Navigation Lights - Sidelights

Another factor in proper installation of sidelights is that they must maintain their required minimum intensity in a vertical sector from 5 degrees above to 5 degrees below the horizontal. They must also maintain at least 60 percent of their minimum required intensity from 7.5 degrees above to 7.5 degrees below the horizontal. Installing flush mounted sidelights, designed to be mounted to a vertical surface in the hull contour, without providing a mounting surface tooled to be vertical, shifts the vertical coverage sector. This also results in a noncompliance with the Inland or International Navigation Rules.

Additionally, most of these flush mounted sidelights are installed below the vessel's rub rail. International Navigation Rules require that sidelights be installed above the uppermost continuous deck. Therefore this configuration would not be in compliance with International Navigation Rules.

When separate red and green sidelight fixtures are used, the masthead or all-round white light, whichever configuration is installed, must be located as close as practical to the vessel's fore and aft centerline. For vessels less than 12 meters in length, the masthead or all-round light may be displaced from the fore and aft centerline providing that the sidelights are contained within a common fixture and mounted on the vessel's fore and aft centerline. The masthead or all-round light must be installed at least one meter (3.3 ft.) above the sidelights.

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