Navigation lights

[martin scott]

It's that time of year again, just before Blue Moon goes back in the water, when my thoughts are turning to all the jobs I should have done months ago. Fitting some simple electrics is one of them. At this stage they are intended only for a Clipper Wireless Wind system, led navigation lights and phone / tablet charger. Maybe a few other bits and pieces later on. So I'm thinking of a small battery (preferably gel), say 30-40 Ah, fixed in one of the lockers adjacent to the bulkhead with the junction box on the inner side of the bulkhead, and a 10w solar panel between the mast and sprayhood.

Re  navigation lights - I know they're not legally necessary for a BRe, being less than 7m, but it seems sensible to be as visible as possible at night. Evoled led lights are well priced so they will be the ones - port & starboard to the sides of the cuddy, but where to position a stern light and run the cable? An all-round masthead light seems impractical so that's off the agenda for now.

So, any advice on fitting simple electrics and navigation lights to a BRe would be much appreciated. Thanks.

Martin Scott   

[David Hudson]

No need to spend a fortune. Marine Chandlery stock a set of 3 battery operated emergency navigation lights for £16.

LED versions are still very expensive.

[Graham W]

There's an old but useful thread on battery-operated and 12V navlights here http://www.swallowyachtsassociation.org/smf/index.php/topic,253.0.html

Being old, the thread has the usual array of "message unavailable" entries but I think these recommended a brand of navlights that should be avoided (Aqua Signal 23) because, astonishingly, they aren't waterproof.

You can run a (more or less) all round white light up the mast using the spinnaker halyard, if you have one. I have a modified dusk-to-dawn 12V LED version as an anchor light and running light. It's bright, uses very little power and is waterproof. http://www.davisnet.com/marine/products/marine_product.asp?pnum=03300

[Julian Swindell]

I use three LED nav lights which I got from Piplers
http://www.piplers.co.uk/chandlery/electrical-equipment/navigation-lights/aaa-led-navigation-lights
They only draw 0.5W each, are water proof and can be seen from a long way off. I had a set of battery operated nav lights before, but they are actually so weak as to be almost useless in practice. I run the whole thing, including GPS, depth sounder, VHF (handheld) and tablet charger from a 20Ahr battery charged by a 10W solar panel. Seems to work over a summer of weekend sailling.

[Andy Dingle]

Julian is right. I wish this thread had been started a week or so ago, I've only just bought the 'cheapy' emergency nav lights and am disappointed. Not up to the job at all. I did look on line to see if I could change the standard torch bulb they use to a bright led replacement bulb, I can, but they come in about 10 - 12 quid each, so not really worth it, when proper LED nav lights can be had for cheaper.
My nav lights at the mast head are NASA LED all round white (and anchor) and tricolour bright LED, these work fine.

Regards
Andy

[David Hudson]

Andy

Did you run the cable through your mast for the masthead tri-light,(presumably NASA)?

I have bought the cheapie nav lights just to have something on board but I wonder whether a running light to use with my engine in a "got to get home situation", would not be more appropriate.

ps The website search facility is excellent

[Andy Dingle]

Yes David. The 12 v feed for the nav lights, the cabling for the wind system and the vhf cable are all fed down the inside of the mast, exiting near the foot with deck connectors so the mast can be lowered.
I have (I hope) sufficient power with two 50 ah batteries fed from two 20w solar panels, so far, so good through the winter.

Andy.

[David Hudson]

Did you feed the wires or did Matt's people do it?
D

[Andy Dingle]

All done for me at the yard David.
Was getting complicated if I wanted to do bits myself, and it was far easier to get all the wiring done by the rigger as he  was building the mast up.

Regards

Andy

[David Hudson]

Thank you Andy.
D

[Peter Taylor]

I too have a NASA tri-light/anchor at the mast head and got the cable for that (plus VHF and NASA NMEA anemometer/vane) inserted in the mast by Swallow Boats. I asked Matt about stopping the cables  rattling in the mast (which can be a pain when anchored at night) and he said they would put cable ties around the wires at intervals without clipping off the long ends - and, indeed,  the cables in Seatern do not rattle! A useful tip if anyone is threading their own cables.

Peter

[martin scott]

Thanks for people's comments and suggestions. Evoled port & starboard lights now bought (£36 for the 2 from BMC) along with all the electrical bits and bobs to make them work. I'm still pondering what to do about a stern light.
Martin Scott

[Graham W]

These battery-operated emergency lights have LED's and seem to be fairly new on the market http://www.boatlamps.co.uk/contents/en-uk/d187.html.  Being bright and with low power drain (a claimed 4 days from a single D battery) they might solve a lot of problems for those that don't want too much wiring on their boats.  The only surprise is that someone hasn't developed it a long time ago.

[maxr]

Would anyone care to comment on the durability of the masthead tricolour plus all round white for a boat which is regularly trailered? I did read a comment by a master mariner that when small  yachts are about he's looking for lights near water level rather than in the air, but I guess no Swallow Boats mast is tall enough for that to be an issue. Incidentally, I saw the superyacht Mirabella V in Falmouth a while back, and she appeared to have a red light at the masthead. Is that an aircraft warning light?

[Graham W]

In the UK, CAA regulations say that en-route obstructions more than 150m above ground level have to have an aircraft warning light on top. As M5 is just over half that height, I suspect her of boasting.

Attached below comparisons of navlights (same fitting, same battery) with incandescent and LED bulbs.  These navlights are now only sold by Boatlamps.co.uk with LED's and are waterproof, unlike the expensive and utterly useless Aqua Signal 23's that I have just binned.   At £30 for a set of three lamps, this solves the problem of occasionally being caught out at night without a full blown wiring job. Replacement D10 bulbs for those with the old incandescent versions are £6 each.