Navigation Lights : BoatUS Foundation Nov 02, �� USCG Required Navigation Lighting West Marine Powerboats under 12 meters ( feet) in length must have separate or combined red and green sidelights covering degrees and visible for 1 nautical mile. The white masthead light must cover degrees, be 1 meter above the sidelights and be visible for 2 nautical miles. Aug 25, �� As such there is a very specific rule in the Code of Federal Regulations Number 46 (CFR46 by common name) that spells out with detail how many, the color, the luminosity or brightness, the angle of visibility and the location of all of the lights required for navigation on every single boat, seaplane, submarine and other nondescript vessel conceived by man to date that they must show . Navigation Lights User Guide The information shown is based on the International Regulations Preventing Collisions at Sea (IMO). Motor driven and sailing boats at anchor, aground or at pier Motor driven and sailing boats not under command more than 12 m L.O.A.
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Navigation lights on a sailboat can be confusing. If you understand the reason behind why they are the way they are however, they can make a lot more sense.

At their heart, sailboats are really just a power boat and as such must adhere to all power boat rules such as navigation lights. Other times however, a sailboat is classified in a special category. They have a set of additional lights they CAN show as an option, but are not always required to do so. Just because you can show a light to identify yourself in times of low visibility, does not mean you have to and then we add in a little sibling rivalry between power and sail and things get downright adversarial when it comes to navigation and the night.

Much to the consternation of many a sailor who has earned a commercial license to drive their sailboat, when you received your credential from the USCG it says you are a master of steam and power across the top with no mention of wind as a source of propulsion. That is because most of the time the U. Coast Guard knows that you are primarily reliant on your mechanical power to propel your vessel.

It's a sad thing, but the days of commercially viable sail boats are done and all but the most select few even have sails let alone use them as their primary power source. All sail boats by law are powerboats, but not all powerboats are sailboats. As a power boat, you are required to show certain lights and have been required to do so before power was even invented.

In the days of man powered vessels like the viking ships who relied on oars while in close quarters to power their vessels, they needed to show other boats, friend or foe, where they were by showing lanterns in the dark to identify themselves.

As you know, it is a time honored rule among all the nations of the world both past and present, that you must avoid a collision at all costs while at sea and even the viking knew that you should not run into things. By lighting the front and back of your boat, you could warn other boats of your presence as well as identify which way you were heading. As such there is a very specific rule in the Code of Federal Regulations Number 46 CFR46 by common name that spells out with detail how many, the color, the luminosity or brightness, the angle of visibility and the location of all of the lights required for navigation on every single boat, seaplane, submarine and other nondescript vessel conceived by man to date that they must show while underway in reduced visibility.

As such a power boat, and by extension all sailboats, MUST, without question show one green light on the starboard bow and one red light on the port bow and one all around white light or lights while operating in reduced visibility. These lights should shine at all degrees of visibility with the bow lights shining at an angle of dead ahead to A forward facing masthead light that is white in color shall shine forward to comply with the directive that all vessels must carry an all around white light.

For more read here. Sailboats however, are a little different when they are in fact sailboats, which is only when you are entirely reliant on the wind for power and in no way reliant on any mechanical or manual means of propulsion.

And for good reason. Back in the day when men were men and sailboats were wooden, fire was a major concern. Sails were coated with wax and other flammable substances and the wood on boats was saturated with oils and grease. Even the ropes were plant materials saturated with oils to keep them pliable and strong. Add those highly flammable substances to a parching environment like the sea and you had what was essentially a giant floating tinderbox.

Then tell that giant floating tinderbox that they need to identify themselves to the world at large at night using oil lamps with flames because batteries and lights were not invented yet. It didn't take very long or very many ships burning to the water line for the Governments to say to the sailboats, you get to do things a little different. As such, sailboats are given special dispensation when it comes to lights aloft. They don't have to show an all around white light in their rigging because no one wanted to set their rig on fire with oil lamps 60 feet up in their rig.

However, when a sailboat takes their sails down such as when they are powered or at anchor, they must resume the display of an all around white light or lights aloft. That became a real challenge with aluminum masts and the disappearance of rat lines on the shrouds because there was no easy way to climb the rig and check the bulbs up the mast on a regular basis.

I have no idea where the history of this particular light comes from, but if you ever take a deck exam with the USCG, you better remember this mnemonic. An all around red light over an all around green may be displayed on a vessel during times of reduced visibility to indicate that a vessel is operating under sail power alone.

The red over green is to be displayed in addition to the running lights or the red and green bow lights with the degree stern light. This is probably the most confusing part of sailboat navigation lights so if you are confused about this, you're in good company as most people are.

The fewer wires, the less chance of something not working or becoming disconnected. Sailboats below sixty-five feet may show a tricolor light at the masthead instead of side and stern lights when sailing. That's it, in a nutshell. There's a little more to it, as the rules change with different sizes and there are some specifics about angles of display for the colors.

Identifying other ships at sea requires more study, but the basics are the same. And it's not much trouble to make sure you've always got the proper lights on your vessel.

For the smaller boat, the following definitions apply. The good news is you need not measure these angles. If you have to replace the original light from your boat, make sure it's with an approved replacement. A sailboat powering is considered a power boat and falls under in Rule For all navigational purposes a sailboat under power is considered a power boat.

This includes motor sailing - if the engine is on and providing propulsion you are on a power boat, even if the sails are up. This applies to navigation lighting, sound signals in fog and limited visibility, and rights of way. A power-driven vessel under 23 feet 7 meters that does not exceed seven knots of speed may display an all around white light, though sidelights should be used if available.

In addition, it has rules for the "Inland Waterways" for rivers, inland lakes and the Great Lakes. They mostly relate to lighting changes on towed vessels like barges and tugs. For example, a vessel towing or pushing another vessel in the ocean under COLREGS shows two masthead lights, sidelights and a stern light, whereas in Inland Waterways the towing or pushing vessel displays two yellow towing lights instead of a white stern light.

If you sail on lakes, rivers or the Great Lakes where towed commercial traffic is common you should learn the inland lights, but coastal or ocean sailors will never see these. When you anchor outside a designated mooring field, you should display an all around white light at the masthead or as high in the boat as practical.

If your boat is large and has a very tall mast, you may wish to display another light closer to the waterline. Boats approaching in the dark may not see a light on a mast sixty or seventy feet in the air when they are close to your boat. We use a simple garden path light on our stern when we anchor, left in a rod holder or flag socket. It comes on automatically at dusk and is a cheap and easy way to be more visible.

There is no specific rule stating you can not display more lights than required, or the nature of any lights beyond the required all around light. Very few small vessels observe this, however it is the correct display for a vessel in an anchorage. If you tie to a mooring in a marked mooring area you are not required to display anchor lights, but there is no harm in doing so.

The other important reason to know your lights is to figure out what's going on around you at night. The water may be ablaze with white, red, green and other lights at night and they are your first key to avoiding collisions and problems. The odds are small you will encounter a submarine, seaplane or hovercraft at night, but there are regulations regarding specific lighting for each of those vessels!

There are a few fundamentals to help you figure out what that is you see on the horizon, which way it is going, and whether it is a danger to you. The fundamental rule is that red sidelights will ALWAYS be on the port side of a vessel, and green lights will always be on starboard.

However, some vessels can use all around red and green lights for other purposes, though those will be higher than sidelights. It is not safe to assume that sidelights you can see are on the bow of large vessels. When you can see the color, you know which way the bow is pointing. If it's red, it's pointing more or less to the left and will travel in that direction. A green light shows it is heading more or less to your right. If you can see the red and green lights at the same time, you are looking directly at the bow of the vessel.

Seeing red and green lights together on a vessel is something you never want to see for long. Be aware of red and green lights used in combination with other red, green and white lights.




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