What do you have at the top of your mast? I have the (unfotunate) opportunity to start from scratch. VHF? HDTV? Windex? Any cables you ran, but don't use? Tri-color light or just anchor light?
What do you have at the top of your mast?
- Thread starter SDS3 Sailors
- Start date
Ooof... well VHF is line of sight so getting the antenna up high is an advantage.
I would not put an anchor light up that high. When you are driving a boat in the dark through mist and fog... you are not looking up but looking forward and side-to-side. A light that high might be missed. I would put the anchor light much lower on the mast if I were to permanantly mount an anchor light. I don't though... I hang a camping "lantern" like one of these from my boom...
I would not put an anchor light up that high. When you are driving a boat in the dark through mist and fog... you are not looking up but looking forward and side-to-side. A light that high might be missed. I would put the anchor light much lower on the mast if I were to permanantly mount an anchor light. I don't though... I hang a camping "lantern" like one of these from my boom...
The anchor light goes on the top. You are not moving when the anchor light is on!
No, but the other guy is, and he’ll be the one not looking up. Having said that when I’ve looked across an anchorage I’ve never felt like an anchor light was too high up to see unless you’re really up too close to it anyway. Personally I think having the light up a little higher also helps keep it out of the background light of anything else on shore.
I’d say the VHF antenna and wind vane are the minimum, and anchor light would be my preference. I’d add an NMEA2000 anemometer also if there are plans for a chart plotter, autopilot, or electronic wind display of any kind.
I wouldn’t bother with a TV antenna personally. Anyplace where I could get TV reception I’d figure on also having cell coverage, and I’d just tether off my phone to watch tv on a tablet if I wanted.
Yes! That is the point I was trying to make. And edging through a fog, you will not be looking up. I concede your point about looking across an anchorage and background light but when I am cruising, I seldom anchor in an "ANCHORAGE" but rather look for a cove tucked away. It has not been uncommon to have a fishing boat pass close by a little before sunrise. And I don't trust them to be looking up
so I keep a light hanging off of my boom.
jssailem
SBO Weather and Forecasting Forum Jim & John
- Oct 22, 2014
- 22,752
There is nothing that says you cannot have the Light on the top of your mast (traditional and as prescribed in the ColRegs) and a light dangling somewhere on the rigging (also permitted in the ColRegs).
A non functional anchor light, doesn't seem to matter which boat.
A non functional windex 75% of the time.
And lot of spider webs.
A non functional windex 75% of the time.
And lot of spider webs.
I suspect there's a village of spiders living at the top of my mast
I wouldn’t bother with a TV antenna personally. Anyplace where I could get TV reception I’d figure on also having cell coverage, and I’d just tether off my phone to watch tv on a tablet if I wanted.
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I've been to plenty of west coast spots like Catalina, anchored further outside either harbor phone can be spotty to nothing, but we're always able to flip through some 50 or so channels we won't watch anyway lol. It's really just for morning news with coffee. I have an amplified omnidirectional HD or whatever antenna up there. I think it works pretty good on my h410.
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I've been to plenty of west coast spots like Catalina, anchored further outside either harbor phone can be spotty to nothing, but we're always able to flip through some 50 or so channels we won't watch anyway lol. It's really just for morning news with coffee. I have an amplified omnidirectional HD or whatever antenna up there. I think it works pretty good on my h410.
Windex is helpful to determine wind direction with a glance. Suggest removing the wings on the windex as they are not really helpful to most of us and can end up misaligned or not calibrated for your boat anyway. Anchor light on top is necessary. Many sailors do not use anchor light when in a rented mooring field, but I find it particularly useful then when trying to locate my boat from my dinghy or even a launch taxi on a dark moonless night in a crowded field. VHF antenna and wind speed device, if you have one, also need to fit up there. No need for lightning repeller brush, use magic spells instead and just as effective. Give some thought to birds landing up there and damaging things.
Cameras are becoming popular. I've also seen a flagstaff device that puts the flag above your mast on a pole. A remote thermometer might be fun for the scientifically inclined.
Kewl! I had not thought about that but a wireless bluetooth cam would be really fun.
Its called a pig-stick
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