Final answer:
Powered vessels between 39.4 and 65.6 feet must follow specific navigation light requirements to ensure maritime safety. These lights allow other vessels to see and understand the movements and presence of the boat in low visibility, much like a lighthouse warns ships away from dangerous areas. The navigation lights include a masthead light, side lights, a sternlight, and sometimes an all-round white light.
Step-by-step explanation:
Navigation light requirements for powered vessels are of significant importance for ensuring safety at sea. According to maritime regulations, a powered vessel that is greater than 39.4 feet but less than 65.6 feet (which is approximately 20 meters) requires a specific set of navigation lights. These lights are crucial as they assist other vessels in determining the size, direction, and activity of the boat during the night or in poor visibility conditions, much like a lighthouse, which guides and warns ships by projecting a beam over dangerous shoreline areas. Navigation lights for a vessel of this size would typically include a masthead light, port, and starboard side lights, a sternlight, and an all-round white light if the vessel is under power. These lights help to prevent collisions by communicating the vessel's presence and orientation to other boats.
Visual signaling at sea, whether from modern vessels or historical lighthouses, serves as a critical component for maritime navigation. Even in modern times, poems like Walt Whitman's verse, "Come on, ships from the lower bay! pass up or down, white-sail'd schooners, sloops, lighters!" celebrate the romantic and functional aspects of maritime travel, where navigation lights and fires play a key role in the safe passage of vessels.