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Originally Posted by Island-Ho
I apologize for the slight tangent, but this is related. I have a combination running and anchor light on a power boat. I can't call this a mast head light - no mast-.  While running it shows forward 225 degrees only, and in conjunction with the 135 degree stern light I have 360 degree coverage. At anchor, it displays 360 degrees, but turns off the red/green port/stbd. Would it be acceptable to display this with 360 degrees showing in addition to the stern light? My gut feeling says NO, only one 360 degree white light is ALLOWED on a boat under xx feet, xx being 22 in my case. Discussion??
I also concur with previous posts regarding the strobe: This is not an acceptable substitute for a constant 360 degree white light. |
I added the bold above because it's pretty much what I was refering to. What I see are boats underway that display a stern light (though I'm not sure it's a true stern light per COLREGS or just a transom boarding light) plus an all-around light (full 360 deg vs masthead 225 deg coverage). Now per NH regs
403.15 "Lights on all motorboats" we have;
(a) All motorboats, including boats propelled by outboard motors, shall while under way carry lights with distances of visibility on clear nights shown as follows:
(1) For motorboats of classes A and I:
a. A bright white light aft to show all around the horizon; and
b. A combined light on the fore part of the vessel and lower than the white light aft, showing green to starboard and red to port, so fixed as to throw the light from right ahead to 2 points abaft the beam of their respective sides;
(I add : this is the common R&G "nav" lights plus white "all-around" or "anchor" light)
(2) For motorboats of classes II and III:
a. A bright white light in the fore part of the vessel as near the stem as practicable, so constructed as to show an unbroken light over an arc of the horizon of 20 points of the compass, so fixed as to throw the light 10 points on each side of the vessel, namely, from straight ahead to 2 points abaft the beam on either side;
b. A bright white light aft to show all around the horizon, and higher than the white light forward;
(I add : this is a forward masthead plus an aft all-around light)
c. On the starboard side, a green light so constructed as to show an unbroken light over an arc of the horizon of 10 points of the compass, so fixed as to throw the light from straight ahead to 2 points abaft the beam on the starboard side;
d. On the port side, a red light so constructed as to show an unbroken light over an arc of the horizon of 10 points of the compass, so fixed as to throw the light from straight ahead to 2 points abaft the beam on the port side; and
e. The side lights shall be fitted with inboard screens of sufficient height and so set as to prevent these lights from being seen across the bow.
(b) Each motorboat shall carry only the combined light or separate side lights as appropriate to its class.
Additionally, one white light at the stern so constructed that it shall show an unbroken light over an area of the horizon of 12 points of the compass so fixed as to show the light 6 points from right aft on each side of the vessel.
(I add : so sentence #1 says you can have a combined or separated "nav" lights and sentence #2 says ?? only a "stern light" ?? huh ??)
(c) When propelled by both sail and machinery a motorboat shall carry the lights required by this section for a motorboat propelled by machinery only.
(d) Every white light prescribed by this section shall be of such character as to be visible at a distance of at least 2 miles. Every colored light prescribed by this section shall be of such character as to be visible at a distance of at least one mile. The word "visible" in this subsection, when applied to lights, means visible on a dark night with clear atmosphere.
(e) Any motorboat may carry and exhibit the lights required by the federal requirements for preventing collisions at sea, 1960, International Rules of the Road, federal act of September 24, 1963, 33 USC 1051-1053, 1061-1094, 77 Stat. 194-210, as amended, in lieu of the lights required by this section.
I've underlined and bolded the part above that I'm trying to understand. It prohibits lighting contrary to the rules but seems to allow a stern light, as Capt Costal Laker mentions
,(?) in addition to (?) an all around light (one interpretation of the bolded part above). But the sentence contruction* of b) is such that I'm unsure. Note that the COLREGS Rule 23 allow a second
masthead light in addition to a masthead & stern light combo for any boat, or a single all-around for our sized boats. In other words for >50m LOA you have to have 2 mastheads plus stern plus side (aka "nav") lights. For < 50m you may eliminate the 2'nd masthead (aft) and for <12m you may replace the remaining masthead plus stern combo with an "all-around". Nowhere can I find mentioned a stern light plus an all-around. I thought the NH rules were basicaly equivalent to the US COLREGS, though they would seem to be more restrictive wrt to masthead vs all-around for differing boat sizes.
http://www.navcen.uscg.gov/mwv/navru...les/Rule23.htm
Perhaps the good Capt's CL or Al can further clarify this and help us out
ps - yes I'm aware it bad to start a sentence with "but", but I'm just an engineer and lucky I can even spell at all let alone form coherent sentences
pps - 1 point = 11.25 deg so 6 points is 67.5 deg and + to - 6 points = 135 deg coverage. 20 pts is 225 deg or +/- 112.5 deg = 90 deg + 22.5 deg so the COLREGS and NH SAF rules are the same wrt arcs of coverage.