Boat Lighting Requirements

[defyet]

Hey all,

I was just wondering the requirements of the all round white light, can i mount it to the side at the back or does it have to be in the center at the back.

Reason i ask is because i got pulled up by the Maritime (during the day) and i already have the port/starboard lights mounted and he was complaining that the nav lights were a couple of degrees off and the back of the light needed to be brought out a touch. Even though it can easily been seen from the front and sides and whats a couple of degrees.

But then he told me the all round white light has to be in the center at the back inline with the bow and 1 metre higher then the nav lights??? But most boats i have seen at the boat ramp they are mounted to the side at the back and even the extendable lights only go up to 590mm. I cant find information anywhere, the maritime site only mentions it has to be seen 360 degrees and non obstructed? Is this correct? Im guessing he was just on a power trip and had nothing better to do but be an idiot.

[roosterman]

I always try to get it from the horses mouth so yo speak.

Give waterways a ring,get confirmation of all rules so no interpritations can be missled.

The white all round anchor light must be 1 mtr above side nav lights an visable 360 deg unobstructed for 2 klm..

Most boats are not legal with above rule and unfortunately maratime don't do a good job of letting boaties know of all these changes.

Best to keep checking web for changes every now and then.

Hope this helps..

Cheers... Steve...

[defyet]

Thanks,

I rang the Maritime and they were useless, he said the light has to be seen so it has to be high (no mention of height requirement) I said how high? He said high enough to be seen around the boat. I said can it be mounted to either side at the back or does it have to be in the centre. He said it can be mounted anywhere on the boat aslong as its in the centre.

I wish they had specific rules on their site like cars do with Australian Design Rules. I guess ill just mount it at the back in the centre. I can see why people mount them to the side though because on most boats there is no where to mount it in the middle at the back of the boat.

[marcel haber]

Mate I have mine on the rear right hand side of my boat sitting around 40 cm above the top sides of the boat.

I have been checked by fisheries on alot of occasions and there has been no issue with the lighting.

The rule book states that it needs to be visable 360 degrees.

I have mine hooked with my starboard and port lights and this way whether I am anchored, drifting or moving I can be seen quite clearly by all other vessels on the water.

Twin 1

[brickman]

this subject has been disgusted many times on fish raider and as with many rules regarding boats is open to diferant interpitations

i have helped many people with getting legal regarding night lights

there is in my opinion only i rule that is relevent

to be visable 360 deg

my night light is mounted at the rear right corner the boat has a cuddy cabin and quite a high bimini to abide by the 360deg rule my night light is 2 meters long

it has to be above the bimini now if i had a rocket launcher with rods in it it would have to be above the highest rod tip that would make my night light pole well over 3 meters long

i get pulled over all the time as i usuly hit the water around 3am and have never been hasseled about my night light i just wish they would take a trip up the parra river as i pass many boats on the way with non visable night lights

maritine and the water police are just doing there jobs and as we all know there are many fools on the water be very polite and friendly when you get checked

and treat them with the respect you would expect them to give you

cheers gary

[adjustedpete]

maritine and the water police are just doing there jobs and as we all know there are many fools on the water be very polite and friendly when you get checked

and treat them with the respect you would expect them to give you

Very good advice Gary, I am checked alot(on the water alot) and I do exactly that. Never a drama.

Edited April 11, 2010 by adjustedpete

[Yarraone]

As far as I understood it has to be visable 360 degrees, and at least 1 metre above the nav lights.. to keep mine away from the back of the boat I have it mounted on a pole at the side of the wind screen.. the pole is about 2metres tall, so it can been seen above the bimini cover

[oz_brett]

I beleive you are right yaraone when I put the lights on my boat I set them to abide by whet ever rules I could find at the time and the main thing there was that the white light had to be at least 1mtr above the nav lights clearly visable 360deg. Often the case where boat shops set up lights not to rule.

[defyet]

Thanks guys, i ended up mounting it at the rear on the starboard side and it its about 1mtr above the nav lights.

[Hotzy]

I totally agree with oz_brett that often boat shops that get it wrong. I clearly pointed out to the boat shop when i picked up my new boat nearly 2 years ago that the anchor light was in the wrong position as it wasn't visible 360 degrees. I even showed them in the waterways book that it was wrong and the response i got was that waterways are never out at night anyway.

My boat is a 4.9 Webster twinfisher with a bimini and rocket launcher so I changed the rear anchor light to a removable one, fitted an extra anchor light on the top of the rocket launcher and on the bracket I made for this I fitted 2 LED work lights for night fishing. The work lights are on the same circuit as the anchor lights and make life real easy.

It is annoying to get a new boat which doesn't meet the current specs but now they are no longer in business. Great guys, just misunderstood the rules I guess.

It is best to be seen at night and worth the effort and money, accidents on the water especially at night are generally not pretty, I have seen the results a few times.

As for waterways and the water rats flexing their muscles I have found most to be very helpful and have checked me several times, once with something wrong and let me off with a warning so i immediately rectified the problem. If you treat them nice they are generally fine, you have to remember they are doing the best job in the world:)

Pete