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I anchored overnight for the first time last week. The mast light is not mounted at the top but about 2/3 up the mast. Thus, it is not visible from the rear.

Do I need to add another white light that is visible from the rear for anchoring?




(Search terms diode, diodes, mast wiring)

Yes.

The regs require you to have a white light visible 360deg for 2nm.

Of course, I haven't anchored on any body of water that is 2nm accross, so I'm not real concerned that my temporary anchor light may not be bright enough...

I have a Davis MegaLight that plugs into the power panel, just portside of the companionway. Using the idle jib halyard, I just clip it to the port shroud & hoist it to the spreader.

Since the boat is constantly moving at anchor, the mast can only block the light for a narrow arc, for a few seconds. David might not be visible for the requisite 2 miles, but I think it's better than nothing, and it has a notable advantage vs. the masthead light ... it's not so high in the air that a drunk powerboater might miss it!

Peter, the light 2/3 up the mast is the "Mast Head" light and is used for motoring at night. The anchor light is an all around visible light to be used while at anchor at night. Some people mount it at the top of the mast. For now we have solar/battery powered LED garden light that will charge during the day and light at night. Ours has a photocel that turns it on automatically at night. We hang it off the bungie that runs between the lines on the mast and outer shroud, to keep the clips from clanging at night.

Moe,

I assume (hope) it is easy to run a wire in the 26X mast for the masthead light?

Here is a great idea, which I plan to follow, for wiring an anchor light using the existing masthead light circuit and connector...

You only need to run wire from the masthead light to the anchor light at the top of the mast.

fwiw, I replaced the stock 2 pin connector with a 4 pin connector. Ran 1 wire for common ground. One for steaming light, one for foredeck light, one for anchor light. Seemed pretty simple to me. Wiring was easy, simple.

I added a switch panel next to the fuse panel with 3 switchs - steaming/sailing, foredeck, and anchor. I did run a diode across the first switch so you could have the steaming light off for sailing.

On a side note, the foredeck light is nice, on the M's rotating mast...if the mast is rotated, it will illuminate the cockpit as well. It is quite useful. Glad I replaced the steaming light with a steaming/foredeck unit, in addition to the anchor light. Good mod when you are in the 'while-you-are-at-it' mode. I figured if I was taking the effort to add the antenna/anchor light..might as well add the foredeck light.

Works quite well actually.



Here is the diagram for our switch layout




Here is the steaming/foredeck light (yes, the bent spreader has been replaced since the photo was taken)




Paul

Installing new wires and switches is a little out of my field. And what the heck is a diode anyway? I cut the cigarette plug and wires off of an old halogen spot light I found in my Jeep. Wired it to a white marker/clearence light I bought at Canadian Tire for about 4 bucks and screwed it to a short piece of 1x2 with a cup hook in the other end. I hang the cup hook on the rear spreader or topping left and pull it up with the jib halyard. 4 buck and 5 minutes...my kinda mod.

Beam's Reach wrote:Installing new wires and switches is a little out of my field. And what the heck is a diode anyway? I cut the cigarette plug and wires off of an old halogen spot light I found in my Jeep. Wired it to a white marker/clearence light I bought at Canadian Tire for about 4 bucks and screwed it to a short piece of 1x2 with a cup hook in the other end. I hang the cup hook on the rear spreader or topping left and pull it up with the jib halyard. 4 buck and 5 minutes...my kinda mod.

A diode allows electricity to flow in one direction only. A one-way valve if you will.

Somehow when you put it in plumbing terms it makes more sense. Must be all those hours I spent fixing frozen pipes at my old house. Thanks Paul.

Beam's Reach wrote:Somehow when you put it in plumbing terms it makes more sense. Must be all those hours I spent fixing frozen pipes at my old house. Thanks Paul.

They are super cheap, and solve a lot of problems. If you look at my diagram...without the diode...all the lights would be on all the time regardless of the side switched. There are other ways this could have been done. This is just what I came up with.

By diode isolating it, when one side of the switch is hot, all the lights light (Steam mode)up because the diode lets current through. When the other side is hot, the electricity can not flow through the diode to the other leg (the steam light on mast), so you get sailing lights (only bow/stern light)

I just wanted to make it easy. One switch for the lights...instead of one for running/sail and one for steaming.

Of course with the rotating mast on the M...it is kind of silly having a steam light on the mast to begin with...got to find a way to locate it so it is straight on.

Paul

I mean Holy to Pete, you guys.

Hang a lamp on a bungy cord from your boom that lights up the boat. Something you can read the funnies with.

I got a new one that takes 4 D cells and you can see me for miles.

When the cops and the coasties take me off to the calaboose, I will appeal to the lower courts about the 5% exception for the mast blinding my light from this drunken dink in a fishing boat that had to swerve so hard his Johnson fell off.

Sloop John B wrote:When the cops and the coasties take me off to the calaboose, I will appeal to the lower courts about the 5% exception for the mast blinding my light from this drunken dink in a fishing boat that had to swerve so hard his Johnson fell off.

Now that would be some swervin'....poor guy, don't ever want to be without a Johnson...

BTW, To feed wires easily, just take a lead weight from the fishing box, (Heavier the better) and fishing line. Tip it in the top of the mast, raise the mast, shake the mast, wait for the weight to 'Thump'. Lower the mast and tie whatever you want to lead up to the top....walla!

I've used this method flawlesly for 3 Macs so far. I have never tied plastic tie strips (wire ties) to them either, but others recommend that, and leave the 'Tail' on, supposedly it keeps the wire, Coax, or whatever else from making noise. I am nearly deaf, so I don't do that step!

While you are pulling wire, may as well pull a couple of extra conductors in one shot

Here my list of masthead (and mast) projects

- Anchor light (wired, not mounted)
- windex light (mounted, wired, but not connected
- spreader light (wire pulled)
- steaming light with deck light (wired and mounted)

so I pulled one 5 conductor wire plus VHF cable to do this in one step.

My trusty assistant Caitlin fed wire that I pulled from the other end with fish tape.

Working on the boat with your seven year old girl - priceless.

We saw some interesting things regarding lights over the July 4th weekend... with no moon.

The first was the Ohio Dept of Natural Resources (DNR) patrol boat. It had a mast, and the masthead light was installed backwards. When they were coming at us more or less head on, all we saw was the red or green nav light... no masthead light As they turned, we started seeing the masthead light with a forward nav light, then as the latter disappeared, we saw the white stern light appear along with the masthead light.

The second was another white sailboat of approximately our same size. They were anchored maybe 300 yards from us and had NO lights. As it got dark, they totally disappeared, even against a heavily wooded shore. We could pick them out with the 7x50 Steiner binoculars though. As the patrol boat entered the area, I watched the sailboat weigh anchor and ease away with what sounded and looked like a very small 4-stroke. No nav lights either. Candidates for the Darwin Award, for sure.

There are quite a number of small fishing boats that anchor all night out there, and their all-around lights are generally very visible... probably the wired-in ones that came with the boats. However, there are a few that are harder to pick out, even at 500 yards or so, and I suspect these are lights powered by flashlight batteries, although it could also be bad wiring. And this is with no fog in the area. I suspect they wouldn't be seen until the last minute in fog.
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Moe