T&T: Light board color

[Rich Gano]

The reflection of your side lights off of any color other than matte or flat
black could be confusing to another vessel approaching from more than two
points abaft your beam.  It doesn't matter how long your boat is vis-a-vis
the COLREGS, you need to remove any ambiguity about your nav lights.

And there is more:

I had owned CALYPSO for about fourteen years before I got the idea that my
port and starboard running lights might be cross-eyed (i.e., both visible
across the bow).  I moored the boat bow-in tightly alongside the pilings of
my slip and had my wife walk up into the yard.  I took bearings on her with
a centerline  pelorus.  I was amazed at how far across the bow both lights
were visible from only 200 feet away, about 10 degrees.  Anybody trying to
make a last-second decision regarding collision with me based on my lights
would have had a very good chance of making the wrong decision.  I
immediately installed flat black screens to correct what I considered a
serious safety issue because I do a fair amount of running at night.

I also modified the combination port/starboard running light of my dinghy
with a six-inch piece of Plexiglas painted flat black and glued vertically
between the two colors because both were visible up to 30 degrees across the
bow.

My advice would be for everybody to give this a quick "sanity check."  A
possible quick and accurate method might be to use a radio-equipped off-boat
assistant on a pier or on another boat.  Aim directly at him/her and slowly
turn port and then stbd while watching the compass as the assistant clicks
the mic button when the side light in the direction of the turn goes out.
You might be very surprised at the result.

Rich Gano
CALYPSO (GB-42 #295)
Southport, FL (near Panama City)