I have a question that I would like help with. I want to mount an anchor light at the top of the mast. I was wondering if I could get some guidance from someone on the best way to go about doing this?
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anchor lights?????
hey! there are many ways to to show an anchor light. i use a kerosine lamp and hang it from the boom over the cockpit it works as a cockpit light and a anchor light!!! works realy great. or you can mast mount a light wich means wiring and switches and a power drain on your batts. read the coast guard rules for your size boat it may not be nessesary to even have a light. you generaly don't need a light on unless your anchored near a active chanell or out of a normal dockumented anchorage area check it out the coast guard has all the ansewers.
hey! there are many ways to to show an anchor light. i use a kerosine lamp and hang it from the boom over the cockpit it works as a cockpit light and a anchor light!!! works realy great. or you can mast mount a light wich means wiring and switches and a power drain on your batts. read the coast guard rules for your size boat it may not be nessesary to even have a light. you generaly don't need a light on unless your anchored near a active chanell or out of a normal dockumented anchorage area check it out the coast guard has all the ansewers.
Anchor lights
I just put a new light on my 23. I recommend the new light from Davis. It comes complete with a stainless mount, uses very little power and has a dusk to dawn switch built in so it shuts off during daylight hours. Make sure you anchor the wire with a tie wrap or tape it securely to the thru bolt at the masthead fitting so the strain is on the main wire and not on the fitting. The lights are available from West Marine. People tell me they use very little power. I rewired mine is a separate switch so I can use it as an anchor light as as a steaming light.
I just put a new light on my 23. I recommend the new light from Davis. It comes complete with a stainless mount, uses very little power and has a dusk to dawn switch built in so it shuts off during daylight hours. Make sure you anchor the wire with a tie wrap or tape it securely to the thru bolt at the masthead fitting so the strain is on the main wire and not on the fitting. The lights are available from West Marine. People tell me they use very little power. I rewired mine is a separate switch so I can use it as an anchor light as as a steaming light.
Anchor Lights
Hi Jim; In reply to "nwsailordude", I am failry certain that if you intend on anchoring anywhere other than a protected special anchorage area (as shown on your chart) you'll need some sort of anchor light. It needs to be a 360 degree or all-around type and should have a minimum visability in clear weather of up to two miles I think (check Chapman's). Lanterns and oil lamps may not give you that coverage and have to hung from the forward stay about halfway up the stay. I put a anchor light on a 6" stub mast on my mast head on my 1979 O'Day 22 CB. I drilled out the mast head and tapped the holes with a number ten drill tap. I set the light with #10 machine screws (stnls). I ran the hot and ground wire down the mast using an electrician's snake (available at Home Depot). I also replaced the steaming light (mast light that is mounted 2/3 of the way up the mast - pointing forward) and used the old wires as a drag line for the new wires. I pulled 3 new wires up from the base of the mast (while the mast was down for the winter) up to the mast light opening. The 3 wires were a shared ground for the anchor light and mast light as well as seperate positive feeds to each light. I then fished the electrician's snake down from the top of the mast through a 1/2" hole tapped into the top of the mast down to the mast light hole was. I connected the two leads to the anchor light (after splicing the ground to the mast light) and pulled them up the rest of the mast using the snake. I had to make a new thru-deck fitting for the deck connector and fitted both ends of the wires with a weather-proof plug-type connector. The anchor light doesn't really draw that much juice unless you are running a bunch of other accessories as well. Your battery, if in good shape and decently charged, should be more than able to run a anchor light for 8 hours. I usually turn it on only when I am not on watch at night as I (like most small boat sailors) hate to use up the battery. I can send you a wiring diagram is you want. Let me know (mitshu@juno.com). Happy sailing! Stu Timm "Karakahl" 1979 O'Day 22 CB
Hi Jim; In reply to "nwsailordude", I am failry certain that if you intend on anchoring anywhere other than a protected special anchorage area (as shown on your chart) you'll need some sort of anchor light. It needs to be a 360 degree or all-around type and should have a minimum visability in clear weather of up to two miles I think (check Chapman's). Lanterns and oil lamps may not give you that coverage and have to hung from the forward stay about halfway up the stay. I put a anchor light on a 6" stub mast on my mast head on my 1979 O'Day 22 CB. I drilled out the mast head and tapped the holes with a number ten drill tap. I set the light with #10 machine screws (stnls). I ran the hot and ground wire down the mast using an electrician's snake (available at Home Depot). I also replaced the steaming light (mast light that is mounted 2/3 of the way up the mast - pointing forward) and used the old wires as a drag line for the new wires. I pulled 3 new wires up from the base of the mast (while the mast was down for the winter) up to the mast light opening. The 3 wires were a shared ground for the anchor light and mast light as well as seperate positive feeds to each light. I then fished the electrician's snake down from the top of the mast through a 1/2" hole tapped into the top of the mast down to the mast light hole was. I connected the two leads to the anchor light (after splicing the ground to the mast light) and pulled them up the rest of the mast using the snake. I had to make a new thru-deck fitting for the deck connector and fitted both ends of the wires with a weather-proof plug-type connector. The anchor light doesn't really draw that much juice unless you are running a bunch of other accessories as well. Your battery, if in good shape and decently charged, should be more than able to run a anchor light for 8 hours. I usually turn it on only when I am not on watch at night as I (like most small boat sailors) hate to use up the battery. I can send you a wiring diagram is you want. Let me know (mitshu@juno.com). Happy sailing! Stu Timm "Karakahl" 1979 O'Day 22 CB
Dual Masthead...
I've done the same as Stu to an extent. I don't know if I'd want to be without a light as newsailor suggests, no matter where you are. If they can't see you, they can't avoid you! The item Stu is talking about is called a fish tape, and is very helpful in pulling through the mast. They come in fiberglass or spring steel. Get a fifty footer as it will come in handy in almost any project where you have to get wire from pt. a to pt. b! It's what I do for a living
Stu has it down pat too, the only other suggestion I'd make is to look into the masthead/steaming light combo. I did this to raise my steaming light and to do away with the one 3/4 up the mast. The plastic was in bad shape on the old one, and had been chewed up by the halyards running past it. I didn't tap the mast head as Stu did, I just found some small machine thread screws, put them through from the bottom so they were near flush and used a bolt on top. This keeps anything from being in the way of your halyards running through up there. The only problem I ran into was finding a decent through deck fitting, and the one I did find really isn't acceptable. It will work for now, but will be replaced eventually. I have to find something that I think will last a long time first! Josh
I've done the same as Stu to an extent. I don't know if I'd want to be without a light as newsailor suggests, no matter where you are. If they can't see you, they can't avoid you! The item Stu is talking about is called a fish tape, and is very helpful in pulling through the mast. They come in fiberglass or spring steel. Get a fifty footer as it will come in handy in almost any project where you have to get wire from pt. a to pt. b! It's what I do for a living
Stu has it down pat too, the only other suggestion I'd make is to look into the masthead/steaming light combo. I did this to raise my steaming light and to do away with the one 3/4 up the mast. The plastic was in bad shape on the old one, and had been chewed up by the halyards running past it. I didn't tap the mast head as Stu did, I just found some small machine thread screws, put them through from the bottom so they were near flush and used a bolt on top. This keeps anything from being in the way of your halyards running through up there. The only problem I ran into was finding a decent through deck fitting, and the one I did find really isn't acceptable. It will work for now, but will be replaced eventually. I have to find something that I think will last a long time first! Josh- Status