bow lights

[stevelima]

Just got done making my bow lights. In keeping with the all wood process. The mounting flange is made of oak and the light housing is white pine. I don't think it turned out too bad. Tell me what you think. This finishes up the building portion of this Plyak project. Clear coat and then it's off to the water to see if the silly thing floats. (with me in it, that is ) My daughter now wants to start her own project. Just not sure what it will be.

[Stumble]

The fixture looks great, but I have doubts that the lights themselves have the full range required for running lights. They need to be visable from dead ahead to 112 1/2 degrees aft. The pictures were indistict, but didn't indicate that range.

[stevelima]

thank you for your comment. The lights are angled 25 degrees each past the 180 degree mark. The sides of the lights do have clear covering so they can be seen from the side of boat.180 degree plus 25 degree each total of 130 degrees.

[gonzo]

They look like illegal lights. The third photo should be showing a green light only.

[Poida]

Hmm, any craft that size here only needs a white light visible 360deg.
Or if you are diving off the boat an orange flashing light 360deg.
Port and starboard lights are mounted midship but visible from the front.
A white light on the stern

Since that light is fitted with a rope loop it looks as if it is made for the purpose for which it was used and probably legal.

However if a rope was fitted to the front it would create another law violation here because the rope would obscure the light.

[Stumble]

If the lights run that far back, they would actually be illegal for coming that far back. Though the USCG doesn't really worry about that too much.

Gonzo's concern to me seems a little over the top... The housing looks like it was scavenged from a commercial unit, with a custon housing built for it. If that is the case, at loeast in the US the leakage isn't really a concern. But it does look like there is a seperator missing.

[Ike]

I spent a lot of time inspecting nav lights on new boats and there is no way those will comply with the regulations. This may not be a big deal on a one off boat. Especially one that doesn't require them. Building your own light enclosure and lights may have been a fun experience but it had to cost far more than a stock set off the shelf (and they would have been in compliance).

Nice looking boat

[Submarine Tom]

Better than no lights at all!

-Tom

[PAR]

That's a nicely crafted light, but it's not legal. If it was painted, I don't think the local harbor patrol would give you a hard time, but if it was varnished, it might draw enough attention that you'd probably get some questions. It clearly has no separator, which is an easy fix. A side blinder set at 112.5 degrees (each side) would solve the other issue, but the last question is, are the lights viable for 2 miles? The picture doesn't offer enough to determine this. My understanding Peter, is if you have them, they have to conform, correct?

[Ike]

Yep. You don't have to have them, if you never use the boat at night. My boat doesn't have any lights (but I carry a flashlight in my tackle box which makes it legal if I get caught out after dark) But if you have them they have to be legal.

[stevelima]

Yes there is a separation bar between the lights.Total cost of the of the lights is $3.00

[PAR]

The separator is intended to block port side light, if viewed from the starboard quarter (and the opposite of course). Your lights appear divided, but don't have a separator to prevent "light bleed". This can be very confusing at night, when you rely on the light configuration to estimate an approximate approach angle for a passing situation.

The 112.5 degree limit is also another element of the design that we rely on, to determine direction and approximate course. A wider angle will will fool folks into thinking you are on a steeper angle on some overtake situations, which again can be dangerous. Lastly, can these lamps be seen at a distance of 2 miles.

[keysdisease]

They aren't 'certified' and therefore are not in compliance whether they meet any of the other requirements or not.

That said not too many Coasties will pull out a protractor to measure arc of visibility.

Many may be familiar with "shark eye" type flush mounted running lights. Because they are flush mounted in the hull and the arcs of visibility are as varied as the number of boats they are mounted on none of them are "legal" either, yet they are extremely popular, especially on small fishing boats like flats boats.

Typically, if a Coastie counts your jackets and checks the dates on your flares that is considered a thorough inspection, and rightfully so in most cases. I think PAR hit it on the head, if you don't draw too much attention to it it will probably never be an issue.

Steve

[Ike]

On a on off small boat like that your likelihood of being inspected by anyone is near zero (and that's from a retired Coastie) All the nav lights I looked at over the years were at boat factories and boatshows. It was a rare case when I looked at one on the water, unless it was an in the water boat show. Unless the lights are above the deck most boarding officers don't look at them unless it is a night (and most boardings are done in daylight because it is safer). Few boarding officers, USCG, State or local are going to lean over the bow to look at and measure those damn bulls eye lights. It's dangerous and almost impossible to accurately measure where the angles are.

Yes. nav lights are required to be certified. But here's a quote from my web site http://newboatbuilders.com/pages/navlts.html

The navigation rules on postioning of lights apply to anyone who installs lights whether it be the builder or the owner/operator. The rules require they be installed correctly. The rules for certification of lights apply only to manufacturers, dealers and distibutors.

So these don't have to be certified.

But I could make a good argument that the lights are illegal because then he is showing his boat as something other than what it is, and there is in the nav rules, a rule about showing lights that are confusing or misleading. Showing red and green only indicates this is a sailboat. If he adds an all round white then it is being shown as a powerboat. So really, if he goes out at night he should just use a flashlight.

As for the bulls eye or shark eye lights, I have been campaigning against those for decades. I believe they should be taken out of the inland rules. They are not permitted under the international rules. I have never (and I have seen hundreds of them) seen any that meet the horizontal and vertical sectors, and being below the deck level they are just plain hard to see on most boats that have them. I have ordered numerous manufacturers to do recalls for those lights.

[stevelima]

My question is what is the differance between these lights and mine. I'm sure learning alot about lights from you guys. thank you. Tha one I followed was the Bow bi color.