Lights for my boat

[breathwater]

Im wanting to buy some spot lights for my boat for driving at night but i have no idea where to start. Does anybody know what some good brands are?

 

[Thalasso]

Re: Lights for my boat

Im wanting to buy some spot lights for my boat for driving at night but i have no idea where to start. Does anybody know what some good brands are?

You are not allowed to have spotlights on while running at night.

 

[Bob_VT]

Re: Lights for my boat

Welcome to iboats.

Here in the iboats store are many lights http://www.iboats.com/Boat-Parts-Accessories/dm/keywords.lights

It is not entirely true....... yes you can have lights however, not specifically like car headlights. There are spotlights, docking lights, flood lights but you must run the red/green bow light........

What you are looking for are Marine Lights which are made for wet conditions

 

[Thalasso]

Re: Lights for my boat

Welcome to iboats.

Here in the iboats store are many lights http://www.iboats.com/Boat-Parts-Accessories/dm/keywords.lights

It is not entirely true....... yes you can have lights however, not specifically like car headlights. There are spotlights, docking lights, flood lights but you must run the red/green bow light........

What you are looking for are Marine Lights which are made for wet conditions

He is looking for spotlights to use while driving at night.
Coast Guard rules actually prohibit boats that are underway from running with spotlights on

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/6185268

 

[Ciera2450]

Re: Lights for my boat

I agree with everyone above...Not to mention that you see better driving at night without the spotlights. The spotlight takes away your night vision acuity. You'll see well where the light is and thats it.

 

[2ndtry]

Re: Lights for my boat

I keep a hand held "million candle" spot on board, BUT, like the others have said I never use it underway.

If I'm moving I have the red and green bow lights and 360 white stern light on only. I don't even like the dash lights on. You will soon get acclimated to the dark and be able to see well enough to travel a moderate speed with even limited moonlight. Any attempt to illuminate the area in front of you will result in light reflecting off the water/bow and causing your iris to contract and ruining your night vision.

If you are unfamiliar with the area or think there may be debris in the water, slow down and stop every now and then to scan with the water briefly with the spotlight. Proceed slowly when your eyes have dilated again and you have regained your night vision.

I boat at night often, and this is the best procedure. You will soon learn to give a wide berth to those who try to use "headlights" underway.

A word of caution, you can get a little cocky after you've done this a lot and go too fast. I travel across a fairly large lake routinely and know exactly which buoys to head toward to get home. One night miles from shore I was traveling a tad too fast and came upon a flock of waterbirds that must have settled in for the night right in the middle! Neither I nor the birds notice each other until we were VERY close, and I am pretty sure one of the birds took off in the wrong direction missed my head by inches.

 

[Home Cookin']

Re: Lights for my boat

a lot of boaters, including me, come to rely on the GPS and the things marked on the screen (channel markers, etc) and I add hazards as I encounter them--lots for me since I am in a harbor. But a harbor pilot reminded me, the GPS isn't radar. He comes across lots of boaters who rely on the screen in dark and fog, ignoring the container ship he's piloting, the tugs and barges, dredge equipment, etc. Likewise, it isn't smart to assume that staying in the middle of the channel is safe from hazards--that's where he drives the ships. And they don't stop, or turn.

 

[JoLin]

Re: Lights for my boat

The spotlight takes away your night vision acuity. You'll see well where the light is and thats it.

It destroys everybody else's night vision, too. Spotlights are only appropriate for a short 'blast' to illuminate a dock, pick up a channel marker, confirm a hazard, etc. As others have mentioned, 'headlights' on a running boat are both illegal and a hazard to you and other boaters (which is why they're illegal). If your night vision isn't good enough to operate a boat at night, you shouldn't boat at night. I don't.

My .02

 

[breathwater]

Re: Lights for my boat

so what ive heard from everybody so far is i cant use them while im out boating around. But im still interested in putting some lights on for when im docking. so what companies are there that sale something like that? i found one that sales just regular led light bars do you guys think these lights would work?
www.jeeplights.com

 

[Bondo]

Re: Lights for my boat

Ayuh,... How 'bout this 1, from right here at iboats...

 

[Bob_VT]

Re: Lights for my boat

You are allowed to have docking lights.

 

[CoffeeHound]

Re: Lights for my boat

Im wanting to buy some spot lights for my boat for driving at night but i have no idea where to start. Does anybody know what some good brands are?

Before you even waste your money on lights ,, Get you a coarse in Maritime safty and study it good !!
I have removed the 2 floodlights on mine after I had to prove they were not operatable -- Thankfkul that they were not
wired in at the time or it would have been $ 500.00 each and possable impoundment of boat
if i had sassed the officer !!

 

[MH Hawker]

Re: Lights for my boat

In addition to the red/green/white, I have a seach light and a set of HID fog lightes, 97 %, of the time red /green/white and on some real nasty fog nights the others as needed.

 

[Bob_VT]

Re: Lights for my boat

First of all...... docking lights are permitted and even come as standard equipment of some upper end boats.

We have no idea of where the poster is from. Which country weather they are on a lake, pond, bay ocean.

So cool your jets gentlemen before you start touting what is right and wrong.

Let's give the original poster a chance to explain more info.

 

[rallyart]

Re: Lights for my boat

I have designed and built Stage Rally cars from the ground up. I have experimented with many brands and designs of lighting for travelling at high speed at night. I can tell you that water is NOT the same as ground in how it works with lighting. You could have hundreds of watts of the finest lights illuminating the area in front of your boat and, although you could spot a raccoon or an osprey in the woods on the shore a half mile away, you would have little help seeing a deadhead 50' away. Drive with caution, rely on the moon, pay attention to running lights. Know the waters your are travelling at night very well.
Docking lights, and lights on the dock are a help when you load or park.

 

[5150abf]

Re: Lights for my boat

I night fish all the time and can tell you spotlights are terrible and actually make it alot harder to see anything, get a good hand held spot and you are good.

 

[Thalasso]

Re: Lights for my boat

First of all...... docking lights are permitted and even come as standard equipment of some upper end boats.



We have no idea of where the poster is from. Which country weather they are on a lake, pond, bay ocean.

So cool your jets gentlemen before you start touting what is right and wrong.

Let's give the original poster a chance to explain more info.

Maybe you should read the op. It was stated he wanted to use them for driving at night. Not allowed no matter where you are in this country. Nothing was even mentioned in the post about docking lights

 

[Bob_VT]

Re: Lights for my boat

Have you read post # 9

I did not think so..........:facepalm:

 

[Bob_VT]

Re: Lights for my boat

Have you read post # 9

so what ive heard from everybody so far is i cant use them while im out boating around. But im still interested in putting some lights on for when im docking. so what companies are there that sale something like that? i found one that sales just regular led light bars do you guys think these lights would work?
www.jeeplights.com

I did not think so..........:facepalm:

 

[Slip Away]

Re: Lights for my boat

Maybe you should read the op. It was stated he wanted to use them for driving at night. Not allowed no matter where you are in this country. Nothing was even mentioned in the post about docking lights

Maybe the OP just asked for what he thought were docking lights . Hard to say for sure. Send the OP to Thalasso's local Pennsylvania dealers, they seem to really be honest.

The meridan was about $80,000 cheaper. The sales manager at my local Searay dealer told me they are still made by Brunswick Marine. They used to be known as Bayliner. The company changed the name because people wouldn't by them when they saw the name (Bayliner).

Was told by FourWinns dealer at boat show that Volvo is getting out of the marine buisness as we know it.