Navigation Lights

ORION does not have an onboard battery. I don’t want the hassle of maintaining one, and I don’t want the extra weight in my boat. Also, if I’m honest, I don’t spend the kind of time in my boat where hard-wired electronics would make having an onboard battery useful. Although a number of Mariner owners have successfully installed a battery that powers all sorts of gadgets like navigation lights, cabin lights, VHF radios, depth sounders, bilge pumps, and sound systems, I take a more simplistic route and use AA or AAA batteries for my accessories.

This includes my navigation lights as I only use them a few times a year if I’m lucky. It would be great to spend more time sailing at night, and I often dream of making long passages, slowly sailing or motoring into a quiet harbor as the sun disappears behind the tree-lined hills surrounding me. The reality is, almost all of my sailing is for a few hours during the day when lights of any kind aren’t needed. Perhaps just having functional nav lights and therefore knowing I have the ability to sail after dusk is good enough for now.

So, for those rare occasions I do use nav lights, portable lights are my best option. I have tried many different brands including Attwood, Seachoice, and a few others not in business anymore, but I always had problems with them. The lights were too dim, the waterproof seals around the battery compartment didn’t hold up, I couldn’t find a way to mount them properly, they were cheaply made, or they just plain didn’t work.

Then I discovered Navisafe.

Certified by the Coast Guard to meet the visibility standard of two nautical miles, they are, as their website says, “fully waterproof, portable, compact, and lightweight.” They look like a hockey puck, run on three AAA batteries, and the red/green/white light has five lighting modes: tri-color, bi-color side light, red side light, green side light, and white stern light, all of which can be cycled through simply by pushing a large button at the top. I also bought a second light, one with all white lights that also cycle through 360-degree all-around white, 225-degree masthead light, 135-degree stern light (what I primarily use it for), a flashing light, and a slightly dimmer cabin light. They have a very powerful magnet on the bottom which allows them to be securely attached on many different kinds of mounts, such as on a vertical surface, a horizontal surface, or on a bow pulpit rail like ORION has.

In fact, there are two different rail mounts - a permanent mount and a portable, clamp-on mount. I tried installing the permanent mount on the bow pulpit, but I didn’t like the way it looked sitting there when not in use. I could see keeping it there if I frequently used nav lights, but the clamp-on mount is perfect for my needs. It’s in three parts: a U-shaped channel that fits around the rail, the top magnet, and a threaded knob to tighten the components together. It only takes a minute to clamp it on the pulpit, and the light itself attaches to it in a second thanks to the magnet. There’s even a little lanyard that comes with each light so you can loop it around the mount and cinch it tight so you won’t worry about losing it. However, the magnet is so strong, it’s not going to come off - unless you accidentally knock into it.

For the sternlight, I wanted it to be high enough so it would shine above the rudder when it is kicked up all the way out of the water. Fortunately, Navisafe sells an extendable pole that can attach to a number of different bases. I permanently attached the low-profile Navimount vertical mount to ORION’s transom, so all I need to do is get the pole, secure it in the mount, extend it, and attach the light at the top. Done.

All in all, it’s a pretty simple setup, although I will say the lights are not cheap. But they are reliable, bright, and solid once attached. I’m very happy I discovered these lights and encourage others to check them out for themselves.

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