Has your masthead light bent under a bridge? Repair it with a stainless steel hinge for flagpoles and masthead lights
It happens to the best of us. The Biminitop was neatly lowered before the bridge, speed reduced, everything under control… except for the flagpole with the masthead light. That was still standing upright. The result: snap, a bent flagpole/top light combination.
Repairing a bent skylight or flagpole with a stainless steel hinge
Buy a new skylight every time? No. We can also repair this one and make sure it doesn’t happen again. Since the skylight on my boat also serves as a flagpole, I didn’t want to install another non-hinged rod that would ruin my afternoon at the slightest oversight. The solution was a stainless steel hinge assembly, so that from now on, the top light folds down in the event of a collision rather than snapping. The idea isn’t that you should let it slam against bridges from now on, but if you do forget about it once, the hinge will now bend instead of your top light mast.
Using the hinge below, some drill bits, and a small filler tube, I ended up making this:
(Make sure to buy the version of the hinge that doesn't have a pull pin)
The construction
- The top light has been cut off at the bottom (in my case, at the bend, but normally you do this about 7 cm from the bottom).
- The hinge used has a 23 mm inner diameter (deep down, a little less)
- Here is a piece of Stainless steel tube with an outer diameter of 22 mm and an inner diameter of 19 mm posted.
- The Attwood top light mast (stainless steel with an outer diameter of 19 mm) fits almost perfectly into this tube; to achieve this, the mast had to be lightly sanded or ground down.
- The mast was then firmly pressed or driven into the tube.
- To route the wiring for the skylight, I drilled an extra hole through the hinge so the cable could pass through unobstructed. I also slipped a heat-shrink tube over the cable to protect it.
- Next, tighten the hinge (it can be fairly tight), so that if it hits the bridge, it will fold down at this point without the top light bending. P.S. You can often order lens caps separately on Amazon or eBay, so if your lens cap happens to be broken, you can usually order a replacement. Common brands include: Attwood, Perko (both American), Hella Marine (New Zealand), Osculati (Italian) and Lalizas.
The result is a sturdy structure capable of supporting both the skylight and the flag; a small polished stainless steel hinge is visible at the bottom.
Benefits
- No more risk of a bent roof light when passing under low bridges.
- The overhead light remains fully functional.
- The flagpole remains usable.
- Here's how to fix your bent headlight.
- Made entirely of stainless steel.
- A fun little hobby project :)
Practical experience
Once assembled, the structure turns out to be surprisingly rigid. When folded up, it feels almost as sturdy as the original fixed mast. Thanks to the hinge mechanism, the top light is now flexible in the event of a collision with a bridge (though, of course, you shouldn’t sail backward into a bridge).
A relatively simple modification that’s likely cheaper than a new masthead light or a new flagpole/masthead light combination—and a lot less frustrating than realizing once again that the bridge was just a little lower than you thought.
Have you come up with a clever solution for use on board? Send it to Havendienst.nl, and we’ll be happy to share it with other water sports enthusiasts.
