Anchor ball displayed

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Leatherneck said:
I think the 0.6m anchor ball size is sufficient. It's hard to miss a 47 ft LOA trawler with a sundeck visually and the black ball should stand out OK. Now I just have to figure out where I can mount it that is easily accessible and visually prominent.
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But you didn't buy that size ball. Your link was for the 1/2 size ball.
 
catalinajack said:
How about just using a black ball fender strategically located while at anchor?
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Yep, nobody gives even 1 f* over what you use to achieve the effect. I know people who have painted round radar reflectors black; for small boats this is my preferred model. It serves two purposes at anchor and packs flat in a drawer.

EDIT: Midnight blue may or may not "be close enough”, it depends how local law enforcement chooses to view it. They can write you a ticket for it in many places....
 
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I know people who have painted round radar reflectors black; for small boats this is my preferred model. It serves two purposes at anchor and packs flat in a drawer.


This is perhaps the best solution I have seen, cheap a dual function. Now if people would use their radar that would be great.
 
Begs another question. How many (non sailboats) hoist a radar reflector?

We have one but since we don't do overnighters I have never put it up.
 
Depends on the boat as to whether you have a decent radar signature or not....


When out and about, radio other vessels and see what you look like on their radar.


Most radar reflectors aren't all that effective...for many vessels with a decent flybridge fairing...lining it with aluminum foil glued to the inside with large flat panels I have heard can be very effective.


Many sailboats without a radar reflector had little signature compared to even a small center console with a good sized outboard on the stern to my helo's Radar.
 
A buddy of mine, now a retired BC Ferries Captain, was on the bridge of a BC ferry about a mile away from my boat. I radio'd him to find out what kind of radar footprint my Catalina 27 sailboat had and he told me he couldn't see it on radar at all. The boat had a small circular radar reflector on it.
 
We have a Lundberg lens type reflector. I have never seen our boats radar footprint on another boats display so I can’t really confirm that it is a good reflector or not. But back when Powerboat Reports was doing evaluations they said it gave the best overall reflection so that is what I went with. I had it stored inside a cabinet on several boats but finally mounted it on our current boat. Now when/if we sell this boat I will have to include it with the boat.
 
Ha, you're right jhall! I knew I was getting the 13" ball but I said .6m. Metrics conversion strikes again!
 
A circular black radar reflector used for both anchored and underway ?
Yea I guess that’ s like the commercial fisherman leaving there day shape up 24/7, anchored, underway or docked.
If we all started leaving the anchored day shape up, anchored, underway or docked, everyone would want one !
Anyone given a ticket for not being anchored and leaving the day shape up ?
 
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On the Chesapeake it is the fisherman who would benefit most from displaying an anchor ball. Depending on the conditions they may be anchored, drifting on trolling at 2.5-3.5 knots. From a distance you can't tell if they are anchored or not. Makes it harder to give them a wide birth. Especially if there are a lot of them.

If they're anchored they may be running a chum slick so across their bow is better. If they're trolling they'll have moved on before you get there.
 
Due to covid many freighters are anchored in the gulf islands in places where they are seldom seen. I can see one now in the distance. So far do not see anything that looks like a black ball.
I will pass by some closer tomorrow and if I see any black ball, will post a picture.
 
So lets try this one , if one doesn't have a black ball displayed and some moron blasts through an anchorage and t-bones a boat they get to sue due to the lack of a ball. By the same account the same moron t-bones a moving boat that is flying a black ball should be able to sue because the boat was shown as anchored but was underway?


This would in theory make the ball showing boat just as guilty as a non ball showing boat?. I get where the original rule came from, before radar, electronic charting, GPS, everyday Joe's owning binoculars, vhf radios, people that needed glasses being able to get them, lots of recreational boats being out anchored on the water ETC. It was a good way to distinguish an anchored boat from a distance.

Today we have all these things at our disposal and the ball is really superfluous in navigation, could this be why the Coasties or other law enforcement agencies do not write out tickets on a regular basis for this grievous infraction?.
As mentioned by myself and others here, on the West coast one never sees an anchor ball hoisted, your WAY more likely to see a blow up sex doll or a wait oe panties waving in the breeze that the aforementioned anchor ball.
We were out anchored in a popular bay for the weekend and not a black ball was to be seen in the 35/40 boats that were anchored there. I didn't notice anyone not showing an anchor light after sunset because that rule actually makes sense.


HOLLYWOOD
 
rsn48 said:
A buddy of mine, now a retired BC Ferries Captain, was on the bridge of a BC ferry about a mile away from my boat. I radio'd him to find out what kind of radar footprint my Catalina 27 sailboat had and he told me he couldn't see it on radar at all. The boat had a small circular radar reflector on it.
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That says more about the radar set and how it was tuned than of the radar reflector and boat signature. A Catalina 27 has a good return without a reflector.
 
hollywood8118 said:
So lets try this one , if one doesn't have a black ball displayed and some moron blasts through an anchorage and t-bones a boat they get to sue due to the lack of a ball. By the same account the same moron t-bones a moving boat that is flying a black ball should be able to sue because the boat was shown as anchored but was underway?


This would in theory make the ball showing boat just as guilty as a non ball showing boat?. I get where the original rule came from, before radar, electronic charting, GPS, everyday Joe's owning binoculars, vhf radios, people that needed glasses being able to get them, lots of recreational boats being out anchored on the water ETC. It was a good way to distinguish an anchored boat from a distance.

Today we have all these things at our disposal and the ball is really superfluous in navigation, could this be why the Coasties or other law enforcement agencies do not write out tickets on a regular basis for this grievous infraction?.
As mentioned by myself and others here, on the West coast one never sees an anchor ball hoisted, your WAY more likely to see a blow up sex doll or a wait oe panties waving in the breeze that the aforementioned anchor ball.
We were out anchored in a popular bay for the weekend and not a black ball was to be seen in the 35/40 boats that were anchored there. I didn't notice anyone not showing an anchor light after sunset because that rule actually makes sense.


HOLLYWOOD
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Neither of your scenarios are how it plays out. In any maritime collision it’s apportioned responsibility. If the anchored vessel was properly marked and not in the channel, it would rank as an allision. So they look at how much each’s actions contributed to the loss, and liability is attributed accordingly.

In either of the scenarios you mentioned, the high speed vessel will be apportioned 97% of the liability.
 
My home harbor, Gig Harbor, can get very busy on a summer weekend. All kinds and sizes of boats as well as kayaks and SUPs. It can be tough at times to quickly determine which boat is anchored and which isn't. An anchor ball on those boats that are anchored would be handy.
 
anchor ball size

So, does that mean that my 36' Grand Banks could display a 36/65 x 2ft += 13.3' black ball, which would be "commensurate for her length". The 1 foot ball still wouldn't quite make it, but might be close enough?



psneeld said:
Annex 1

6. Shapes. Return to the top of the page

(a) Shapes shall be black and of the following sizes:

(i) A ball shall have a diameter of not less than 0.6 meter;
(ii) a cone shall have a base diameter of not less than 0.6 meter‹s› and a height equal to its diameter;
‹ (iii) a cylinder shall have a diameter of at least 0.6 meter and a height of twice its diameter; ‹
(iv)ǂ(iii) a diamond shape shall consist of two cones as defined in §(a)(ii) having a common base.

(b) The vertical distance between shapes shall be at least 1.5 meter‹s›.

(c) In a vessel of less than 20 meters in length shapes of lesser dimensions but commensurate with the size of the vessel may be used and the distance apart may be correspondingly reduced.
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Fishermen. ... I thought only those dragging nets restricting their mobility had the right to display the fishing day shape or equivalent night lights. Hanging some fish line doesn't give one fishing Colreg rights.
 
Soo-Valley said:
Due to covid many freighters are anchored in the gulf islands in places where they are seldom seen. I can see one now in the distance. So far do not see anything that looks like a black ball.
I will pass by some closer tomorrow and if I see any black ball, will post a picture.
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We saw 13 freighters in 5 hour travel. This one looked like it had a ball on the bow. Turned out to be anchor hoods? So none of the foreign flagged ships had a ball.

20200804_085025.jpg
20200804_085025-1.jpg
 
Just because they don’t show the ball doesn’t mean they are right.
 
Seems to me that a ship like that you'd probably be able to see it was at anchor by seeing the chains out as likely (if not more so) as you'd see the anchor ball symbol.

Even coming from astern you'd see that there was no wash from the engine before you'd notice the anchor visual aid (at least I would).

But hey, rules are rules.
 
HiDHo said:
Special Anchorage ?
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The US Coast Guard are permitted by law to designate special anchorage areas where lights and day shapes and not required.

We use one in St Simons, just south of the Morningstar marina (Golden Isles).

I believe the commercial anchorage off Cape Charles in the Chesapeake is another.

However when we anchor in one we still display our anchor light even though we do not have to.
 
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Soo-Valley said:
We saw 13 freighters in 5 hour travel. This one looked like it had a ball on the bow. Turned out to be anchor hoods? So none of the foreign flagged ships had a ball.

View attachment 106054
View attachment 106056
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My paper charts, my CD of CHS charts too, show "Designated anchorages" throughout the Gulf Islands. Those are now regularly filled with bulk freighters waiting for grain and other bulk commodities to load in Vancouver. Check the AIS locations against the charts and you will find where the designated anchorages are located.
 
koliver said:
My paper charts, my CD of CHS charts too, show "Designated anchorages" throughout the Gulf Islands. Those are now regularly filled with bulk freighters waiting for grain and other bulk commodities to load in Vancouver. Check the AIS locations against the charts and you will find where the designated anchorages are located.
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Confirmed several sittings were in commercial designated anchorage.
I guess designated shallower anchorages used by pleasure craft are exempt too.
 
Designated anchorages in the US are NOT special anchorages.

I also believe vessels 20M and over are NOT exempt from lights and shapes and sound signals even in special anchorages.
 
The above link says nothing about anchor balls. It is logical that if you don't need to exhibit a light at night in designated areas then you don't need to display a ball. But said logic does not appear in the above link by menzies.
 
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