tied in the wire for the anchor light there.

I chose not to add another switch to reverse the polarity of the wiring to the mast but instead wired in a DPDT relay. Essentially, the relay switches the polarity of the wires from the masthead switch and uses the voltage from the running lights as the trigger to do this.

So, operation is as follows - Running Lights = switch 1 (SW1), Mast Lights = Switch 2 (SW2):

Sailing: SW1 on, SW2 off [front bicolor and stern lights]
Motoring: SW1 on, SW2 on [front bicolor, masthead, and stern lights]
Anchored: SW1 off, SW2 on [anchor light top of mast]

Works great with no added complexity to the switching.

[Divecoz]

WOW 20 feet of foam ? That's a new record hahahaha.....Roger must have had a lot of flotation ( OK Packageing foam ) to get rid of when he built your mast.. Sounds to me like you worked out a get solution..

[Russ]

Yea, I get the feeling Roger gets rid of packing Styrofoam in his boats anyplace he can. Hey, he's saving the planet from foam in the landfills by packing the waste in every spot in his boats. Mast; stuff it full of foam.


--Russ

[Divecoz]

I am sorry I mislead you, but honestly mine was a snap.. I had cut IIRC 6 teeth into the end of a piece of 1/2" PVC pipe. I pushed it down and cut right through the first piece. My brother was looking up the mast ( rotating base cap removed) with a laser, and said , there must be another piece , I don't see you. I glued on another 10' section and drilled/cut through the 2nd piece? I do not remember even a third piece being in my way.. When he saw the pipe come through the last piece of foam , I used an air compressor or something to remove the foam core in the pipe? I really don't remember, but at that point, I was done . I tied several 1/4 x20 nuts to a string , dropped it down the pipe and through the rest of the mast and pulled up my wire..We spent about an hour, no less than 2 beers with me arguing with him, that I didn't want to waste the time and the money $$ to have a CNC machine cut a custom aluminum Mast Cap .. His argument as always being .. I was CHEAP and... I am a Hack !! I am always @#$% and run get er done , hammer to fit paint to match... My side was, Its not your money, its not your boat and I want to get her back in the water and go sailing.. Well That factory stock plastic cap has lasted no less than 3 years and is still fine.. @#$%^&* Older Brothers always thinking they are still the Bigger Smarter Brother..Grrrrrrrrrr but a fun time it was...

[RobertB]

On my , the mast cap is fiberglass so I used it to install the light on - but since the light was slightly larger and the mounting pattern would not fit, I cut and polished a piece of .060 aluminium, installed that with 3/8 inch nylon spacers to the cap (with a spacer for the wire in the center) and bolted the light to the aluminium plate.

To drill the hole, I used 1/2 inch steel conduit, only cost $2 for 10 feet (cheap factor), less wall thickness so possible to pack more waste styrofoam into (never got more than an inch or two), and I could offset the teeth to cut a slightly large hole than the tube dia. I spliced on additional pieces using a length of 3/4 copper tubing and a few rivets. Real fun feeding that long conduit into the mast in the horizontal trailering position. When I started getting close to 20 feet, I thought I may be pushing the last piece instead of drilling thru it - so I taped in/on a piece of 1/4 inch all-thread and puched a hole - then drilled thru normally. Never pulled off the base cap - should be interesting one day to do this and have a shower of styrofoam come out.

[Crikey]

Older Brothers always thinking they are still the Bigger Smarter Brother..Grrrrrrrrrr but a fun time it was...

Reminds me of a show I heard the other day ...... But don't dive like my brother!

[Miss_Dallie]

I chose not to add another switch to reverse the polarity of the wiring to the mast but instead wired in a DPDT relay

Elegant solution, bravo!

Ron
Miss_Dallie

[Tomfoolery]

What did you use for a relay?

[RobertB]

Radio shack Model: 275-218 (12 volt DPDT relay). Bought with the matching socket and soldered wires to the socket.

Use Nav lights voltage as the trigger, wire mast lights (masthead and anchor) to the two "input" terminals, wire navigation lights breaker and ground to one set of "output" terminals and also reversed to the other side of "output" terminals. Wire ground to other side of trigger coil.

I waited to set the crimps on the wires to the mast until I proofed it was hooked up correctly.

Coated all the soldered contacts with liquid tape and taped over everything to seal completely.

[Russ]

Radio shack Model: 275-218 (12 volt DPDT relay). Bought with the matching socket and soldered wires to the socket.

Use Nav lights voltage as the trigger, wire mast lights (masthead and anchor) to the two "input" terminals, wire navigation lights breaker and ground to one set of "output" terminals and also reversed to the other side of "output" terminals. Wire ground to other side of trigger coil.

I waited to set the crimps on the wires to the mast until I proofed it was hooked up correctly.

Coated all the soldered contacts with liquid tape and taped over everything to seal completely.

Ahh.. clever. If the running lights are on, the steaming light is powered. Turn off running lights and anchor light is powered. So the resting state is relay off, anchor light on.

Nice.