Are LED Tunnel Lights Really Necessary

[Momac]

On 23/10/2020 at 21:32, David Mack said:

The stated aim of the Boat Safety Scheme is to make sure boats are safe, not for the occupants of that boat, but for others around them.  So it would be entirely consistent for the BSS to specify the maximum power of tunnel lamps and the beam pattern. Any that are too bright and/or pointing in teh wrong direction would result in a BSS fail.

Wouldn't stop the plokers who remove non-compliant stuff for the examination and put it back afterwards, but might damp down sales of the damn things.

Is there any requirement to switch on a tunnel light or other items like a nav light  to check their  function under the requirements of the BSS exam?

[Jen-in-Wellies]

39 minutes ago, MartynG said:

Is there any requirement to switch on a tunnel light or other items like a nav light  to check their  function under the requirements of the BSS exam?

No.

The only mention of these items is to see that they have a wired return and don't rely on the hull. No functional check at all.

Quote

3.7.1
Is the electrical system insulated from the hull?
Check any wiring that can be seen to a suitable device
such as a horn, headlamp, or navigation light for the
presence of a two‐wire insulated cable.

 

Edited October 30, 2021 by Jen-in-Wellies

[TheBiscuits]

16 hours ago, nicknorman said:

And I say “don’t have a light that dazzles on-comers in tunnels - in part at least if you don’t want your boat to be whacked, even if you don’t care that you’re a selfish git.”

 

And I say "Fit that one-way mirror film to your cratch windows.  Cheerfully point out to anyone who whines they got dazzled that it's their own stupidly bright light reflecting off your mirror."

[JamesWoolcock]

9 hours ago, blackrose said:

Maybe you should have checked his light before you both went in? Or why didn't you just give him a call and tell him to either switch it off or get one of his crew (if there was someone else on board) to adjust it?

Oh yes, give him a call! Have you tried using a phone in a tunnel? 

And we were both single handed but thanks for the advice, especially about me checking other boats lights. I can see that going down well at places like Harecastle and Foulridge where you tend to form a queue!

[Alan de Enfield]

5 minutes ago, JamesWoolcock said:

checking other boats lights. I can see that going down well at places like Harecastle and Foulridge where you tend to form a queue!

 

Whenever we went thru Harecastle the Tunnel light was checked by the tunnel-keeper before allowing you to enter.

 

"On" & "Off" and then stand in front of the boat to asses 'angles'.

[ditchcrawler]

10 minutes ago, Alan de Enfield said:

 

Whenever we went thru Harecastle the Tunnel light was checked by the tunnel-keeper before allowing you to enter.

 

"On" & "Off" and then stand in front of the boat to asses 'angles'.

We have only ever had on off blow the horn, standing on the towpath by the bows of the boat I can't see how he would know where its pointing.

[Philip]

The term is a headlight rather than a tunnel light (you never hear headlights on cars or trains referred to as 'tunnel lights', so why so on boats?). I use an LED headlight quite a lot for whenever I'm cruising in the dark, very useful as it is very bright. 

Edited November 1, 2021 by Philip

[beerbeerbeerbeerbeer]

26 minutes ago, Philip said:

The term is a headlight rather than a tunnel light (you never hear headlights on cars or trains referred to as 'tunnel lights', so why so on boats?). I use an LED headlight quite a lot for whenever I'm cruising in the dark, very useful as it is very bright. 

Is that ‘Dogging’?

[Alan de Enfield]

8 hours ago, Goliath said:

Is that ‘Dogging’?

 

For the 'late-night' walk before locking up, & when taking the dog out, I use my LED headlight to be able to find his poops.

 

Is that what dogging is ?

[ditchcrawler]

11 hours ago, Philip said:

The term is a headlight rather than a tunnel light (you never hear headlights on cars or trains referred to as 'tunnel lights', so why so on boats?). I use an LED headlight quite a lot for whenever I'm cruising in the dark, very useful as it is very bright. 

And you don't hear of headlights on boats, Boats at night normally only use navigation lights and maybe a spotlight for mooring

[IanD]

I suspect the best tunnel lights (and boat lights in general) would be proper fog lights -- not the useless style-driven ones you get on a lot of modern cars, but ones with a proper beam pattern -- wide angle (70 degrees) with a flat top cutoff.

 

Pretty hard to find nowadays though, these are pretty much the only ones I can find and they're stupidly expensive...

 

https://www.piaa.com/store/p/656-PIAA-LP270-2-75-LED-Fog-Light-Kit-SAE-Compliant.aspx

http://www.piaa.co.uk/lamps/lampshow.asp?ID=LP270

 

One mounted upside down pointing slightly upwards would light the entire tunnel roof in front of the boat without dazzling oncoming boats, they'd be in the beam cutoff zone "above" the beam (actually below, since the light is upside down).

 

If you had a pair you could mount the other one the right way up pointing slightly downwards, should you want to light up the canal and banks at night without dazzling anyone...

 

 

Edited November 1, 2021 by IanD

[Arthur Marshall]

Mine is the same car headlamp that eas on the tub when I bought it. It's upside down so the dipswitch points it upwards. I dread the bulb going as the unit is probably rusted solid and getting the unit out would involve dismantling most of the bulkhead.

[Mad Harold]

8 minutes ago, Arthur Marshall said:

Mine is the same car headlamp that eas on the tub when I bought it. It's upside down so the dipswitch points it upwards. I dread the bulb going as the unit is probably rusted solid and getting the unit out would involve dismantling most of the bulkhead.

No problem,Arthur, just rip the feed wire off  and  plug it into a cheap led spotlight and leave the old light in place as a conversation piece.  😃

[IanD]

50 minutes ago, Mad Harold said:

No problem,Arthur, just rip the feed wire off  and  plug it into a cheap led spotlight and leave the old light in place as a conversation piece.  😃

And wait for the screams of agony from blinded boaters coming the other way... 😉

[Tracy D'arth]

But only LED will be available from now on!  Suck it up and carry on.

[Ronaldo47]

My understanding is that manufacture and sale of conventional tungsten bulbs for things like spotlights and headlights are not being prohibited and such bulbs should continue to be available. Vehicle spotlights and the like rely on the essentially point source of a compact tungsten filament  for their reflective and refractive elements to produce the desired beam shape. It is simply not possible to make a LED  that simulates a compact three-dimensional point source. The best approximation is the 'corn-cob" array of elements pointing in all directions, but as such arrays are much bigger than a compact tungsten filament, they are no substitute for tungsten bulbs.

Edited November 1, 2021 by Ronaldo47
typos

[IanD]

1 hour ago, Ronaldo47 said:

My understanding is that manufacture and sale of conventional tungsten bulbs for things like spotlights and headlights are not being prohibited and such bulbs should continue to be available. Vehicle spotlights and the like rely on the essentially point source of a compact tungsten filament  for their reflective and refractive elements to produce the desired beam shape. It is simply not possible to make a LED  that simulates a compact three-dimensional point source. The best approximation is the 'corn-cob" array of elements pointing in all directions, but as such arrays are much bigger than a compact tungsten filament, they are no substitute for tungsten bulbs.

Not quite true; many LED lights (not ultra-high power ones) now use a single LED emitter.

[ditchcrawler]

1 hour ago, Ronaldo47 said:

My understanding is that manufacture and sale of conventional tungsten bulbs for things like spotlights and headlights are not being prohibited and such bulbs should continue to be available. Vehicle spotlights and the like rely on the essentially point source of a compact tungsten filament  for their reflective and refractive elements to produce the desired beam shape. It is simply not possible to make a LED  that simulates a compact three-dimensional point source. The best approximation is the 'corn-cob" array of elements pointing in all directions, but as such arrays are much bigger than a compact tungsten filament, they are no substitute for tungsten bulbs.

At the present time its not legal to replace a filament lamp with an LED in a road vehicle 

[IanD]

9 minutes ago, ditchcrawler said:

At the present time its not legal to replace a filament lamp with an LED in a road vehicle 

Doesn't stop lots of idiots doing it though, and the results are often just as bad as dazzling LED tunnel lights... 😞

[beerbeerbeerbeerbeer]

10 hours ago, Alan de Enfield said:

 

For the 'late-night' walk before locking up, & when taking the dog out, I use my LED headlight to be able to find his poops.

 

Is that what dogging is ?

Yes, a perverts dream come true. 
 

 

😃

[beerbeerbeerbeerbeer]

7 hours ago, ditchcrawler said:

And you don't hear of headlights on boats, Boats at night normally only use navigation lights and maybe a spotlight for mooring

I’d like to see more boats travelling at night. There’s something dead nice about a boat light coming towards you while you’re moored up. 
And if the engine sounds good too what’s not to like. 

 

I guess it gives the “slow down” shouters another level of shoutyness too. 
So everyone’s happy. 
 

 

[ditchcrawler]

1 minute ago, Goliath said:

I’d like to see more boats travelling at night. There’s something dead nice about a boat light coming towards you while you’re moored up. 
And if the engine sounds good too what’s not to like. 

 

I guess it gives the “slow down” shouters another level of shoutyness too. 
So everyone’s happy. 
 

 

I guess the night boaters have me down as one of them, I can't resist flying out to see who it is not to shout at them other than say "Evening"

[GUMPY]

Before I had the boat painted if  someone was coming towards me in a tunnel with a dazzling headlight I would move away from the wall giving them only a 6ft gap to get their boat through.

When challenged the reply was always "Im sorry I couldnt see as I was blinded by your stupid light"

 

[beerbeerbeerbeerbeer]

Like rabbits in head lights. 
Why stare at lights waiting to get hit?

Look to the side. 

[agg221]

50 minutes ago, ditchcrawler said:

I guess the night boaters have me down as one of them, I can't resist flying out to see who it is not to shout at them other than say "Evening"

I've been following this thread with interest as our current lighting solution is my wife sitting on the foredeck with an LED worklight, pointing it in the appropriate direction but following a 2hr session last time she has indicated an alternative is now required. I must admit it is quite pleasant running in the evening when everything is quiet apart from the thud of the engine. We have had quite a few people pop out to listen and say good evening.

 

Alec