Lights

[Ricksterr]

Hi all,

 

I am new to the forum and boating and have bought a 62ft narrowboat that I live aboard a few nights a week. I have just got my boat licence through and looking forward to taking the boat out for the first time. Can anyone tell me for future reference, what lighting I would need to be able to take the boat out along the Thames at night?

 

Many thanks

 

Rick.

[kevinl]

One you can use to flash an SOS signal if it goes wrong, sailing on the Thames at night in a narrowboat

K

[Thorfast]

River....night......not a good combination.

[waterwitch]

Ooohhh you are going to have a very exciting life...though possibly quite short!

[Chewbacka]

You did not say which bit of the Thames, but if you mean towards the Thames barrier you will need to comply with all the Colregs

http://www.collisionregs.com/MSN1781.pdf but for lights see rule 22. - you will also require a VHF radio, for which you must be licensed.

 

I am in no way suggesting that if you do all this you will be fine to go out at night. As others have said it is not a good idea.

If you mean up the top end of the Thames it is not so difficult to comply with the regs, but you still need the lights as above, and the river flow may give you real problems. So still NOT a good idea. If you must do it, make sure your insurance allows night cruising and you are competent.

[MtB]

Hi all,

 

I am new to the forum and boating and have bought a 62ft narrowboat that I live aboard a few nights a week. I have just got my boat licence through and looking forward to taking the boat out for the first time. Can anyone tell me for future reference, what lighting I would need to be able to take the boat out along the Thames at night?

 

Many thanks

 

Rick.

 

 

None, assuming you mean the non-tidal Thames above Teddington Lock.

 

The unwritten rule followed by the enforcement staff is if the boat is clearly visible, that is good enough. Cruise at night with all your interior lights ON and the curtains (if you have such abominations) open.

 

Or so I was advised by a kindly Thames Conservancy (to revert to their proper name) jobsworth. ))

P.S. Welcome to the forum!!

[Tony Brooks]

Sorry to disagree but when I last looked at this the non-tidal Thames required navigation lights so if you are moving at night. That would be port, Starboard, bow and stern. If anchored at night a masthead light. However the EA seem to turn a blind eye to boats not navigating at night and tied to the bank. There are no requirements as far as I know for lights during daylight navigation BUT in the event of a collision in poor visibility not displaying lights might give someone a get out.

 

I suspect the EA staff are pretty pragmatic though and I have yet to see a patrol boat out at night.

[Ricksterr]

Thanks for the replies, it's not something I am planning on doing every night just if we were out and about and the night falls not to get caught out. I am on the Thames at Laleham so non tidal and thanks for the welcome Mike.

[spadefoot]

I thought you needed flashing disco lights and a big sound system so that people could also hear you coming........

[Tony Brooks]

I suspect the EA will send you a copy whatever their Launch By-laws are now called. Lock keepers may even have them.

[David Schweizer]

One thing you need to know is that the locks are not staffed at night, and have to be operated manually, which is very hard work.

 

I also seem to recall that you are required to have Port and Srtarboard lights as well as Bow and Stern lights, Personally, having done the thames during dayluight hours many times, I would not even consider navigating it at night unless there is some good bankside illumination, The potential for loosing the channel is quite high.

[Ricksterr]

Thanks for all of your advice, I get the feeling it is not a good idea so will refrain from attempting it.

[OldGoat]

The by-laws say you should have lights for navigating at night - but as EA staff go off duty at 17:00 they're not around to catch you.

Many NBs come on to the River without standard lights and the lockies don't stop you.

 

OTOH it's reasonable / sensible to have something aboard and I don't mean a feeble torch - so that the few boats that actually navigate at night can see you.

 

Laleham and nearby is awash with street lights and other light pollutants - so you can see where you are going (to an extent). Working locks at night can be hazardous but not as DS says above hard to work - because they're all electric 24/7. BUT you do need to see your way in, ready the notices and push the correct button(s) on the pedestal.

 

Your choice:-

See and be seen

Your safety - be able to see buoys moored vessels

by-law compliance

 

 

(your post above) - It can be magical on a moonlit night to potter around (few others will), but I wouldn't do it if the weather is murky.

Make your own judgement.

You'll find it's difficult to spot ant channel markers and the actual extent of lock laybys etc. Once you know the area your confidence will increase.

[ditchcrawler]

 

 

I suspect the EA staff are pretty pragmatic though and I have yet to see a patrol boat out at night.

That would mean paying overtime.

[Bee]

Done bits of it when dark, magical, port and st'bd, and some sort of headlight to pick out the lock channel and a map to see where you are. As said though, locks are damned hard by hand.

[Tony Brooks]

I think most, if not all, below Oxford have now been converted to electric operation with the power left on 24/7. Unlike the old mechanised locks where you had to wind a hydraulic pump the new version simply hobbles the power so everything happens more slowly than when a lock keeper is on duty. In fact I doubt the paddles fully open.

 

Those above Oxford were and I think still are the traditional manual Thames locks with balance beams (well adjusted and hung) and the large "ships wheel" type paddle gear. Neither type are hard work for a typical canal boater.

[Emerald Fox]

Thanks for all of your advice, I get the feeling it is not a good idea so will refrain from attempting it.

 

If you're not afraid of ghosts, then nights are great for pootling along, especially if illuminated by a full moon.

Sit by the river of a night and watch boats to see what lights they have as they go past, at first.

I would have lifejackets on for wide stretches of water.

[blackrose]

I think most, if not all, below Oxford have now been converted to electric operation with the power left on 24/7.

 

Someone else will know, but when I moored on the Thames (below Oxford) public power to locks was shut off at 10pm. Has it changed in the last few years?

 

I've moved my boat in the dark on The Thames, but only on the reaches that I know fairly well. As has been said, unless the moon is bright it's easy to become disorientated.

 

In the dark, the trees and the bank tend to merge into one and you can't easily tell which is which. The best technique is to point one's tunnel lamp towards the starboard bank rather than straight ahead. If you can do it without a tunnel lamp only using your nav lights, and let your eyes adjust to the dark so much the better. But in all honesty, the beauty of the Thames is best enjoyed during daylight hours.

[OldGoat]

 

Someone else will know, but when I moored on the Thames (below Oxford) public power to locks was shut off at 10pm. Has it changed in the last few years?

 

I've moved my boat in the dark on The Thames, but only on the reaches that I know fairly well. As has been said, unless the moon is bright it's easy to become disorientated.

 

In the dark, the trees and the bank tend to merge into one and you can't easily tell which is which. The best technique is to point one's tunnel lamp towards the starboard bank rather than straight ahead. If you can do it without a tunnel lamp only using your nav lights, and let your eyes adjust to the dark so much the better. But in all honesty, the beauty of the Thames is best enjoyed during daylight hours.

 

Public Power on the Thames has been on 24/7 for a couple of years now (Except for Cookham where there is an unexplained mechanical issue and no money (?) to fix it).

 

However problems regularly happen when some XXX boater doesn't RTFM and causes a system lockout.....

 

I agree with your other comments. On a canal with a narrower waterway a tunnel light can be reasonably effective, but on the River any light 'gets lost'

[RichardN]

You did not say which bit of the Thames, but if you mean towards the Thames barrier you will need to comply with all the Colregs

http://www.collisionregs.com/MSN1781.pdf but for lights see rule 22. - you will also require a VHF radio, for which you must be licensed.

 

I am in no way suggesting that if you do all this you will be fine to go out at night. As others have said it is not a good idea.

 

Probably not but London is stunning by night. The nasty is Albert Bridge, you get there and think wonderful I can see what is happening thanks to the 4000 light bulbs there. Get past it and you find that 4000 light bulbs have totally wrecked your night vision, where were those moored boats? Oh and the rafted up work boats don't have any lights so when you see a dark shape . . .

[Phil Ambrose]

Getting lost also becomes a real issue if you run into mist or fog, now that does test you even if you know the stretch of water you are on. We used to go from our moorings to the pub a mile downstream in our day boat and many times on our return we would have to stop to get our bearings and we lived there for ten years!

Another occasion we moored on a wilderness mooring just past the confluence of the river Thurne, we took our dinghy to go to the pub about a half mile up the Thurne. When we left the pub it was thick fog and we could see nothing. Luckily I left some LED spotlights on the stern deck and we were able to find our boat by spotting a faint glow in the fog.

Phil

[blackrose]

 

Probably not but London is stunning by night. The nasty is Albert Bridge, you get there and think wonderful I can see what is happening thanks to the 4000 light bulbs there. Get past it and you find that 4000 light bulbs have totally wrecked your night vision, where were those moored boats? Oh and the rafted up work boats don't have any lights so when you see a dark shape . . .

Yes I once went from Limehouse to Teddington at night. It's a good trip but I would always advise going with one or two other boats. Some of the bridge approaches in darker places like Richmond can disorientate you at night.

[Phil Ambrose]

Oh yes night vision is another thing, when we moored on the Broads, anglers would set up site floodlights in the garden of holiday lets and aim them down the river, now that does trash your night vision, we all adopted the policy of motoring at the lights while shouting Lights Out and exaggerating shielding our eyes (many of us returned late from work) this usually worked as they didn't want to lose their tackle. If we saw them the next day we would explain the problem. There was also a trip boat 60ft double decker that had "Nightsun Lights" fitted all around so the tourists could see all the scenery and despite phone calls to the company the skipper insisted on having all the lights blazing so our answer was a 5000 candle power torch aimed at the helm, he got the message then.

Phil