That blows my mind. Are there sailors that actually don't care about functioning navigation lights? I can't imagine even daysailing without knowing they are in working order.
An adventure with my mast light
- Thread starter Brian D
- Start date
You can do what any electrician would and that is to rewire around that plug. Cut an opening if needed, fish the wiring out near the base of the mast and install a new deck plug. Wiring seems to be suffering from age so perhaps a full rewire would be a better long term option.
On my boat that top light is 360 degrees and labeled the anchor light, used at anchor only. The mid mast light is for motoring and is not a full 360, probably 180-225 etc and is a steaming light for motoring at night. Neither used when under sail only at night when I use running lights, red/green and white aft off the rear pulpit. The anchor and mid-mast steaming are a pain in the ass to keep working. Maybe not the same setup on all sailboats?????
Sailors out here on the Great Salt Lake have been spreading rumors for years that the high content salt water will eat a power boats outdrive, engine and even the fiberglass! So the only powerboats on the lake are commercial (brineshrimp) and the authorities. So, many old salts aren't worried about getting run over by a power boat in the dark. But when the harbormaster is out on the Rescue One boat and almost hits someone it becomes a theme for the year. I agree with you it makes no sense. But I have witnessed a sailboat slip out of the dark on my port side and scare the s$%t out of me.....
I listened to the CRYING need and bypassed the bus, car, taxi, terminal block. Direct wired with waterproof connections, and tucked and taped it up out of the path of the water. Glad i went looking for it, my bilge pump was wired in there and the connection had fallen off. I would rather be lucky than good any day of the week, and this was one of those "lucky" moments for me!
As you probably leave your mast up year-round and rarely if ever drop it, that's a solid plan. For our Canadian friends who drop every year, those strips are a God-send. Not wild about the location and exposure however. Salt water in the bilge?? Who would have thought??
Not trying to be a NitPic but sometimes we use incorrect or pedestrian terms instead of the proper name which leads to confusion.
The all-around white light at the masthead is not a "masthead light". That is the anchor light per COLREGs. The light you call the steaming light at mid-mast is the "Masthead light" is required anytime the boat is motor propelled and must cover an unobstructed 235º forward facing arc.
Here is a picture of what my power panel has:
When I turn on the "Running Lights" the red/green bow and stern white light come on. When I turn on the "Masthead light" the light on the top of the mast comes on. When I turn on the "spreader light" the deck light comes on. When I turn on the "Bow Light" the light on the front of the mast comes on. So should I use the ColReg names and confuse my crew when I need something turned on? Perhaps I should rename the panel to match the ColRegs, but i know them by these names and my crew can read and know which light I am requesting on.
My boat is a 1982, perhaps the new sailboats have the correct terms on the panel?
YOU CAN TAKE IT DOWN?!? lol
i don't think I have saltwater in the bilge, but the marina is right by the smelter for the kennecott copper mines, and with all that crap in the air and the thick salt air EVERYTHING corrodes. Probably corroding my brain.....
Just because the wires are in a sheath does not mean that it is NM solid conductor cable. Romex is the most common brand name but even with Romex, you can get stranded conductor although it is also not suitable or marine use because it uses few large diameter strands.
I suspect that the cable in photo in post #19 is this duplex stranded cable.
It's not romex, although it does kinda look like that. About 10 years ago i had the base of the mast fixed as it was corroded and coming apart. I had sail Rite rigging (Kyle) come out and cut the base of the mast, put in a block to bring it back up to the same height for my standing rigging, reinstall a conduit in the mast (mine was ringing like a bell every night we were out on the boat) and rewire with new lights and fixtures. He installed three of these Romex looking wires for the three lights (top of the stick, front of the stick, and deck light) for the three circuits. They are Stranded, one black and one red. And it does say "Marine" on it just like the cable Hayden Watson pointed to. I had it all professionally done and Kyle does amazing work. I haven't seen him in years, rumor is that he is rigging for the America's cup races.
this got me thinking (a dangerous thing) and I asked this question:
My boat is a 1982, perhaps the new sailboats have the correct terms on the panel?
So I started to look at newer panels to see if it had changed, and it has! Masthead has been changed to 'Anchor Light", bow light is "Steaming Light" so that one doesn't follow the colregs completely, and the spreader lights are now called "Deck Lights". I guess I will have to update my panel and my brain. Not sure which will be more difficult......
When you consider alot of older boats did not even come with lighting and lights, we've come a long way. I wonder if your front-of-mast light was not intended to be the "motoring/steaming" light? with the proper arc of light? /// "Bow light" as YOU have it, would be easily confused with the (pulpit?) mounted runnng white light. I would have called it the "foredeck light" to lessen your confusuion. /// Remember, you're not labeling for those who know what they are doing, it is for those who DON'T know.