[Public-List] Early model running light question

[John Riley]

mahseer at kos.net wrote:
> Just a legal point about mast head tri lights.  While these may be legal
> for sail boats when under power at night you are a power boat and
> navigation lights (red/green) above the white running lights are not, so
> deck/pulpit installed lights are still needed.  I am not sure if replacing
> LED lights in place of regular bulbs meet coast guard regulations.
>
> john Boor
> MAHSEER #380
>
>   
Navigation lights have to meet visibility requirements.  There's nothing
in the laws that state how that visibility is met.

And to head off the tangent of "certification," a couple of years ago,
we had a lawyer do a Nexus search for any case law showing where
certification of a light on a boat was a deciding factor in the case
outcome.  Not one single case was found.  What has been found were cases
where the improper visibility of lights was THE deciding factor in
culpability.

Certification simply tells the buyer that the light fixture itself has
been tested and shown to meet visibility requirements.  Certification of
the fixture does not "certify" the installation, so  a certified light
CAN still not meet the requirements of the law.

LED navigation lights and replacement bulbs are in widespread use
worldwide.  So long as the end result is a light that meets the
visibility requirements for the boat on which it is installed, there
should be not problem.

I am not a lawyer ...

-- 
John S. Riley
S/V Gaelic Sea
1972 Alberg 30 #521


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