lights???

I read somewhere in here you can't have headlights on a boat,,, is this true, was wanting to mount a set of rc lights on the front of a pontoon, but don't want to get in trouble for it, anyone know the rules, by the way im in kentucky

Re: lights???

Sure you can. Just don't motor around the lake with them "on". They're used for DOCKING at night. And docking lights usually have a different beam pattern than regular headlights - a wider beam, so you can see all the stuff you need to see when docking at night.

When you're motoring at night, you do NOT want headlights - you wouldn't be able to see the lights of other boats, because the glare would blind you. You want to see those little red, green and white lights!

Re: lights???

thank you for that, yea wouldn't use them for driving, just docking

Re: lights???

newbie question here how do you navigate in pitch black while trying to see stumps or rocks or even oyster bars on low tide? dont boat at night so far but that could change if a good afternoon of fishing breaks out or just having fun on the lake and have to get across the lake after dark or an early outing to get to the fish hole.. i understand the r/g and clear lights are for other boats to see you... but some things are worse than hitting boats.. say run aground or hit a dock or maybe even possibily driving over a dam if water is up... my local lake (which doesnt allow boating between sun set and sun rise) the water is always level with the top of the dam if not running over....

Re: lights???

81_chapparel194 said:

newbie question here how do you navigate in pitch black while trying to see stumps or rocks or even oyster bars on low tide?

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Two options: Night-vision goggles, or FLIR (Forward Looking Infra-Red). I would love to be able to say that I have developed a forward-looking collision avoidance sonar system, but it's still just an idea in my head.

Re: lights???

81_chapparel194 said:

newbie question here how do you navigate in pitch black while trying to see stumps or rocks or even oyster bars on low tide?

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Might want to start a new thread of your own and ask about night time navigation instead of hijacking barrenboatings lighting thread.

Re: lights???

My slip is lit up enough so I don't need lights for docking. I practice navigating in the day time as if it were night so I know where the channel markers are located by heart at night. I also have a Brinkmann Q Beam hand held light that I keep on my boat and will occassionally flip it on to make sure I'm not coming up on anything (or anyone). I only turn it on for a few seconds when I do not see any navigation / anchor lights, and only in the channel. If someone is anchored in the channel without lights and they are temporarily blinded by my light, they are welcome to flip me off. It can wreck your night vision - I would prefer not to use it at all, but feel better if I know no one is sitting where they shouldn't. I keep my speed down to minimize the damage if I do hit a submerged object.

Re: lights???

Thursday night, I was sleeping on the boat, at the Elk Creek Marina on Blue Mesa Reservoir. Around 10 or 11 P.M. a boat motored out with NO lights. A few hours later, it came back - still no lights.

Re: lights???

when using your docking light or any light for that matter - shut one eye (or use a patch if handy, rrrrr) to preserve night vision in at least one eye. Use this trick all the time when going to the bathroom at night or camping.

You'll still have some crazy vision once dark (unless you close your ruined vision eye).

pirates didn't wear them to cover injured eyes!!!!!

Re: lights???

81_chapparel194 said:

newbie question here how do you navigate in pitch black while trying to see stumps or rocks or even oyster bars on low tide? dont boat at night so far but that could change if a good afternoon of fishing breaks out or just having fun on the lake and have to get across the lake after dark or an early outing to get to the fish hole..

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Boating has implied risk. Being out after dark in an area known to have obstructions like that just increases the implied risk you are taking. You won't be able to navigate past them all, even with a massive spot light. The problem is that now you also blinded everyone else trying to see things at night.

Like the post above mentioned, NVIR goggles is one option, but GPS also works well for situations like that. Just follow your track that you have made previously. If you know it was safe at one time, it has a better chance of being safe a second time, vs an unknown route. You still have to avoid other boaters, which hopefully are also following the rules of lighting.

Re: lights???

I often boat in a remote open marsh area where there are no lights. You see banks, bars, poles and obstructions with ambient light and contrast (low tide is easier than high). You eliminate or minimize all lights in the boat--GPS is often not a good option if you are relying on night vision in black situations. The occasional spot or flashlight is operated high in the air so it cannot reflect off the interior of the boat.

You can see furhter with peripheral vision than straight on

Conditions change everything. cloud cover, chop, rain, fog are all things to contend with. Other unlit boats are always a danger even when you think no one else is around.

As you mention there are some obstructions you can't see (spill over dam) and the only safe option is not to go there.

I also boat at night in a busy harbor and open water, to and from a neighborhood setting. There are lights to confuse you, lights on movnig barges, etc., lights to blind you and lights to guide you. And lots of unlit stuff--the worse is the dredge equipment. Oh, and homeland security who have special ways to alert an off-course boat!
Harbor pilots tell me that boats relying on GPS often regard them as radar and become oblivious to things that aren't on the chart--like a container ship.

for night operations you need lots of experience and hyper-alertness, and as little light as possible. Keep your speed down so you don't over-drive your field of vision (and run up the back side of a slow unlit boat in front of you). Which is a real issue when you also have to stay on a plane to cover shallow water on a falling tide!

Re: lights???

Follow them boats runnin at night here in south Florida and keep yr eye peeled for square grouper.

Spot lights are commonly used here in Florida to spot hazzards. For the small boaters like most of us this means a hand held. I wouldn't run at night without one.