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California Boating
A Course for Safe Boating
Chapter 2
u
Boating Law, Navigational Rules and Navigational Aids
Row boats, paddle boats, and sailboats
less than
7 meters in length, as in
Figure 7
, must have one
all-round light ready to display in time to prevent a
collision.
Lighting
All moving boats must show navigation lights between sunset and sunrise,
and at times when it’s hard to see very far. Personal watercraft are prohibited
from operating between sunset and sunrise even with proper navigation lights.
Navigation light requirements vary by vessel length and power source. In
general, requirements are the same for inland and international rules. The
chart shows the color, location and direction of the lights for recreational
boats (or pleasure craft).
Boats less than 12 meters
(39 feet, 4 inches)
Motorboats or sailboats using
power: The lights shown in
Figure 1, 2
or
3
may be used.
Sailboats using sails alone:
The lights shown in
Figure 4,
5,
or
6
may be used.
Boats between 12 and 20 meters
(39 feet, 4 inches to 65 feet, 7 inches)
Motorboats or sailboats using
power: The lights shown in
Figure 1, 2
or
3
may be used.
Sailboats using sails alone:
The lights shown in
Figure 4,
5,
or
6
may be used.
Location of lights
Lights should be located as
shown in the drawings. The
masthead light (forward white
light in
Figure 1
) must be at
least one meter—39 inches—
higher than the colored lights
on a boat less than 40 feet long,
and at least 8 feet above the
gunwale on a boat between
40 and 65 feet long.
Exceptions
Motorboats or sailboats using
power, built before Dec. 24,
1980: The lights shown in
Figure 1, 2
or
3
may be
used. But the arrangement in
Figure 3
is not acceptable on
a boat 40 feet or longer on
international waters.
Taken from
Coast Guard
Navigation Rules
1
4
2
5
3
6
At night, motorboats less than 40 feet long may
combine the masthead light and stern light into
one all-round white light. When at anchor, boats
must show one all-round white light at night.
During the day, these boats must show day shapes. A day shape might be one
black ball that is visible from the highest point of the vessel, which signals
that the boat is at anchor.
Nighttime Navigation
7