Daymark
Daytime aid to navigation
title: "Daymark" type: doc version: 1 created: 2026-02-28 author: "Wikipedia contributors" status: active scope: public tags: ["daymarks", "navigational-aids"] description: "Daytime aid to navigation" topic_path: "general/daymarks" source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Daymark" license: "CC BY-SA 4.0" wikipedia_page_id: 0 wikipedia_revision_id: 0
::summary Daytime aid to navigation ::
::figure[src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/b5/The_Daymark,_St_Martins.jpg" caption="Daymark on [[St Martin's, Isles of Scilly]]"] ::
::figure[src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/f3/Enslinje_-_Ystad-2021.jpg" caption="Triangular daymark in the [[marina]] of [[Ystad]], 2021"] ::
::figure[src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/ec/Scharhörnbake_1898.png" caption="Scharhörn daymark]] in 1898"] ::
A daymark is a navigational aid for sailors and pilots, distinctively marked to maximize its visibility in daylight.
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. 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. Standard signboard shapes are square, triangular, and rectangular, while the standard colours are red, green, orange, yellow, and black.
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.
::data[format=table]
| Paper chart | Simplified | Simplified symbol name |
|---|---|---|
| [[File:Square or rectangular daymark - Paper Chart.PNG | 70px]] | [[File:Square or rectangular daymark - Simplified chart.PNG |
| [[File:Triangular daymark point up - Paper Chart.PNG | 70px]] | [[File:Triangular daymark point up - Simplified Chart.PNG |
| [[File:Triangular daymark, point down - Paper Chart.PNG | 70px]] | [[File:Triangular daymark point down - Simplified Chart.PNG |
| [[File:Retro reflector - Paper and Simplified Chart.PNG | 70px]] | [[File:Retro reflector - Paper and Simplified Chart.PNG |
| :: |
References
References
- {{cite OED. daymark
- "Nautical Terms for boating and marine industry terminology".
- (2015). "Light List, Volume II, Atlantic Coast". US Government Printing Office.
- (2013). "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.
::callout[type=info title="Wikipedia Source"] This article was imported from Wikipedia and is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Content has been adapted to SurfDoc format. Original contributors can be found on the article history page. ::