How to Signal as or Identify a Vessel at Anchor

If you want to avoid a collision at night, you need to have proper anchor lighting. Fortunately, it is easy to signal correctly. Use correctly placed all-around lights and turn your running lights off when you stop. This will let other ships know where your boat is, and that it is moored and not underway. Learn to recognize the same lights on the ships around you so you know when they are at anchor for the night.

Things You'll Need

  • All-around lights
  • Deck lights
  • Anchor ball
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Instructions

    • 1

      Rig up an anchor ball during the day. Put it in the front part of the boat in a place where it is easy to see.

    • 2

      Rig up a white all-around light in the front of the boat at night. An all-around light is a bright light that can be seen from 360 degrees around. It should be as visible as possible, so put it several feet above the surface of the deck if you can.

    • 3

      Put up another all-around light at or near the stern of the boat. It should be somewhat lower than the one at the front so that boats passing by can tell the bow from the stern.

    • 4

      Turn off the sidelights when you lay anchor. When underway, you should have a green light on your starboard side and a red light on the port side, but these lights should be off when you are moored so other ships know you aren't moving.

    • 5

      Consider turning on deck lights. If your boat is less than 100 meters long you don't actually have to, but it will increase your visibility, making it less likely that someone will collide with you.

    • 6

      Know how to recognize a boat at anchor. During the day, it will have a large, black ball sitting above the foredeck. At night, it will have one or two bright white lights and no running lights.