Bow/Stern lighting

It's not just the inside half.  You must have 112.5 degrees of visibility.

BTW, just found this ...

Vessels are required to show the proper navigation lights from sunset to sunrise in all weather conditions, good and bad. During these times, no other lights that could be mistaken for lights specified in the Rules of the Road can be displayed, nor any lights that impair the visibility or distinctive character of navigation lights, or interfere with the keeping of a proper lookout. The Rules also state that navigation lights must be shown in conditions of reduced visibility, and may be shown at other times considered necessary.

That implies to me that you should NOT display the full visibility red/green lights as they could be mistaken for lights specified int he TUles of the Road (Sea?).

Found this at BoatUS ...http://www.boatus.com/onlinecourse/Review%20Pages/Chapters/NAVIGATION.html

-Allen

Wow.  I just heard that song on the radio the other day.  How often can Judas Priests come up in one week.  Love it!!!

Just call me ....   

-Allen

Just call me ....   

-Allen

 

Like I said in my first post, it was all about letting PBrs know which way I'm headed when I'm downriggin'. So far it's worked great and they give me more room.

Z

http://www.kayakfishingstuff.com/store/merchant.mvc?Screen=PROD&Product_Code=navlight

I bought a couple of these today from REI.

http://www.rei.com/product/783474

Can't wait to try and figure out how to attach them to the hull. I was bummed that the white one actually glows red, so I still need to figure out a stern light.

They -seem- waterproof, but we'll see.

Our local Coast Guard says we need only a headlamp and a horn at night, in our area at least. Other Stations may say different, according to State Laws I assume.

Regarding having a horn..

Orion makes one that doesn't require an air canister.  It's called the "orion marine safety blaster horn" and you blow on it like a whistle.   I have one and it is very, very loud (120 db) and it's low tone travels much farther than a whistle.  It is however a bit larger than a whistle, but not any larger than a traditional air horn.

The consensus down south is you should only use a white light as you're effectively at anchor. Running lights might fool a PB into thinking that 1) you are under power and can get out of the way and 2) farther away than you appear. Zee and his downrigger might be a different matter.

 I use a single white light mounted on the highest point on my boat. A head light on top of my head with an all-around reflector. Casts enough light to tie knots but not enough to wreck your night vision. Just make sure you take it off before the sun comes up.

http://www.northwestkayakanglers.com/index.php/topic,413.0.html

 

FWIW - I'm more concerned with having the size of my craft outlined as I'll be fishing tighter, more cramped quarters than the big blue.

I'd much rather represent the outline of a boat (lights) other boaters are able to interpret and understand.

FWIW - I'm more concerned with having the size of my craft outlined as I'll be fishing tighter, more cramped quarters than the big blue.

I'd much rather represent the outline of a boat (lights) other boaters are able to interpret and understand.

Not sure what you are trying to say about the "outline", but for most boats under 20-25 feet, I have a hard time telling the differences in size at night.  I do know that if I see one white light (and no red/green), it could be a smaller craft (but I'm guessing most people won't know this).

-Allen

 HAH!
 Just put a very bright battery lantern in the hull  

HAH!
 Just put a very bright battery lantern in the hull  

Best. Idea. Ever.

k, here goes. had once mentioned in the kayak crate thread that i'd post these.. this works too.

this is ghetto style. all scrap materials and hardware on hand except for the crate and the light. i think i have like an hour and $16 into this, the most expensive part being the $12 wally world special stern light.




k, sorry for the close up, but you can see that it's just screw and bolt thru the crate to get the tubing attached. trim away any excess plastic from the edges of the crate with a small saw or other means if you have clearance problems. you can sand edges of cuts too if you want to make things really smooth.




look close and you'll see that the stem of the light is cross bolted into the pvc tubing, with one eye bolt at 90 degree to the other two.. this is so you can attach a sliding cinch tether to it then attach the other end to the yak some place rigid. trust me, you wont lose this gizmo if you huli. not only is the tether nice and tight, giving you support, but the tank well bungee across the crate top is super snug, plus the length of pvc inside pvc is long enough to act as a pressure wedge [ does don't ask me how i know apply here??].. it's kind of like the staps on your seat locking it in place from two different directions..



a nice thing is that this set up dismounts easily and slides into the rod pod for out of the way storage.

that's it. simple cheap and you meet the white light requirements for small craft.

last note; there is another version of this out there in cyber space that is much cooler. it uses a scotty gimbal mount that goes into your behind the seat flush mounts, and has two sections of pvc joined like Yarjammers to get it way up in the air.

have fun. be inventive.
rich