Anchor Balls and Inverted Cones ?

[daddle]

Saw a fishing boat with a basket in the rigging. Almost fell overboard with astonishment.

Seen anchor balls on big motor yachts, with captains, helicopters, in Mexico, Caribbean.

[Jim Cate]

Originally Posted by daddle

Saw a fishing boat with a basket in the rigging. Almost fell overboard with astonishment.
.

What would make me fall over with astonishment would be to see a fishing boat TAKE DOWN the basket when he finished actively fishing.
We see them in their rigging 24/7/365, at anchor, tied up to a dock, wherever they go. Sadly, the same can often be said about dive boats and diver down flags.

And then they wonder why folks don't honor their right of way, etc.

Buggers...

Jim

[svstrider]

Originally Posted by Jim Cate

I agree that masthead lights are not always the best answer in crowded anchorages. We now use a VERY bright LED light (Bebi lights from Fiji) hung about 10 feet above the w/l, often in combination with a masthead light. The LED light has a built-in light sensor which switches it off and on

Jim and Ann s/v Insatiable II lying Coasters Retreat, NSW, Oz

I bought one of those Bebi lights with a photo sensor as well. It works great, is well constructed, gives a brillant all round light and also illuminates the deck which makes the boat much more visible & the Bebvi service was great.

I have mine 10 metres off the deck ahnging from the shrouds. BUT I nearly copped a fine off the Water Wallopers because they said it had to be at the top of the mast. I pulled out the reg book for Queensland and pointed out that the regs only say that the all round white light cannot be obscured by more than seven degrees. Unfortunately the reg gives no indication as to how far away this seven degrees of blocking applies from.

The walloper insisted that it had to be at the masthead. NO EXCEPTIONS
I tried to read the regs but very quickly decided that this guy was not going to back down. I quickly assumed a servile position and grovelled, thus JUST avoiding a fine. Discretion being the better part of valour.

Now I will have to check out why my masthead light is not working. I will buy another Bebi light & replace the running light bulbs with LED's from Bebi while I am at it.

I was anchored amongst thirty other boats of which a third were unoccupied and using garden lights or nothing at all. I did not see the wallopers sticking any tickets on those boats. Ho Hum

[stillbuilding]

Depends where you are obviously. In the very busy waterways of Hong Kong the use of these is routine. I would always use them if the traffic is dense. Maybe in a quiet island off the main track I would be lazy. Insurance clearly is an issue - know of one yacht which was sunk by a trawler on autopilot which had big struggle to collect from other parties insurer on this issue amongst others.

[D_e_n_n_i_s]

Chapman's Piloting shows that a 50ft boat should have an anchor ball with a diameter of not less than .6 meter (2.0 ft). The motoring cone should have a base not less than .6 meter (2 ft).

MariSafe and Defender both only have anchoring balls with sizes of 11.7" and 13.7" and West Marine only has the Plastismo 11-7/8" diameter ball.

The Plastismo USA site Home or http://www.plastimousa.com/Radar%20Reflectors.pdf to go directly to the day shapes has the same sizes for the anchoring ball.

The base on the cones also doesn't have a 2' base.

I'm usually good about being able to find items with Google, but I'm not finding anything with an initial search. Sooooo, where do you find an anchor ball with a 2ft diameter and a cone with a 2ft base ???

[Captain Bill]

I don't believe the regulations specify the size of the dayshapes required. However if you insist on following Chapman's advice, I found the following:

CAL-JUNE JIM BUOY DAY MARK SIGNAL BALL. 24"

[D_e_n_n_i_s]

Wow, that's a nice unit ($80 - It should be). I was thinking of buying 3 in case I ran aground going up the river, but maybe I'll just get 1 instead

Hey, thanks for the link !!! I wasn't coming up with anything in that size range so I'm grateful for your search skills and for sharing !! I'll have to search for a link to the official regs to verify Chapman's Piloting, but that book is usually pretty accurate. If the size is not specified for both US and International regs, then I'm happy to buy the smaller, cheaper ones

[D_e_n_n_i_s]

I ran a search on the Hamilton Marine website for "daymark" and found a matching list, but it looks like they don't have the 2ft base cones (only in the double cones). The search continues ...

[Captain Bill]

The thing that makes me think that Chapman's statement on size is advice rather than regulation is that regulations usually break on boat sizes such as 12, 20, and 50 meters, not 50 feet.

[Captain Bill]

Also at Hamilton:
DAYMARK CONE-SHAPE 24X24" BLACK ONLY 105214

[Captain Bill]

I found the USCG rules on day shapes. It looks like on vessels less than 20 meters the size is not specific. See item 3(c) Below:

Sec. 84.11 Shapes.
(a) Shapes shall be black and of the following sizes:
(1) A ball shall have a diameter of not less than 0.6 meter;
(2) A cone shall have a base diameter of not less than 0.6 meter
and a height equal to its diameter;
(3) A diamond shape shall consist of two cones (as defined in
paragraph (a)(2) of this section) having a common base.
(b) The vertical distance between shapes shall be at least 1.5
meter.
(c) In a vessel of less than 20 meters in length shapes of lesser
dimensions but commensurate with the size of the vessel may be used and
the distance apart may be correspondingly reduced.

[Hydra]

D_e_n_n_i_s,
If you find "industrial" shapes too expensive, why don't you consider making them? If would only take some marine-grade plywood and black paint or some black tarp and steel wire

Alain

[D_e_n_n_i_s]

Captain Bill - You are on a roll !! I saw that cone marker and thought it was a drogue - Thanks for straightening me out.

The USCG rules seem ambiguous stating that under 20 meters (60 ft) shapes of lesser dimensions, but commensurate with the size of the vessel. It leaves one to guess at the mathematical size relativity.

If 60 ft = 2 ft diameter ball, then 50 ft = 1.667 ft, which is still significantly larger than the 11.7" diameters generally offered. Hmmmmmm .....

Defender has the 2' cone shape too: Cone Shaped Daymark

I suppose it is true that one could make their own ... I love the folding design for storage. Of course, you could buy a black ball, rig it for hanging and deflate it for storage. I dunno ...

[Captain Bill]

My ball dayshape is in fact an inflatable ball. It looks like a heavyduty kids beach ball with a cord attached that I use to connect it to my flag halyard.

BLACK BALL - INFLATABLE

[D_e_n_n_i_s]

International Regulations for Preventing Collisions at Sea (COLREG):
Download the NavRules
(This link combines Inland and International Regulations, but separates them out clearly marked within the document)

Part C Lights and Shapes (Rules 20-31)
Rule 30 - Anchored vessels and vessels aground

U.S. Inland Regulation:
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; and
(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 or more in length
shall, also use the available working or equivalent lights to illuminate her
decks.
Ves

(e) A vessel of less than 7 meters in length, when at anchor, not in or near
a narrow channel, fairway, anchorage, or where other vessels normally
navigate, shall not be required to exhibit the lights or 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.
(g) A vessel of less than 20 meters in length, when at anchor in a special
anchorage area designated by the Secretary, shall not be required to exhibit
the anchor lights and shapes required by this Rule.


International Regulations:
(e) A vessel of less than 7 meters in length, when at anchor, not in or near
a narrow channel, fairway or anchorage, or where other vessels normally
navigate, shall not be required to exhibit the lights or 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.


Annex I - Positioning and technical details of lights and shapes

Inland Regulation:
§ 84.11 Shapes
(a) Shapes shall be black and of the following sizes:
(1) A ball shall have a diameter of not less than 0.6 meter;
(2) A cone shall have a base diameter of not less than 0.6 meter and a
height equal to its diameter;
(3) A diamond shape shall consist of two cones (as defined in
Paragraph (a)(2) of this section) having a common base.
(b) The vertical distance between shapes shall be at least 1.5 meter.
(c) In a vessel of less than 20 meters in length shapes of lesser dimensions
but commensurate with the size of the vessel may be used and the
distance apart may be correspondingly reduced.

International Regulation:
6. Shapes
(a) Shapes shall be black and of the following sizes:
(i) a ball shall have a diameter of not less than 0.6 meter;
(ii) a cone shall have a base diameter of not less than 0.6 meter and a
height equal to its diameter;
(iii) a cylinder shall have a diameter of at least 0.6 meter and a height
of twice its diameter;
(iv) a diamond shape shall consist of two cones as defined in (ii) above
having a common base.
(b) The vertical distance between shapes shall be at least 1.5 meter.
(c) In a vessel of less than 20 meters in length shapes of lesser dimensions
but commensurate with the size of the vessel may be used and the
distance apart may be correspondingly reduced.