A daymark is a navigational aid for sailors and pilots, distinctively marked to maximize its visibility in daylight.1
The word is also used in a more specific, technical sense to refer to a signboard or daytime identifier that is attached to a day beacon or other aid to navigation.2 In that sense, a daymark conveys to the mariner during daylight hours the same significance as the aid's light or reflector does at night.3 Standard signboard shapes are square, triangular, and rectangular, and standard colours are red, green, orange, yellow, and black.2
Notable daymarks
- Trinity House Obelisk, UK
- Kingswear Daymark, UK
- Tasku beacon tower, Finland
- Keskiniemi beacon tower, Finland
- Hiidenniemi beacon tower, Finland
- Laitakari beacon tower, Finland
- Herring Tower, Langness, Isle of Man
- Le Hocq, Jersey
- La Tour Cârrée, Jersey
- Scharhörnbake, Germany
Symbols used on US charts
Chart symbols used by the US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Department, 2013.4
| Paper chart | Simplified | Simplified symbol name |
|---|---|---|
|
|
Square or rectangular daymark |
|
|
Triangular daymark, point up |
|
|
Triangular daymark, point down |
|
|
Retro reflector |
References
References
- "daymark". Oxford English Dictionary (Online ed.). Oxford University Press. Retrieved 2021-10-04. (Subscription or participating institution membership required.)
- "Nautical Terms for boating and marine industry terminology". www.marineinstitute.org. Archived from the original on 2003-12-17. Retrieved 2026-04-18.
- Light List, Volume II, Atlantic Coast. Washington, DC: US Government Printing Office. 2015. pp. ix.
- US Chart No. 1: Symbols, Abbreviations and Terms used on Paper and Electronic Navigational Charts. Department of Commerce National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Department of Defense National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency. 2013. p. 86.