How long will a standard anchor light last

[SgBFish]

How long will a standard anchor light last and still be able to crank my motor?

Cheers,
Scott

[DaMaGe]

Answer x10 if it were a LED

[station-rat]

Hi Scott
Alot depends on the size of the battery,age and charge condition ,size of motor that you are tying to crank
Station-rat

[BM]

P=IV

Power (Watts) = Current (Amps) x Volts (V)

So a 10W anchor light will draw: 10 = I x 12 hence I = 10/12 = 0.83Amps per hour

At what point your battery cannot crank the engine over I don't know

Whitworths do a folding 620mm LED anchor light for $59.95

Cheers

[Outsider1]

How long will a standard anchor light last and still be able to crank my motor?

Cheers,
Scott

For a fully charged and healthy marine battery an overnighter should not draw too much, certainly not enough to prevent starting the next morning. Remember you should also have your nav lights on as well, but again should be able to handle an overnight anchored session if everything is up to scratch. If you start putting other loads on the battery that might change things eg sounder and/or GPS, spotlights, cockpit/cabin lighting etc

Cheers

DJ

[SgBFish]

Thank you everyone

[Brumby]

Remember you should also have your nav lights on as well, but again should be able to handle an overnight anchored session if everything is up to scratch. DJ

Not so, anchor light only if at anchor, anchor and nav if drifting. Take your point though that you're likely to use other lights and equipment which will contribute to the draw.

Cheers

[ozscott]

Its about current draw and the amp hour rating and state of health and charge of your battery. To give you an idea though I just left my double Lucky brand fluro on for 2 nights and 2 days solid and on the third the Excide Extreme Truck/Boat ran down.

[ozscott]

...and at the end of one full night and day of being on it still cranked and trimed the 115 Yammy

[charleville]

Remember you should also have your nav lights on as well, but again should be able to handle an overnight anchored session


If anchored, having the nav lights on would be illegal, I think.


They are only to be used when moving. The white light also has to be on when moving also of course.

[Outsider1]

If anchored, having the nav lights on would be illegal, I think.


They are only to be used when moving. The white light also has to be on when moving also of course.

Well no! you are correct that they are not require when anchored, but they are no way illegal and quite frankly if you want to trust your fate to one light then go for it!, but I will have at least the cockpit light and/or nav lights lit as well.

Sometimes the law or regulations are just plain wrong on inadequate!, think about the traedy on the Brisbane river last year and tragedies on other waterways in recent and tell me that more lights are not better!

Cheers

DJ

[2iar]

Well no! you are correct that they are not require when anchored, but they are no way illegal and quite frankly if you want to trust your fate to one light then go for it!, but I will have at least the cockpit light and/or nav lights lit as well.

Sometimes the law or regulations are just plain wrong on inadequate!, think about the traedy on the Brisbane river last year and tragedies on other waterways in recent and tell me that more lights are not better!

Cheers

DJ

I'm with Charlie on this one. An all round white light should be seen from all angles, whether underway or at anchor, alerting other vessels to your presence. However, if you've also got your nav lights on, other users of the waterways will be led to believe you're moving when you're not, which could also have unfortunate consequences. That, I believe, is the reason for the regulation.

Good luck,
Mike

[copie]

Hi everyone just a qiuck note on this one, often when on holiday in hervey bay i moore my boat out front and instead of leaving and of my on board lights on i use 2 solar powered garden lights mounted in my rocket launcher. These are nice and bright and easily seen from distance. I have also used them when overnighting off moreton.
MARK

[Vindicator]

I'm with Charlie on this one. An all round white light should be seen from all angles, whether underway or at anchor, alerting other vessels to your presence. However, if you've also got your nav lights on, other users of the waterways will be led to believe you're moving when you're not, which could also have unfortunate consequences. That, I believe, is the reason for the regulation.

Good luck,
Mike
This is right, if one light which can be seen from every angle is not enough how can nav lights which are commonly mounted on the sides improve things. Especially if you are in a river system with heaps of lights behind you to confuse the issue. It just comes down to the fact that if there are lots of lights around you, you need to slow down and take more care.

Cheers
Kezza

[ozscott]

obviously the plonker who parked a 30 foot Cat in the very MIDDLE of the main channel a few weekends ago WITHOUT so much as a candle couldnt answer the question above....at 1.00am he would woken to a VERY loud airhorn coming straight in his port window as I went past on the plane....

[SgBFish]

Hi everyone just a qiuck note on this one, often when on holiday in hervey bay i moore my boat out front and instead of leaving and of my on board lights on i use 2 solar powered garden lights mounted in my rocket launcher. These are nice and bright and easily seen from distance. I have also used them when overnighting off moreton.
MARK


Copie.

That is the same situation i am in. When I visit friends and put my boat on their mooring for a few days I need an anchor light at night and don't really want to swim out each day to turn it off or run the motor to charge the battery on the fixed light i have.

I have thought of the solar lights as an option and will give it a go. i was unsure wheather they would be bright enough.

Scott

[charleville]

I often wish that sail boats would have a white light at a lower point than at the top of their mast. I often struggle on dark nights out in the bay at knowing whether there is a boat ahead or just another star in the sky.

You would think that in 2008 with the availability of cheap electronics and low power LEDs that a multi-colour pattern flashing LED light would be better at anchor than a single white star-light light.

[charleville]

I have thought of the solar lights as an option and will give it a go. i was unsure whether they would be bright enough.


I think that the risk in your all-night application will be whether they stay illuminated much past about 1 am.

I have a couple in the garden and that is about when they die off.

[seatime]

Remember also, the all-round light on a vessel less than 50m must be visible for 2 miles.
Doubt one of those solar garden lights would be bright enough! and having 2 all-round lights can cause confusion to on-coming boats.

[seamaid]

Hi everyone just a qiuck note on this one, often when on holiday in hervey bay i moore my boat out front and instead of leaving and of my on board lights on i use 2 solar powered garden lights mounted in my rocket launcher. These are nice and bright and easily seen from distance. I have also used them when overnighting off moreton.
MARK
::) ;D
Hey COPIE thats a good idea, the missus got heaps in the gardens, i generally through up a camping fluo on a blank antenna stick,heaps a light ,by the way i have 2 batterys, the anchor light supplied with the boat not worth 2 bob,
Heavy duty battery -- no problems
Cheers Ged
8-)

[copie]

Hey guys i must admit i did search around and found a couple with good bright white lights as to the more common softer light. As to weather you can see them for 2 miles i dont give a sh..t at least while they are a light and they do stay a light all night no one would run into my boat unless they were blind. Anyway works for me and makes me feel a little more comfortable.
MARK

[kingtin]

obviously the plonker who parked a 30 foot Cat in the very MIDDLE of the main channel a few weekends ago WITHOUT so much as a candle couldnt answer the question above....at 1.00am he would woken to a VERY loud airhorn coming straight in his port window as I went past on the plane....

Bloody hell! You fly low! http://smileys.smileycentral.com/cat/7/7_2_116.gif (http://www.smileycentral.com/?partner=ZSzeb001_ZNfox000)


kev

[charleville]

Remember also, the all-round light on a vessel less than 50m must be visible for 2 miles.

..but....but....but.... down at the 'Pin, the trees would get in the way. ;D

[seatime]

..but....but....but.... down at the 'Pin, the trees would get in the way. ;D

some boaties frequent areas other than the "Pin", like overnighting off Moreton, Straddie, Barwon Banks or anywhere off the coast where they may encounter merchant shipping.
From the bridge of a ship small anchor lights are best seen under good conditions at as far a range as possible. Add a dimly lit light + restricted visibility from salt spray and/or rain, no target on the radar, and the chances for detection decrease for that small craft.

There was an incident a few years back off the Sunny Coast - a small vessel was out fishing overnight, they bunked down for a kip with the anchor light on. They were struck by a ship in good conditions, fortunately there were no serious injuries though the boat was badly damaged. During the course of the investigation it was found the wrong globe was used in the all-round (anchor) light. The range of visibility of the light was less than 1 mile. The ship saw the light too late, took avoiding action but still struck the small boat.

Guess who was found to blame, the small boat. The light was insufficient. Goodbye insurance also. The owner/skipper of the small boat either didn't understand the lighting requirements, or didn't give a sh!t. It could have been a lot worse, and there has been a lot worse.:(

[Fish Guts]

very good point made there gelsec. those solar lights should never be used as anchor lights. and whats with the trend of these flashing anchor lights. was up at watoomba creek, fraser and about 20 boats had them flashing. one of the most annoying things looking at flashing lights all night.

[ozscott]

yep I was Kev:) I know that some people dont have the all around light on at the pin, but it shits me no end. One of the worst cases I saw was a little work/dive pontoon - only a foot out of the water with a small handrail - about 8 foot long and 23 foot across left at the very south eastern side of the mooring area out from Horizon Shores - but more south east than the area you normally encounter boats moored.... missed it on a pitch black night only because using my previous experience with that area I had dug out the spotty and turned it on only moments before.

Cheers

[Dignity]

Scott, try a replacement LED bulb - usually sell for about $20 and can be seen for miles and will last you lots longer. I got mine from Dick Smths. There are special Anchor light replacements that sell for about $50 but I am not sure they are worth it as I have gone for long walks on the beach and have bee able to see my light from an awfully long distance.

[seamaid]

Bloody hell! You fly low! http://smileys.smileycentral.com/cat/7/7_2_116.gif (http://www.smileycentral.com/?partner=ZSzeb001_ZNfox000)


kev
;D ;D ;D ;D ;D
LOVE YAR POST
Seamaid

[Taroona]

If your bulb or LED light is not an approved one an insurance company will wipe you if you have an accident.

Must be seen for 2Nm

[Dignity]

Taroona, most fancy craft they sell these days seem to have that short stem on the starboard transom which would not be legal as it would not be considered an All round anchor light as the cabin would shield 75% of the light. I would think the insurance cos would be more concerned eith that item rather than the intensity of the bulb, picky as they are.

And I am with Charleville, no way of telling how far away some yatchs are away with the bloody thing 2 miles high in the sky although ozscott planes high enough to see them. I've seen them offshore thinking they are a long way off and a couple of minutes later look up and the bloody thing is right next to me.