Regulation changes
- Thread starter Ctskip
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They Did?????
Ahoy CTSkip; Who are they? As far as I know as long as the light meets visibilty requirements you can hand anyting out there. Fair Winds Cap'n Dave
Ahoy CTSkip; Who are they? As far as I know as long as the light meets visibilty requirements you can hand anyting out there. Fair Winds Cap'n Dave
Coast Guard Reg
Skip, Here's the verbiage from the Coast Guard regs Rule 21. "Sidelights" means a green light on the starboard side and a red light on the port side each showing an unbroken light over an arc of the horizon of 112.5 degrees and so fixed as to show the light from right ahead to 22.5 degrees abaft the beam on its respective side. In a vessel of less than 20 meters in length the sidelights may be combined in one lantern carried on the fore and aft centerline of the vessel, except that on a vessel of less than 12 meters in length the sidelights when combined in one lantern shall be placed as nearly as practicable to the fore and aft centerline of the vessel So, would the "shark eye" lights meet the 22.5 degree arc requirement? Fair winds, Jim
Skip, Here's the verbiage from the Coast Guard regs Rule 21. "Sidelights" means a green light on the starboard side and a red light on the port side each showing an unbroken light over an arc of the horizon of 112.5 degrees and so fixed as to show the light from right ahead to 22.5 degrees abaft the beam on its respective side. In a vessel of less than 20 meters in length the sidelights may be combined in one lantern carried on the fore and aft centerline of the vessel, except that on a vessel of less than 12 meters in length the sidelights when combined in one lantern shall be placed as nearly as practicable to the fore and aft centerline of the vessel So, would the "shark eye" lights meet the 22.5 degree arc requirement? Fair winds, Jim
Older style
Hi Ctskip - As far as I know, the older style "in-hull" type are legal - they just don't make them anymore. Why? Because they can easily get submerged in waves and have a tendency to get water in them leading to shorting, corrosion and failure. Trevor
Hi Ctskip - As far as I know, the older style "in-hull" type are legal - they just don't make them anymore. Why? Because they can easily get submerged in waves and have a tendency to get water in them leading to shorting, corrosion and failure. Trevor
The ones now are cheaper.
The lights currently used are mostly made out of plastict and the installation time has been cut significantly thus reducing labor cost. Before they had to cut two holes in the hull, wire two locations, and install a two fixtures instead of one. These required sealant, gaskets and a two sets of screws. Currently they affix one bracket and the eletrical wire. It just so happens that from the maintenance standpoint the current ones are better. They comply with the refgulations even though they may be harder to read than the so called shark.
The lights currently used are mostly made out of plastict and the installation time has been cut significantly thus reducing labor cost. Before they had to cut two holes in the hull, wire two locations, and install a two fixtures instead of one. These required sealant, gaskets and a two sets of screws. Currently they affix one bracket and the eletrical wire. It just so happens that from the maintenance standpoint the current ones are better. They comply with the refgulations even though they may be harder to read than the so called shark.
We used to call the new style lights 'euro'.
It looks like the CG regs are now right out of the euro light owners manual.
It looks like the CG regs are now right out of the euro light owners manual.
Jim C., how about the 122 degree
requirement? By definition, how would a light on a flat surface (or relatively flat) be able to be seen from any more than a 90 degree angle? I recall a friend of mine having such "shark lights" and having to put another, more modern light on his boat to meet Coast Guard requirements. Hey, that does not mean that you cannot have "Shark Ligts" of you like the look of them, it just means that you have to have the other lights, that meet the regulations. (I don't know if you could display them both at the same time or not, but if you just like the look of the "Shark lights" you could certainly put them on your boat, as long as you met the regulations with the other lights.)
requirement? By definition, how would a light on a flat surface (or relatively flat) be able to be seen from any more than a 90 degree angle? I recall a friend of mine having such "shark lights" and having to put another, more modern light on his boat to meet Coast Guard requirements. Hey, that does not mean that you cannot have "Shark Ligts" of you like the look of them, it just means that you have to have the other lights, that meet the regulations. (I don't know if you could display them both at the same time or not, but if you just like the look of the "Shark lights" you could certainly put them on your boat, as long as you met the regulations with the other lights.)
Oh, most certainly, go ahead...
and put two more unnecessary holes in the bow of your boat where if you do any sort of serious sailing, you'll most certainly pound the h#!! out of them, no one can see them, and they'll probably leak. "Shark Eyes", sounds like some childhood dream. Don't even ask for a Coast Guard inspection with those installed. Keep it on the lake and you'll be OK. Oh, Capt. Dave, "THEY" are the United States Coast Guard!
and put two more unnecessary holes in the bow of your boat where if you do any sort of serious sailing, you'll most certainly pound the h#!! out of them, no one can see them, and they'll probably leak. "Shark Eyes", sounds like some childhood dream. Don't even ask for a Coast Guard inspection with those installed. Keep it on the lake and you'll be OK. Oh, Capt. Dave, "THEY" are the United States Coast Guard!
Well you got me,
After re-reading the regs I now see that the 112.5 degrees is on each side which would be a total 225 degrees arc of the horizon. So, what I didn't get is the 22.5 degrees is "abaft the beam" or in addition to the initial 90 degrees. Must be government-ese I don't understand. Jim
After re-reading the regs I now see that the 112.5 degrees is on each side which would be a total 225 degrees arc of the horizon. So, what I didn't get is the 22.5 degrees is "abaft the beam" or in addition to the initial 90 degrees. Must be government-ese I don't understand. Jim
Its all about range ...
Bow lights have to be visible though an arc, no problem for either lamps in the hull at the sheer or on the pulpit. The big difference is that lights on the pulpit can be seen from further away due to increased height. Offshore racing rules require that nav lights be at the height of the upper lifelines (or higher). The idea is that they can been seen over greater distances. Another problem with the "eyes" is the lenses, sailboat nav lights have to be visible over a greater range of heel than motorboat nav lights. The old shark eye lights have simple lenses so they require higher wattage lamps to get the range and angle required. The way I read the regs, old boats are grandfathered, but new boats cannot have the lights so low. BTW if you race, you may be required to have a back-up set of nav lights in case the primary set fails or gets damaged. The easy solution is to have a masthead tri-colour for sailing and use the lower lights when motoring. I'm thinking about putting a pair of high intensity fog lights in the old shark eye holes. I'll use them for docking and for log watch at night.
Bow lights have to be visible though an arc, no problem for either lamps in the hull at the sheer or on the pulpit. The big difference is that lights on the pulpit can be seen from further away due to increased height. Offshore racing rules require that nav lights be at the height of the upper lifelines (or higher). The idea is that they can been seen over greater distances. Another problem with the "eyes" is the lenses, sailboat nav lights have to be visible over a greater range of heel than motorboat nav lights. The old shark eye lights have simple lenses so they require higher wattage lamps to get the range and angle required. The way I read the regs, old boats are grandfathered, but new boats cannot have the lights so low. BTW if you race, you may be required to have a back-up set of nav lights in case the primary set fails or gets damaged. The easy solution is to have a masthead tri-colour for sailing and use the lower lights when motoring. I'm thinking about putting a pair of high intensity fog lights in the old shark eye holes. I'll use them for docking and for log watch at night.
Honeyman
You know the Cost Guard is THEY for a fact or you just assuming? Seems the CtSkip is from Oklahoma The only coast there is in the middle of the state. :>) Fair Winds Cap'n Dave
You know the Cost Guard is THEY for a fact or you just assuming? Seems the CtSkip is from Oklahoma The only coast there is in the middle of the state. :>) Fair Winds Cap'n Dave
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