Flashing Anti Bug Anchor Light

[Phrancus]

how about a kind of strobe light? a quick flash every minute or so should be enough to be picked up by some vessel coming your way?

[Midnightsun]

Source of the post how about a kind of strobe light? a quick flash every minute or so should be enough to be picked up by some vessel coming your way?

That is my project using the original anchor light connected to the timer module I showed. Want to keep this as stock as possible and easily bypassed or removed if required. It will turn out more like a flashing light similar to a standard navigation buoy. A strobe as we all now it may be a little drastic.

[Phrancus]

Strobe would seem too much like an emergency situation indeed.

The light has a function, no light is not a good idea. Some rules do have a good reason behind it.

But the light causes problems as the bugs drop dead around it I suppose? So how about moving that light somewhat off the boat. Up front with an extension? No one who sees an anchor light takes it as a small point to avoid, the light can indicate a small and a big vessel so where exactly that light is on the boat is less important I would think.

Or install a radar with a bar, light on top of that so the bugs get swept overboard, add paddles/spoilers for more effect....

[Viper]

Put a much brighter battery operated light on your anchor buoy in hopes that the bugs will be more attracted to it away from the boat instead. Maybe a blue light.

[km1125]

Another thought is to rig a black panel under the light, so that the whole boat is shadowed and not illuminated by the anchor light. From a big "bug distance", that illuminated boat is a huge target.

[bud37]

Source of the post I have seen a few boats that cheat when it comes to anchor lights. They tie/tape one of those garden solar lights to the top of the VHF antenna being they are so light and small. They come on automatically and shut down when the sun rises. Probably do not last the entire night though.

Few years back we had two of that style solar light, they were a marine version, quite nice/solid, had rail mounts and lasted all night. I put one on each side of the bridge on the inside of the canvas, it had the effect of lighting the entire bridge under the canvas. Sorry I don't remember the name, I think we got them at TIBS.

Now that said any departure from the regs could be a serious problem if there ever was ( God forbid ) an accident, they will always look for a way out, not to mention the legal charges under the applicable code.

[Midnightsun]

Got her hooked up today, works like a charm at least physically that is. Now lets see how the bugs react however this will be later on when we get around to anchoring and the bugs are out.

I can confirm a common ground works fine, no need to split the ground of the anchor light. In the arch I had 2 positive wires, one for the steaming light and when for the anchoring light with a single common ground for both. I was able to simply cut the ground and hook up each end of the black wires of the module which completes the circuit. I cut the anchor light wire and hooked up each end to the 2 red wires on the module being careful to connect the in and out correctly. Easy install in my case.

[Midnightsun]

After spending several nights on the hook during bug season I can confirm the blinking light solution is a solution to bug attraction.

[bud37]

Source of the post is a solution to bug attraction.

I thought you wanted to keep them away......

[Midnightsun]

Guess I worded that wrong. Had a couple of bottles of wine too many last night so this morning I was a little foggy when I wrote that one.