"Skip Gundlach" wrote in message
...
Anchorage identification and boarding techniques

It used to be that an LED anchor light would be scarce enough (and
much brighter among all the incandescents) that finding our boat would
be a piece of cake. That's no longer the case, at least in the
anchorages we were in this last 7 or so months - LEDs are now
predominant.


Most LEDs are generally not even legal for anchor light purposes. They tend
to be too directional in nature and are more like a mini-spotlight than the
required, two-mile minimum, 360 degree light. Nothing is more pathetic than
a half a million dollar yacht anchored using those pitifully weak, LED,
illegal, solar lawn lights but one sees them in use all the time. Sad!

For a good, bright, long-lasting anchor light one should go the compact
fluorescent route. Here is my suggestion:
http://www.servicelighting.com/catal...m?prod=TC10715

It will fit in a standard night light socket and it is such a powerful,
bright light with a very noticeable white (as opposed to the usual
yellow-looking feeble anchor light) Run it off your inverter hung from the
backstay about fifteen feet up. Don't use the photocell socket as compact
fluorescents are slowly damaged by the flicker effect that photocell sockets
cause when coming on and going off.

If this proves too bright for your purposes (It puts out close to what a 100
watt incandescent bulb produces) there are lower wattage examples available.
The four watt model is actually bright enough to be legal. But, if you want
to be able to pick your boat out even from five miles away the bulb linked
above is the way to go.

Wilbur Hubbard