Darren Bos wrote:

Graham, I think my arrangement will be very similar to yours, except for the steaming light.  If I understand correctly yours is mounted on the pulpit?  Do you have it on staff to meet the requirement that it be at least one metre above the other running lights?

Yes, it is on a 2m pole, that is easily removed and stowed, with an electric cable that plugs into a socket below decks.  It is also my anchor light. I have a separate stern light on the pushpit.

I've included Colreg 30 below.  As I read it, for a boat under 50 meters, you can put the anchor light wherever you think it can best be seen (although I have also worried if my lower light would count as ARW given that is blocked by the masts at certain angles).  Further, part C suggests that even if you are using an ARW at the top of the mast, there is no reason you cannot add additional lights down low to help improve visibility.

Rule 30

Anchored Vessels and Vessels Aground

(a) A vessel at anchor shall exhibit where it can best be seen:

• (i) in the fore part, an all-round white light or one ball;
• (ii) at or near the stern and at a lower level than the light prescribed in subparagraph (i), an all-round white light.

(b) A vessel of less than 50 meters in length may exhibit an all-round white light where it can best be seen instead of the lights prescribed in paragraph (a) of this Rule.

(c) A vessel at anchor may, and a vessel of 100 meters and more in length shall, also use the available working or equivalent lights to illuminate her decks.

(d) A vessel aground shall exhibit the lights prescribed in paragraph (a) or (b) of this Rule and in addition, where they can best be seen;

• (i) two all-round red lights in a vertical line;
• (ii) three balls in a vertical line.

(e) A vessel of less than 7 meters in length, when at anchor not in or near a narrow channel, fairway or where other vessels normally navigate, shall not be required to exhibit the shape prescribed in paragraphs (a) and (b) of this Rule.

(f) A vessel of less than 12 meters in length, when aground, shall not be required to exhibit the lights or shapes prescribed in subparagraphs (d)(i) and (ii) of this Rule.

Just goes to show: we all perceive things differently in our minds, no matter what our eyes actually see. I have no difficulty in distinguishing between an ARW and a star or planet. However, I do like to have a deck light that illuminates the rig. Not only is it useful when sailing on  a dark night, it enables me to distinguish my boat from others in a crowded anchorage when returning from a bibulous evening. (That's as well as a legal ARW anchor light "in the fore part of the vessel where it may best be seen").

Arion's very bright LED anchor light is on a portable pole that I mount on the aft rail.  The light is about 3m above deck and not only is it highly visible all round, it illuminates the deck, which helps other vessels to see us.  When I have been rowing back to Arion at night i can see the boat very clearly from some distance, usually much easier than I can see other yachts moored nearby.  It did fail me once on Sydney Harbour when a rowing scull collided with me just before dawn.  I was anchored near a brightly lit ferry wharf and the anchor light blended into the background lights.  Added to that, I suspect the young sculler wasn't looking over his shoulder that often.  He knew where the local moored boats were and was not expecting a ring-in, despite it being a designated anchorage.  We both learned something that night and I try to avoid background lights now, if possible (avoiding Sydney Harbour is a good start!).

My LED running lights are on the pulpit and pushpit, which I prefer to a masthead light for inshore work.  The port and starboard lights are separated by a couple of feet and have sideboards to keep them distinct.  Combined lights can cause confusion.  When seen from directly ahead, there is a narrow band of indistinct light, often showing up as yellowy orange.  A masthead tricolour is excellent offshore though.  I don't have one these days, as I did not want to run cables up the mast.

Darren Bos wrote:Reading through this fairly comprehensive thread has me wondering if my plan for reworking my nav lights is correct. I already have port and starboard running lights on the pilothouse as well as a stern light that I will mount on an arch above the wind vane.  My plan was to add a masthead steaming light to the top of the foremast and a combined tricolor-anchor light to the mainmast.  Under power I would use the the steaming light atop the foremast with the deck-level running and stern lights.  What has me wondering is that David Webb was the only one who posted a similar solution and he put the masthead light partway down the mast.  There are a lot of two-masted Junk rigged boats, so I was wondering why I hadn't seen this solution in my searches of the JRA.  Have I missed something?  By my reading, I think this should comply with ColReg rule 23.

Your masthead steaming light should be fine.  However, I couldn't disagree more with your suggestion about a masthead, all round white light.  They may have changed, but the col regs used to say 'a white light in the forepart of the vessel where it can be seen from all round'.  The mast head isn't the forepart of the vessel.  However far more important are the points

• you are trying to assist other mariners locate your boat when they come into a crowded anchorage and want to find somewhere for themselves
• LED masthead lights are very similar in colour to stars
• masthead lights vary in brightness, so that it is difficult to asses how far away they are
• it is impossible to decide whether a masthead light is on a short mast close to or a tall one further away, especially when there are a lot of yachts in the anchorage
  

Assuming you are using an anchor light out of courtesy, rather than in order to by strictly legal, I suggest you should have it somewhere like the pulpit (if you have such a thing).  Even the stern rail (again, if you have such a thing) is better, because at least it is at eye height. As long as it is above the superstructure but below the sails, it should be readily visible.  Again, when using this light to assist other sailors locate your boat, rather than to be strictly legal, it does not necessarily have to have 2 mile visibility.  You can leave your all round white light on for that, if it makes you feel better, but please have an anchor light somewhere round eye height to make life easier for your fellow sailors.