Masthead light.

[Dr.Spoke]

I half-heartedly hopped on a thread in The Bilge... But now want to seriously ask for advice.
I've got a little sailing boat with a long mast. The mast rotates for furling and reefing the sail.
Today I've got some fairly inadequate battery nav lights. I'm about to mount some LED side lights. Obviously a masthead tricolour is not going to work. I'd like to mount a light up top... But can't work out a good way to get power up there without tangling loads of wires - and I don't fancy trying to concoct some kind of brush system onto the mast.
Then I got thinking about the solar powered LED garden lights! Ok probably not ideal light wise... but better than I've got today, and certainly more visible at the top of the mast than on my little jack-staff on the stern.
So what say the assembled minds? Or do you have any better solutions?

[Thorne]

Steaming light or anchor light? == the requirements are different.

Nothing solar will be bright enough until you get past a certain collector size, which will be too large for a small masthead -

http://www.stacksandstacks.com/images/product/reg-1269225804-152087.jpg
http://www.stacksandstacks.com/waterproof-solar-powered-outdoor-led-light?id=176&sku=152087&utm_medium=shoppingengine&utm_source=googlebase

http://inspectusa.com/solar-powered-utility-light-vsol9-with-recharging-system-p-1524.html

[Breakaway]

Garden lights wont meet legal range requirements ( I don't think). If its just an all-around white light you need, ( which wouldn't mind mast rotation, eh?)Aqua Signal (http://www.aquasignal.info/ecat/htdocs/index.php?category_id=1&subcategory_id=1&product_id=43&item_id=146) has battery operated ones that mount with a C-clamp.

If its a bi-color light you seek, hopefully others will be along with a suggestion.

Kevin

[banjoman]

The solar lights I had in my yard were:
1) Not bright enough
2) Did not last through the night.

[Thorne]

Duckworks is your friend -
http://www.duckworksbbs.com/hardware/electrical/il-560-211x/index.htm

Sorta like an electric pigstick -

My friend Bill Tosh used one of the IL-560-2113 lights to make a masthead anchor light for his Montgomery 17. Here is what he did:
http://www.duckworksbbs.com/hardware/electrical/il-560-211x/000_0248.jpg I drilled an extra hole about midway of the tube and inserted the black eyebolt that came with the light. http://www.duckworksbbs.com/hardware/electrical/il-560-211x/000_0247.jpg Next I installed an "S" hook in the bottom hole of the tube and attached a "tail rope" to it.
http://www.duckworksbbs.com/hardware/electrical/il-560-211x/000_0245.jpg To use the light, I simply hook the mainsail halyard to the eyebolt in the center of the tube and pull up the mast all the way to the top, secure the halyard...
http://www.duckworksbbs.com/hardware/electrical/il-560-211x/000_0246.jpg ...and then pull down on the tailrope which in turn raises the light (180 degrees) and it is "above" the top of the mast, allowing 360 degrees visibility.

[PeterSibley]

Ah ,an illuminated top mast !:D:) A great idea !

[Don Kurylko]

http://www.carmanah.com/Portals/1/Products/601.jpg

Here you go Doc. Completely self-contained, solar powered lights for marine use. No wires and very robust! More info here: http://www.carmanah.com/Products/Marine_Lanterns/M601.aspx (http://www.carmanah.com/Products/Marine_Lanterns/M601.aspx)

[Dr.Spoke]

Thanks Don, that looks like the best solution.
Might not be completely "legal", but the boats tiny, and I'd be much more visible... So I think that counts for more.

Battery lights won't work... How do I climb up the 11m mast to put them on?

Thorne, nice idea! But I'm lacking rigging to work it. Only one halyard that is in use in the spring and autumn ( the sail furls around the mast - and no space on the boat for the sail even if I did drop it and motor), and no other rigging.

[Don Kurylko]

Rated for 2 nautical miles. Perfectly legal, but might be a bit heavy since the battery is built into the unit. The site has a specs sheet that you can download I think. I wish they had port and starboard navigation lights too.

[paladin]

You can change out the battery for a more efficient (higher quality) and more expensive one. Most use nicads but you may be able to substitute a lithium ion battery.

[Ian McColgin]

Having used the short lasting - both hours per night illumination and total service life - rather dim cheap guarden lights, I think it worth the $32 (from Defender) for the Shockles portable solar powered LED light. Just sieze it to the mast head and you're in business.

[Thorne]

The Carmanah light looks like a good solution, but that 5 lbs at the top of the mast sure puts a lot of weight at just the wrong location! I guess the rotating mast doesn't give you any other options...

Ian - are you suggesting the Solar Powered Dock Light, or the Lightship Solar Powered LED light? Neither seem very suited for masthead mounting, although the Dock Light might do the trick...
http://www.taylormadeproducts.com/taylorbrite/images/solar_dock_1.png

http://www.defender.com/product.jsp?path=-1|65136|739053|760441&id=1243755
http://www.defender.com/product.jsp?path=-1|65136|583734&id=1126216
http://www.taylormadeproducts.com/taylorbrite/solar_dock.html

For most of these solar solutions, the masthead light needs to be exposed to the sun all the time to keep up the charge, so you'll need to poke a hole in the boatshed for the mast to mount through... :D

[ssor]

Mast head anchor lights and stars bear a certain similarity. I like a light that is lower and illuminates the rigging and cabin top.

[Ian McColgin]

I had in mind the unit that is on a pole and has a sliding multi-orientable clamp suitable for attaching the light to a stauncheon, rail or most anything less than an inch or so wide. The clamp is of no use at the mast head unless you embed a sort of spike in the mast for it to grip. I think that would look clunky.

Maybe make a little hole in the top of the mast an inch or so deep with a weep hold angled out from the bottom and a threaded hole about half way up for a thumb screw to hold it in place. Just stick it in and off you go. Making it removable increases the odds of not breaking the light during transport when the mast is struck.

I would NOT put any light at deck or eye level. Running lights have shields for a reason and that reason is so they don't totally wreck your night vision. I even put a disc under the tricolor at the masthead. Night vision is delicate but once you learn to use it well, the searchlight casting about for the mooring ball or channel marker days are over.

G'luck

[Dr.Spoke]

I had in mind the unit that is on a pole and has a sliding multi-orientable clamp suitable for attaching the light to a stauncheon, rail or most anything less than an inch or so wide. The clamp is of no use at the mast head unless you embed a sort of spike in the mast for it to grip. I think that would look clunky.

Maybe make a little hole in the top of the mast an inch or so deep with a weep hold angled out from the bottom and a threaded hole about half way up for a thumb screw to hold it in place. Just stick it in and off you go. Making it removable increases the odds of not breaking the light during transport when the mast is struck.

I would NOT put any light at deck or eye level. Running lights have shields for a reason and that reason is so they don't totally wreck your night vision. I even put a disc under the tricolor at the masthead. Night vision is delicate but once you learn to use it well, the searchlight casting about for the mooring ball or channel marker days are over.

G'luck
Obviously the weight issues are beginning to worry me, and the shear size of these lights, my mast is only 2 1/2" inches at the top. Drilling into the mast is not an option - the sheave for the halyard sits right up there... but there is a beautifully chromed top to the mast which can be modified to accept a fitting. Just more time at the lathe, not sailing!
Your concern over night vision had also occured to me, hence the white light at the top of the mast - not on a 1 meter pole on the stern. Which even if shielded would still be far too much light a meter of so from the helm. Not to mention much more visible.
An anchor light is not too important in the Stockholm Archipeligo - who anchors? Most nose into a skerry, with a kedge over the stern. I have never had the need to be anywhere near a "thoroughfare" at night.
Also - most of my season is never really dark, it's just nice to know one has done all one can to be seen.

[gibetheridge]

Is there any reason for not routing a small groove in the mast, embedding a wire in the groove in some caulk, filling the remaining groove with a long wood wedge and fairing it in and hard mounting a compact battery pack on the base of the mast? I think it could be done in an aesthetically acceptable fashion, and you could have a very bright LED light at the masthead, the LED "bulbs" being the least heavy and longest lasting type so you don't have to ship the mast to change bulbs too often.

Or how about the same wiring setup but with a fiber optic cable going to the masthead and the appropriate diffuser in place up there, no bulbs to replace.

[Dr.Spoke]

Is there any reason for not routing a small groove in the mast, embedding a wire in the groove in some caulk, filling the remaining groove with a long wood wedge and fairing it in and hard mounting a compact battery pack on the base of the mast? I think it could be done in an aesthetically acceptable fashion, and you could have a very bright LED light at the masthead, the LED "bulbs" being the least heavy and longest lasting type so you don't have to ship the mast to change bulbs too often.

Or how about the same wiring setup but with a fiber optic cable going to the masthead and the appropriate diffuser in place up there, no bulbs to replace.

Both ideas sound great, and if I ever get around to replacing the mast with a carbon-fibre model, I will definately have that in the spec.
But I'm dealing with a 63 year old, 11m, un-stayed mast, that is glued together from 8 staves... Somehow, I don't feel good about taking any material from it... maybe I'm just paraniod:D

[gibetheridge]

Don't blame you, didn't realize the mast was hollow. You could run the conductor up thru the mast I suppose.

Would it still roller furl/reef if you applied the wire/fiberoptic strand beneath a small moulding right on the surface? That would be a lot less work than trying to snake something up thru the mast. Maybe the battery pack could mount to the mast below decks, the conductor coming up thru the mast for that short distance.

[Dr.Spoke]

I could run a wire up the mast, but I'm not sure getting it past the sheave at the top would be doable. I would have to pull the wire through the mast above deck, or between the deck and mast foot as there is very little room below th elower bearing. But a straight hole drilled into the core of the mast, in it's strongest place wouldn't worry me too much... In fact, I've just realised...

The mast has a drum(approx 2' dia), just below decks, for the mast control line. I had planned to make a new one next winter - the repairs of the original were beginning to get too ugly. This would be the ideal spot for the battery pack - a small lead/acid being obvious choice - and I can build a neat hatch for removal, exterior battery indicator and charging poles.... Lovley indoor project for when the temps drop to -20C....

For this season..... Maybe live with the battery operated on the flag-staff... Or try something on the top in solar garden variety... It'll only cost me 5USD for two of the design I like in stainless. And they may provide the housing for the permanent solution next year.

[gibetheridge]

Looks like you've got it. It occurs to me that sometimes hollow masts have internal blocking, which would make running the conductor inside the mast more difficult. Something to check out first. Maybe someone on the forum has experience with that, I don't.

Just for fun, here's a wild scheme. Shine a laser beam at a diffuser on top of the mast. Too wacky, but if it's possible Paladin would know.

[Thorne]

Another more "instant" option would be to epoxy some flat electrical wire to the surface of the mast. A few LED lights won't pull much current, so most of the "flat wire" products should work.

http://www.cicoil.com/images/homepage/billboard_2.jpg

[Dr.Spoke]

'Like that flat-wire! Might even use it in the cabin... very discreet.

Well I bought some of the cheapest lights - 6 USD for 3, in stainless. They've got a 300mAh NiMH battery, and all work. One is brighter than the others. So I need to fully charge them, and see what's going on.
Tomorrow I'll have time to strip one on a bench and measure the charging current, it might be that a 1000mAh cell would work. Then it's just to see if the LED can be improved or added to. If not then it's just a temporary, and I'll mount better next year.
The housing is simple, light and robust. Now to make a burgee to fit it.