anchor light, 1200 mile trip

[Sunset]

I'm trying to prepare my boat for a trip to the keys this fall from Kentucky lake and I need a new LED anchor light. I have a 84 islander 28 and have never been or am I going to the top of the mast. So I don't know what to buy. Are most mast heads around the same? What would be a reasonable light to get? I'm going to have someone at the marina install it along with checking out the rigging up there. Any help or thoughts would be appreciated.

Scott

[Phantom Jim]

The anchor light does not need to be at the masthead and there is some debate whether the masthead is the best location.  Many hang the light from the forestay as high as one can tie it.  Others hang the light from the aft of the boom. 

It just needs to be seen.

[Phantom Jim]

These are examples of portable anchor lights.  They are versatile and inexpensive and can be hung from the standing rigging or hoisted with running rigging.  LED lights are easier on a small boat's electrical capabilities.  Kerosene anchor lights are available but are more expensive. 

On Phantom, we deploy the anchor light from the forestay about head high.  Occasionally from the aft end of the main boom.  These lights are legal and may have better visability than a masthead light.

https://www.amazon.com/Navigation-360%C2%B012V-Waterproof-Cockpit-Portable/dp/B07F8YXJ1J

https://www.westmarine.com/buy/davis-instruments--mega-light-led-utility-light--370372?cm_mmc=PS-_-Google-_-GSC%3ENonB%3EProduct%2520Type-_-370372&product_id=370372&creative=108421552324&device=c&matchtype=&network=g&gclid=EAIaIQobChMI_sr1hKH36QIVEPDACh0UJwlVEAQYAyABEgJCZfD_BwE

https://www.defender.com/category.jsp?id=2312565&path=-1|65136

[CharlieJ]

I'm one of those who say the anchor light at the mast head is the WORST place for it. Perhaps if you anchor where ships run, but I don't anchor whee a ship might  hit me. My concern is other sail boats, and the pre dawn fishermen, Used to use a kero light in the fore triangle.. Now I use an LED light hung off the backstay above the boom.

COLREGS says "in the forepart of the vessel, or where it can best be seen"

[Lars]

https://store.marinebeam.com/utility-led-anchor-light-w-dusk-to-dawn-photocell-fx-ml-01/

Great light and very bright. Order a spare bulb mine is 6 feet up on the backstay

[CapnK]

https://store.marinebeam.com/utility-led-anchor-light-w-dusk-to-dawn-photocell-fx-ml-01/

Great light and very bright. Order a spare bulb mine is 6 feet up on the backstay

Many moons ago I took one of the non-LED versions of this light and put an LED into it. Lost the 'dawn/dusk' functionality, but that wasn't much of a drawback and I still have and use it.

[Sunset]

All great ideas, but I want to keep the mast anchor light. But along with that I was going to install led lights around the boat at a lower position also. Maybe one on the pulpit and one on the backstay just above the full Bimini. I don't think you can have too many lights on an anchored boat. I've seen to many 200 HP fishing boats flying across the water in predawn, for what ever reason they do that.

Scott

[Phantom Jim]

Defender has a variety of smaller masthead lights. Any will do if it fits up there.

[Lars]

I've been in crowded anchorages like marathon and from the dinghy on moonless nights the masthead anchor lights look like stars above your head. Mine looks like a 27 foot sailboat lit up by a bigass white light. You will sleep better with the light down low illuminating the boat.

[CharlieJ]

+1

[Phantom Jim]

+2

[CapnK]

The underwater lights mounted at the waterline like they are putting on lots of fishing boats now are also a good low-level "Hey, here I am, don't hit me..." signal. As a bonus, they attract wildlife. ;D

Only drawback is that they are/could be a hole below waterline. I imagine you could bypass any worries about that if you glassed them in, and also glassed the wires running to them up against the hull, up and well above the waterline, so that any leak around the fixture would stay outside of the boat.

Or just make them to where they could be hung off the side of boat when anchored. Hmmm...  :D

[Phantom Jim]

The OP was looking for a masthead anchor light and several replies addressed this. 

An additional concern would be the possibility of an electrical failure, particularly a lightening strike (heaven forbid this happen to anybody).  The lightening strike may well disable all electrical systems on the boat leaving it without any ability to display electrical running or anchor lights.

This leaves the boat vulnerable to boat traffic at the most inopportune time.  Battery powered anchor lights or lamp oil lit anchor lights correct this problem. 

Prudent seamanship would be to have these capabilities aboard.

[CapnK]

Good point about having backups, with one caveat: that particular style of battery powered light, I've had several (like 4 or 5), and know from experience that they aren't worth the ink used to print a logo on them. :D Innovative usually makes a better product than that...

The smaller grey ones from Attwood, while still not what I would consider "high quality", at least will last longer, and are more waterproof. I still have my first pair. :) Amazon has a description here.

[Norman]

For battery powered lights, go modern, LED bulbs only.

I do have conventional incandescent battery powered mast head and bow lights, but they are ancient.  I would not spend money on such technology now.

I also have a kerosene combination bow light that I have not used in 50 years with the kerosene lamp.

[Bob J (ex-misfits)]

I have an incandescent bulb in my mast head anchor light. Cost me $5.00 for a two pack.  It draws less than .5 amps per hour.  I anchor out quite a bit, that's only 5 amps if it's lit for 10 hours.  Not sure why everyone drinks the koolaid when it comes to certain boat stuff.

[Norman]

My 6 volt lantern battery is 9.7 amp hours, lasts 2 nights, just barely.
It costs $5, so $2.50 per night.

My modern LED draws less than 1/4th as much, and lasts a week, or 60 cents a night.

The actual costs are even less, as the LED light uses small rechargeable batteries, and I have a small solar charger, so although the batteries cost more, they last for the entire trip.

My anchor light hangs from the back stay to light the cockpit, or from the forestay if I want the insects to congregate away from me.

With others, I have come to realize an anchor light should be at eye level for a runabout size craft to be seen by the amateurs.

I do have a masthead light fed from the ships battery, but it is not adequate for safety on inshore waters.

[Godot]

I have an incandescent bulb in my mast head anchor light. Cost me $5.00 for a two pack.  It draws less than .5 amps per hour.  I anchor out quite a bit, that's only 5 amps if it's lit for 10 hours.  Not sure why everyone drinks the koolaid when it comes to certain boat stuff.

Well...that is a pretty efficient incandescent. Typically I think most anchor incandescent lights are going to be around 10 watts. Figure, that means you will probably be using about one amp-hour per hour or ten amp-hours a night (assuming you remember to turn the light off) or twice what you suggest (10 watts / 12 point something volts = maybe .8 amps + add in some loss for the wire...close enough to say one amp-hour/hour).

10 amp-hours may not be the end of the world. After all, boats have been using incandescent lights for decades. However, depending on your battery and charging capacity it could be significant.

Let's say you have an Interstate Group 24 Deep Cycle battery. A pretty typical small boat battery. According to their webpage, this is an 81 amp-hour battery. Given that you really shouldn't discharge below, say, 50%, this gives you roughly 40 usable amp-hours. The anchor light would use up a quarter of that in one night.

But it is actually worse, because getting the batteries charged back up again can be difficult. Even with good solar (or other charging system), resistance starts going up and the battery starts getting a bit reluctant to take much of a charge once you get past 85% full or so. It will get there eventually, but it gets slower and slower. A rule of thumb I hear a lot is to plan on 35% usable battery capacity. That is only 28 amp-hours or so, assuming a newish battery. That means we are really using a third of our usable battery capacity every night just for the anchor light. Never mind any other electronics and lights that might be running.

Of course, bigger battery banks are an option, as is better charging options; but that ain't exactly cheap either. Might as well go for LED and skip having to climb the mast every so often to change that $2.50 bulb.

I do speak from some experience here. I've spent a lot of time in the past trying to manage the power of an older battery and became really jealous of the electrons running up the mast at night. I still sometimes have power issues (my system is beginning to get pretty good now-a-days); but no matter what I don't mind running the LED anchor light anymore (in my case an old BEBI that I picked up years ago and usually hang from the backstay).

LEDs are also brighter, which makes me feel better.

But, your mileage may vary. If it works for you it works for you, and that really is all that matters.

[Phantom Jim]

The attached photo has three anchor lights displayed on Phantom.  The light at the top is a 12v  incandescent bulb.  The light at the right is a Davis Anchor Light 12v LED light hung from the main topping lift.  The light on the left is a kerosene lantern anchor light.

As one can see, the Davis LED is the brightest light and the kerosene is the dimmest.  The kerosene lamp is USCG approved as an anchor light.

We prefer the rigging suspended Davis light because it is easier for water surface boaters to see.  We also like the kerosene lamp because the glow is distinctive and will draw attention.

Hope this helps.

[CharlieJ]

Before I got my Bebi LED light