Anchor ball displayed

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I have never used one, nor have I seen one used on a pleasure boat. I'm all for anything that makes boating safer but I don't see how they increase safety. An anchor ball wouldn't make your boat more visible or less likely to be run into.
I do understand why someone would use it in a busy, litigious parts of the world but we have none of that here.
 
AusCan said:
I have never used one, nor have I seen one used on a pleasure boat. I'm all for anything that makes boating safer but I don't see how they increase safety. An anchor ball wouldn't make your boat more visible or less likely to be run into.
I do understand why someone would use it in a busy, litigious parts of the world but we have none of that here.
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In crowded anchorages they definitely help and/or the bigger the vessel the more critical they become.


Start diving stuff that is hard to slow or stop or tun quickly and one can appeciate if another vessel is moving or not ....or abut to.
 
OK, after all this discussion I went and ordered one on Amazon. Its kind of like having an uninsured motorist policy, if I get hit I want to show I was compliant with the regs.
 
I have one and use it. Might be the only boat with one in pelican bay. My problem is I forget to take it down when pulling up the anchor.
 
High Wire said:
I have one and use it. Might be the only boat with one in pelican bay. My problem is I forget to take it down when pulling up the anchor.
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As a reminder.....use a tennis ball spray painted black and hang it from your ignition key....


hmmmmm....might just know someone who has one you might be able to buy.... though there might be a run on them now.....:D
 
psneeld said:
As a reminder.....use a tennis ball spray painted black and hang it from your ignition key....


hmmmmm....might just know someone who has one you might be able to buy.... though there might be a run on them now.....:D
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I have plenty of green ones thank you ? then I would have to remember to hang it
 
High Wire said:
I have one and use it. Might be the only boat with one in pelican bay. My problem is I forget to take it down when pulling up the anchor.
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Hard to not notice the ball when recovering anchor while at the windlass, a position I favor to simultaneously fresh-water wash down anchor chain and anchor :)
 
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Leatherneck said:
OK, after all this discussion I went and ordered one on Amazon. Its kind of like having an uninsured motorist policy, if I get hit I want to show I was compliant with the regs.
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Absolutely!
 
BDofMSP said:
Thanks. I do have a small flag pole on the bow, but it's holding my TF burgee! I don't want to obscure that for ANY reason!

I'll look into doing something similar. Thanks for the tip.
BD
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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.

(d) When the decision to hang an anchor ball comes at the cost of removing the prescribed Trawler Forum Burgee, the Burgee must always take priority.
-Abraham Lincoln


Also, the way they taught us to remember some of the dayshape rules was thus: The more balls you have, the more trouble you're in.

1- Anchored
2- Not Under Command
3- Aground
 
I was on our 49' Sailing boat in the Caribbean with friends from the UK who were getting ready to help me sail across the Atlantic. They could not believe I did not have an anchor ball and shamed me into buying one. Not an easy task in The BVIs!
 
AC2078B7-D5E6-47CA-88A1-F57A1C4D59DA.jpeg
 
Wayfarer said:
(d) When the decision to hang an anchor ball comes at the cost of removing the prescribed Trawler Forum Burgee, the Burgee must always take priority.
-Abraham Lincoln
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I read it on the Internet so it must be true! :)
 
Does anybody have a source for a .6m anchor ball? Amazon has one for $109. The half size one is like $13 but is sized for a 10m boat. I have a 58' boat so I need the full sized ball or pretty close to it.
 
105 Posts on anchor balls and Pete complains about having anchor posts at all.
I pass ..
 
:banghead:


I couldn't find the "beating a dead horse" emojl. The wall will have to do.


Ok, class. See below & discuss...
 

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ScottC said:
:banghead:


I couldn't find the "beating a dead horse" emojl. The wall will have to do.


Ok, class. See below & discuss...
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Minesweeping...if you see them that clearly you might already be in trouble....
 
Have one and use it, picture taken in Pelican Bay on the west coast of Florida (Charlotte Harbor). We have occasionally been seen underway with it deployed with the anchor light still on. :eek:
 

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markpierce said:
Yes, fishing day shapes always seem to be permanently displayed. :ermm:
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And it is not just in the US or CA. I saw a bunch of fishing vessels in Ireland with permanent fishing day shapes. I was wondering what they were catching tied up at the dock. :)

Later,
Dan
 
"I saw a bunch of fishing vessels in Ireland with permanent fishing day shapes. I was wondering what they were catching tied up at the dock. :)"


In the USA its the diver down flags that fly 24/7/365.
 
Agreed, most don't know what it is. But that isn't an excuse to ignore the regulations and, as others have pointed out, could be an excuse to board you, could be worth a ticket, or could be held against you in the event of an accident. They're cheap, fold flat, and stow easily when not needed. We deploy ours... but rarely see them in local Florida waters.
 
Good point on the excuse for boarding. Locally, we're already low on the "likely to get bothered" list by being over 35 feet and not an express cruiser. Displaying an anchor ball is just another thing to keep us higher on the list, meaning we're more likely to watch the sheriffs or Coast Guard bothering someone else, rather than getting bothered ourselves.
 
All this talk about anchor balls, and when I look at the training materials and the Safety Check form that all came to me from the Coast Guard, I don't see a line for anchor balls, steaming cone, diamond shape or cylinder.
Here in Canada, any vessel under 12m is exempt anyway.
In 25 yrs of doing safety checks, I have yet to come across a boat or boater with an anchor ball. I won't be rushing out to the store for one.
 
koliver said:
All this talk about anchor balls, and when I look at the training materials and the Safety Check form that all came to me from the Coast Guard, I don't see a line for anchor balls, steaming cone, diamond shape or cylinder.
Here in Canada, any vessel under 12m is exempt anyway.
In 25 yrs of doing safety checks, I have yet to come across a boat or boater with an anchor ball. I won't be rushing out to the store for one.
Click to expand...

Do you really think that the training classes and safety checks cover every legal circumstance? I taught CG Aux classes and did training for 30 years and I can tell you that they don’t cover everything.
 
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