LED navigation lamps - battery powered, magnetically attached

[MtB]

I love cruising in the dark occasionally but my current boat does not have have navigation lamps, so I can't.

 

Fitting nav lights retrospectively to my narrowboat would a complete pain as there is so much fixed wiring to install and conceal, so I doubt I'll ever get a round tuit. So given the amazing performance and long battery life of bicycle lights I wondering if there are some battery powered LED navigation light kits out there for emergency/occasional use, but I couldn't find any Googling. The only battery powered navigation lights out there seem to have old skool incandescent bulbs in them, such as these sold by Midland chandlers: http://www.midlandchandlers.co.uk/products/lighting/navigationlights/batterypowered/vn034.aspx

 

Typically MC, there is no description or spec but similar lights are on ebay and a quote a typical life for the 'D' batteries of nine hours. Expensive to run! My LED torches seem to have infinite battery life so I'm wondering if anyone knows of some emergency/occasional battery powered LED navigation lights, ideally with magnets so they can easily attached to the hull and removed after use.

 

My boat is a 68ft narrowboat, and these will be used only occasionally, on the cut and on the upper Thames. I seem to remember that full compliance with the colregs results in total overkill for a 68ft nb, so probably not the best thing to say on here, but I'm not especially concerned about full compliance. I just want to make sure I can be seen at dusk on the Thames at Reading. Any suggestions anyone?

 

Maybe I'll just buy the MC set for now, but I'm sure there must be a market out there for what I describe.

[bizzard]

I love cruising in the dark occasionally but my current boat does not have have navigation lamps, so I can't.

 

Fitting nav lights retrospectively to my narrowboat would a complete pain as there is so much fixed wiring to install and conceal, so I doubt I'll ever get a round tuit. So given the amazing performance and long battery life of bicycle lights I wondering if there are some battery powered LED navigation light kits out there for emergency/occasional use, but I couldn't find any Googling. The only battery powered navigation lights out there seem to have old skool incandescent bulbs in them, such as these sold by Midland chandlers: http://www.midlandchandlers.co.uk/products/lighting/navigationlights/batterypowered/vn034.aspx

 

Typically MC, there is no description or spec but similar lights are on ebay and a quote a typical life for the 'D' batteries of nine hours. Expensive to run! My LED torches seem to have infinite battery life so I'm wondering if anyone knows of some emergency/occasional battery powered LED navigation lights, ideally with magnets so they can easily attached to the hull and removed after use.

 

My boat is a 68ft narrowboat, and these will be used only occasionally, on the cut and on the upper Thames. I seem to remember that full compliance with the colregs results in total overkill for a 68ft nb, so probably not the best thing to say on here, but I'm not especially concerned about full compliance. I just want to make sure I can be seen at dusk on the Thames at Reading. Any suggestions anyone?

 

Maybe I'll just buy the MC set for now, but I'm sure there must be a market out there for what I describe.

Lots of information on this and pics in. ''Living afloat''Page7'' Navigation lights,''dangers''.

[rjasmith]

I love cruising in the dark occasionally but my current boat does not have have navigation lamps, so I can't.

 

Fitting nav lights retrospectively to my narrowboat would a complete pain as there is so much fixed wiring to install and conceal, so I doubt I'll ever get a round tuit. So given the amazing performance and long battery life of bicycle lights I wondering if there are some battery powered LED navigation light kits out there for emergency/occasional use, but I couldn't find any Googling. The only battery powered navigation lights out there seem to have old skool incandescent bulbs in them, such as these sold by Midland chandlers: http://www.midlandchandlers.co.uk/products/lighting/navigationlights/batterypowered/vn034.aspx

 

Typically MC, there is no description or spec but similar lights are on ebay and a quote a typical life for the 'D' batteries of nine hours. Expensive to run! My LED torches seem to have infinite battery life so I'm wondering if anyone knows of some emergency/occasional battery powered LED navigation lights, ideally with magnets so they can easily attached to the hull and removed after use.

 

My boat is a 68ft narrowboat, and these will be used only occasionally, on the cut and on the upper Thames. I seem to remember that full compliance with the colregs results in total overkill for a 68ft nb, so probably not the best thing to say on here, but I'm not especially concerned about full compliance. I just want to make sure I can be seen at dusk on the Thames at Reading. Any suggestions anyone?

 

Maybe I'll just buy the MC set for now, but I'm sure there must be a market out there for what I describe.

 

Well I will be going for full compliance Mike and I've bought all the lights (masthead, stern, port and starboard as well as a riding light in case I have to anchor). These are all the bigger ones made by Lalizas and suitable for a boat up to 20m. I got the lot from eBay, from a seagoing boat chandlers who have an eBay "shop" and were selling off new, old stock.

 

The plan is to make a wooden detachable rig for them (well two as the stern light needs a separate one!). This will be kept folded up and stowed most of the time while on waterways where lights are not mandatory. If I feel the need to use them they will be quickly rigged and plugged in to their own external power socket. The rig(s) will ensure that all the lights appear in the approved positions.

 

The bulbs in mine are standard incandescent and are the special ones that meet the Colreg output. There are LED versions of these bulbs that will fit instead of incandescents but they are a bit pricey and I've decided against them for now.

 

If you did want to do a magnetic set (presumably just port and starboard) why not just DIY? If you did use the correct size lights like mine they are much bigger than the MC ones which are only "legal" for a boat less than 12m. You could fit the proper LED bulbs but you would need to fit a small 12v battery in them as the LED bulbs are still designed for that. Maybe a small NIMH battery pack could be squeezed into the bigger lights?

 

Finally you'll just need a suitable magnet stuck or otherwise fixed on the back but it will need to make the light secure enough that it doesn't easily get dislodged and shine in the wrong arc etc. It also won't be fully compliant but you said that didn't bother you!

 

Richard

[Keeping Up]

Well I will be going for full compliance Mike and I've bought all the lights (masthead, stern, port and starboard as well as a riding light in case I have to anchor). These are all the bigger ones made by Lalizas and suitable for a boat up to 20m. I got the lot from eBay, from a seagoing boat chandlers who have an eBay "shop" and were selling off new, old stock.

 

But the OP's boat is over 20m.

 

Complying with the requirements for a boat over 20m is much more difficult.

[rjasmith]

But the OP's boat is over 20m.

 

Complying with the requirements for a boat over 20m is much more difficult.

 

So it is - I hadn't spotted that! But then he says compliance wasn't his aim.

 

Luckily mine is 60ft so only 18.29m.

 

Richard

[DHutch]

As said, total compliance isnt as easy as it could be, and very rare amongst narrowboats.

 

We have a set of the brass ones stocked at midland (although i dont recall where we bought them) which are mounted on a detachable board which is placed on the roof when required to provide the front and coloured lights, with the rear facing white light being the only one fixed permantly (although if doing it again, i would make this detachable also, but on a separate board, to be placed behind the stearer.

 

They are then pluged into a waterproof socket put there for the task in hand, but the lead could equally well run through a hatch or window into an internal socket. Which is what i would do if i where you.

 

Not seen anything suitable in LED. Its a very small market, and if they did exist, i doubt they would comply any more than anything else currently around.

 

 

 

Daniel

[bottle]

And another point, fitting LED as replacement lamps (bulbs) can make the navigation lights not comply.

 

The colour that will be shown maybe incorrect.

 

The colour of the lens is different on LED 'originals'' to compensate.

[bizzard]

I use a garden stick in the ground solar light Zip tied to the back end of my tiller for a stern light, just behind my best screw driver tiller pin. you can mask off with tape any unwanted light from it.

They're fully automatic too of course and nice and cheap.

[bizzard]

You can use stick in the ground solar lights for all your nav lights if your not too proud to be seen with em,mind you it would be dark anyway,and you can always disguise yourself.

For the coloured ones mask off with gaffer tape the statutary cut off points and then thin down red and green paint until almost translucent and paint the unmasked bits of lens left.

The masthead light just mask off statutary amount again,and stick em all where you want. A riding light for use when your at anchor after nightfall,again just a plain one tied to a broomstick and fix to your cabin top.

The complete set can be bought for about £10 from ,well anywhere plus a drop of paint and tape,or just wander about in peoples gardens at night. Make sure you fix the correct colours on the correct side and that's it.

 

And of course completely automatic something you'd pay a horrendous amount for at a chandlers if they did em at all.

Edited December 11, 2011 by bizzard

[system 4-50]

I love cruising in the dark occasionally but my current boat does not have have navigation lamps, so I can't.

 

Fitting nav lights retrospectively to my narrowboat would a complete pain as there is so much fixed wiring to install and conceal, so I doubt I'll ever get a round tuit. So given the amazing performance and long battery life of bicycle lights I wondering if there are some battery powered LED navigation light kits out there for emergency/occasional use, but I couldn't find any Googling. The only battery powered navigation lights out there seem to have old skool incandescent bulbs in them, such as these sold by Midland chandlers: http://www.midlandch...ered/vn034.aspx

 

Typically MC, there is no description or spec but similar lights are on ebay and a quote a typical life for the 'D' batteries of nine hours. Expensive to run! My LED torches seem to have infinite battery life so I'm wondering if anyone knows of some emergency/occasional battery powered LED navigation lights, ideally with magnets so they can easily attached to the hull and removed after use.

 

My boat is a 68ft narrowboat, and these will be used only occasionally, on the cut and on the upper Thames. I seem to remember that full compliance with the colregs results in total overkill for a 68ft nb, so probably not the best thing to say on here, but I'm not especially concerned about full compliance. I just want to make sure I can be seen at dusk on the Thames at Reading. Any suggestions anyone?

 

Maybe I'll just buy the MC set for now, but I'm sure there must be a market out there for what I describe.

I've wandered around MC looking for exactly what you describe. Shout if you find it, I haven't.

[blackrose]

The plan is to make a wooden detachable rig for them (well two as the stern light needs a separate one!). This will be kept folded up and stowed most of the time while on waterways where lights are not mandatory. If I feel the need to use them they will be quickly rigg ed and plugged in to their own external power socket. The rig(s) will ensure that all the lights appear in the approved positions.

 

I did something similar with a short length of aluminium box section. After this picture was taken I had to put a separator (another shorter piece of the box section) on the front of the mast in between the port & starboard lights to make sure they couldn't bee seen together, unless from directly ahead. The other thing I did was dim the masthead light by using a smaller wattage bulb, because it was overpowering the green starboard light.

 

 

It folds back on a hinge when not in use, or for bridges (or if it hits a low branch), and it's quickly detachable.

Edited December 11, 2011 by blackrose

[MtB]

I did something similar with a short length of aluminium box section. After this picture was taken I had to put a separator (another shorter piece of the box section) on the front of the mast in between the port & starboard lights to make sure they couldn't bee seen together, unless from directly ahead. The other thing I did was dim the masthead light by using a smaller wattage bulb, because it was overpowering the green starboard light.

 

 

It folds back on a hinge when not in use, or for bridges (or if it hits a low branch), and it's quickly detachable.

 

 

Hmmm interesting pic Mike. I could do something like that as I aleady have a socket at the front for the tunnel lamp which obvercomes my concerns about all the wiring. I had imagined that the port and starboard lights had to be on the sides of the boat, separate from the mast lamp. A white bike lamp can be clipped on the back of tiller to avoid the need for any wiring for the stern light.

 

Time to look up the colregs to see exactly what I'm supposed to have, but frankly, pragmatism rules in my boating. If people and other boats can see me, thats fine by me. I don't suppose the chances of getting caught cruising on the thames at dusk with lights that dont quite comply are very high, and even if I'm nailed for it, I doubt the penalty will be much more than a slap on the wrist.

 

Out of interest, does anyhere have a 20m or bigger narrowboat with genuinely fully compliant lights?

[cereal tiller]

Hmmm interesting pic Mike. I could do something like that as I aleady have a socket at the front for the tunnel lamp which obvercomes my concerns about all the wiring. I had imagined that the port and starboard lights had to be on the sides of the boat, separate from the mast lamp. A white bike lamp can be clipped on the back of tiller to avoid the need for any wiring for the stern light.

 

Time to look up the colregs to see exactly what I'm supposed to have, but frankly, pragmatism rules in my boating. If people and other boats can see me, thats fine by me. I don't suppose the chances of getting caught cruising on the thames at dusk with lights that dont quite comply are very high, and even if I'm nailed for it, I doubt the penalty will be much more than a slap on the wrist.

 

Out of interest, does anyhere have a 20m or bigger narrowboat with genuinely fully compliant lights?

hi mike

have boated many times on the UPPER thames without nav. lights.

 

as long as the boat is displaying plenty of light,as in light through cabin windows/portholes etc.the authorities wont trouble you.

 

the light array that blackrose has on his boat could cause confusion as the port and starboard lamps sHould be either side of the cabin.

 

it would be good if it were possible to buy off-the-peg magnetic lights,as per your O.P.

 

the fold up masthead light is a good and well proven method.

 

it would not be too hard to make some LAMPS with nicads in, and a magnetic base.

Edited December 11, 2011 by cereal tiller

[ditchcrawler]

Hmmm interesting pic Mike. I could do something like that as I aleady have a socket at the front for the tunnel lamp which obvercomes my concerns about all the wiring. I had imagined that the port and starboard lights had to be on the sides of the boat, separate from the mast lamp. A white bike lamp can be clipped on the back of tiller to avoid the need for any wiring for the stern light.

 

Time to look up the colregs to see exactly what I'm supposed to have, but frankly, pragmatism rules in my boating. If people and other boats can see me, thats fine by me. I don't suppose the chances of getting caught cruising on the thames at dusk with lights that dont quite comply are very high, and even if I'm nailed for it, I doubt the penalty will be much more than a slap on the wrist.

 

Out of interest, does anyhere have a 20m or bigger narrowboat with genuinely fully compliant lights?

Think Marchioness, maybe the stern light is the most important if you don't want to get run down.

[Ray T]

hi mike

have boated many times on the UPPER thames without nav. lights.

 

as long as the boat is displaying plenty of light,as in light through cabin windows/portholes etc.the authorities wont trouble you.

 

the light array that blackrose has on his boat could cause confusion as the port and starboard lamps sHould be either side of the cabin.

it would be good if it were possible to buy off-the-peg magnetic lights,as per your O.P.

 

the fold up masthead light is a good and well proven method.

 

it would not be too hard to make some LAMPS with nicads in, and a magnetic base.

 

I showed a similar set up of port / starboard lights on my narrowboat and was told they were "iffy"

 

I have sailed extensively offshore in the past and all the various yachts I have sailed in have the motoring port / starboard navigation lights, as opposed to the "under sail" tricolour masthead lights, on the pulpit, as in the picture:

 

These are approx 1 - 2 meters above the waterline.

 

 

These satisfy COLREGS so why not Blackrose style of port / starboard nav lights? I am not talking about the forward facing white steaming light.

Edited December 11, 2011 by Ray T

[blackrose]

Hmmm interesting pic Mike. I could do something like that as I aleady have a socket at the front for the tunnel lamp which obvercomes my concerns about all the wiring. I had imagined that the port and starboard lights had to be on the sides of the boat, separate from the mast lamp. A white bike lamp can be clipped on the back of tiller to avoid the need for any wiring for the stern light.

 

Time to look up the colregs to see exactly what I'm supposed to have, but frankly, pragmatism rules in my boating. If people and other boats can see me, thats fine by me. I don't suppose the chances of getting caught cruising on the thames at dusk with lights that dont quite comply are very high, and even if I'm nailed for it, I doubt the penalty will be much more than a slap on the wrist.

 

Out of interest, does anyhere have a 20m or bigger narrowboat with genuinely fully compliant lights?

 

It's got to be better to have lights that don't comply than no lights at all. On the Thames I don't think that anyone really expects narrowboats to fully comply with the colregs. I checked the colregs and port/starboard lights don't need to be on the sides of the boat. They arent there to indicate the width of the boat to oncoming vessels.

 

However, bear in mind that on your cabin sides you would normally set the port & starboard lights back slightly so that the port light cannot be seen from the right side of the boat and vice versa. If you put the lights on a mast this means that you need something between the lights, protruding in front of them to do the same thing.

 

I used a lawnmower type plug/socket to connect and disconnect the mast.

 

http://www.mister-solutions.co.uk/lawnmower-plug-and-socket-cable-connector-2-pin-40049-p.asp

 

hi mike

have boated many times on the UPPER thames without nav. lights.

 

as long as the boat is displaying plenty of light,as in light through cabin windows/portholes etc.the authorities wont trouble you.

 

the light array that blackrose has on his boat could cause confusion as the port and starboard lamps sHould be either side of the cabin.

 

 

Not according to the colregs. You're wrong.

 

Port and starboard lights do not have to be positioned on cabin sides. They're not used to indicate the beam of the vessel to any directly oncoming traffic.

 

Have a look at these and tell me how that would be achieved: http://www.force4.co.uk/984/Force-4-12m-Combination-Navigation-Light---White.html

 

It is your method of lighting your boat after dark which will cause confusion to other boaters because they may not be to work out in which direction you are travelling. You may get away with it on the upper Thames, but it's not appreciated by other boaters who know the rules and the authorities certainly will trouble you if they see you.

Edited December 12, 2011 by blackrose

[bizzard]

When proper navigation lights with the cut off angle partitions in place or built in and are positioned correctly on a vessel,another vessel can tell almost exactly what course its on even in absolute pitch blackness. Going away from you,coming head on at you,coming at you at an angle,passing across ahead at virtually any angle,sailing on the same course ahead of you. ect ect. If they are not correct,obviously collisions can be a real danger on open water.

[Dalesman]

This was all discussed in November see "Navigating at Night" in the general boating section.

[Pentargon]

I did something similar with a short length of aluminium box section. After this picture was taken I had to put a separator (another shorter piece of the box section) on the front of the mast in between the port & starboard lights to make sure they couldn't bee seen together, unless from directly ahead. The other thing I did was dim the masthead light by using a smaller wattage bulb, because it was overpowering the green starboard light.

 

 

It folds back on a hinge when not in use, or for bridges (or if it hits a low branch), and it's quickly detachable.

 

Hi Blackrose, I'm well impressed with the ingenuity and compliance shown by your excellent kit. Others (such as Mr. Bizzard) have posted relevant and pertinent comments. Regs. are there so you know which one you are breaking. I think even the MCA would accept your solution on the river. Well done sir. As for myself I was trained NEVER to motor on the cut in darkness but that's my excuse for having no lights.

[Radiomariner]

COLREGS also state the required visual range of the lights.

I recall reading an "M Notice" a year or so ago about LED navigation lights. Because LED 's dim over time the monitoring system should detect a signifacent drop in lumens, or, a regime in force where the lamp is replaced with new as a routine on a regular basis. Far too costly for an inland boater who does not need it.

But, in principal if you are going to fit em they should be compliant, incorrectly fitted nav light or even an extinguished nav light can impart incorrect navigational interpretation to other vessels.

[Old Son]

I have seen nav lights fitted with metal clips that allow them to be hung off the roof rail, one either side and plugged in as Blackrose does. There is enough wire from each light to allow them to be connected to a central power outlet. Works well.

[Theo]

Well I will be going for full compliance Mike and I've bought all the lights (masthead, stern, port and starboard as well as a riding light in case I have to anchor). These are all the bigger ones made by Lalizas and suitable for a boat up to 20m. I got the lot from eBay, from a seagoing boat chandlers who have an eBay "shop" and were selling off new, old stock.

 

The plan is to make a wooden detachable rig for them (well two as the stern light needs a separate one!). This will be kept folded up and stowed most of the time while on waterways where lights are not mandatory. If I feel the need to use them they will be quickly rigged and plugged in to their own external power socket. The rig(s) will ensure that all the lights appear in the approved positions.

 

The bulbs in mine are standard incandescent and are the special ones that meet the Colreg output. There are LED versions of these bulbs that will fit instead of incandescents but they are a bit pricey and I've decided against them for now.

 

If you did want to do a magnetic set (presumably just port and starboard) why not just DIY? If you did use the correct size lights like mine they are much bigger than the MC ones which are only "legal" for a boat less than 12m. You could fit the proper LED bulbs but you would need to fit a small 12v battery in them as the LED bulbs are still designed for that. Maybe a small NIMH battery pack could be squeezed into the bigger lights?

 

Finally you'll just need a suitable magnet stuck or otherwise fixed on the back but it will need to make the light secure enough that it doesn't easily get dislodged and shine in the wrong arc etc. It also won't be fully compliant but you said that didn't bother you!

 

Richard

 

You can get self adhesive magnetic strip on the interweb. We have just used lots for a complete set of doublw glazing for the house. Might try external DG for Theodora.

 

Nick

[ditchcrawler]

You can get self adhesive magnetic strip on the interweb. We have just used lots for a complete set of doublw glazing for the house. Might try external DG for Theodora.

 

Nick

I got a little bit of material from my local sign maker that they use for magnetic signs for cars etc.

[blackrose]

Hi Blackrose, I'm well impressed with the ingenuity and compliance shown by your excellent kit. Others (such as Mr. Bizzard) have posted relevant and pertinent comments. Regs. are there so you know which one you are breaking. I think even the MCA would accept your solution on the river. Well done sir. As for myself I was trained NEVER to motor on the cut in darkness but that's my excuse for having no lights.

 

Thanks. My nav lights aren't big enough for the length of my boat, so I'm not following the colregs in their entirity. But they're the same size lights fitted to most >12m narrowboats by builders. If I had a Dutch barge and intended to go to sea I'd have the right size lights, but for what I do on the Thames I think my setup is ok.

[Yamanx]

I love cruising in the dark occasionally but my current boat does not have have navigation lamps, so I can't.

 

Fitting nav lights retrospectively to my narrowboat would a complete pain as there is so much fixed wiring to install and conceal, so I doubt I'll ever get a round tuit. So given the amazing performance and long battery life of bicycle lights I wondering if there are some battery powered LED navigation light kits out there for emergency/occasional use, but I couldn't find any Googling. The only battery powered navigation lights out there seem to have old skool incandescent bulbs in them, such as these sold by Midland chandlers: http://www.midlandchandlers.co.uk/products/lighting/navigationlights/batterypowered/vn034.aspx

 

Typically MC, there is no description or spec but similar lights are on ebay and a quote a typical life for the 'D' batteries of nine hours. Expensive to run! My LED torches seem to have infinite battery life so I'm wondering if anyone knows of some emergency/occasional battery powered LED navigation lights, ideally with magnets so they can easily attached to the hull and removed after use.

 

My boat is a 68ft narrowboat, and these will be used only occasionally, on the cut and on the upper Thames. I seem to remember that full compliance with the colregs results in total overkill for a 68ft nb, so probably not the best thing to say on here, but I'm not especially concerned about full compliance. I just want to make sure I can be seen at dusk on the Thames at Reading. Any suggestions anyone?

 

Maybe I'll just buy the MC set for now, but I'm sure there must be a market out there for what I describe.

 

You can buy LED bulb replacements complete with built in resistor, direct screw/plug in