Why I'm nervous boating at night...

dingbat

Supreme Mariner
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Nov 20, 2001
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That and lobster pot bouys can really ruin your day.
Pots are expense. Nobody sets a string in a heavily traveled location, let alone a marked channel. Stay in marked channels and it's not a problem

Having said that, buoys are no match for a SS prop at planing speed. They do however make a heck of a racket as they bounce off the transom...lol
 

1985 Century Mustang

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Mar 9, 2023
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Do you drive at night?

The probability of an accident on the way to a grocery store is far greater than running a boat at night in the ocean.

You would be surprised at the number of ā€œboatersā€ with a water phobia. Really kicks in when the beach drops over the horizon.

Automobile driving at nite is getting worse for me, especially if it's raining at nite.
 

aspeck

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Inland lake at night ā€¦ been running it for 50 years. Know it well. Fisherman are decent, have anchor lights off at night but as soon as they hear a motor the lights are on. Some of the best fishing on our lake is at night, and a moon lite, starry night is a thing to behold from the water. I take precautions, but am on the lake as much at night as I am in the day ā€¦
 

1985 Century Mustang

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Inland lake at night ā€¦ been running it for 50 years. Know it well. Fisherman are decent, have anchor lights off at night but as soon as they hear a motor the lights are on. Some of the best fishing on our lake is at night, and a moon lite, starry night is a thing to behold from the water. I take precautions, but am on the lake as much at night as I am in the day ā€¦

Nice, the ocean is a little different than a lake.
I wish I had a lake, unfortunately I don't here in my area.
 

DeepCMark58A

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Do you drive at night?

The probability of an accident on the way to a grocery store is far greater than running a boat at night in the ocean.

You would be surprised at the number of ā€œboatersā€ with a water phobia. Really kicks in when the beach drops over the horizon.

Do you stand a possibility of drowning in a car accident?
 

jimmbo

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May 24, 2004
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13,218
Automobile driving at nite is getting worse for me, especially if it's raining at nite.
Once I had my Cataract Surgery, Night Driving was much Easier
I even got a Lens that corrected my Astigmatism, though I had to pay Out of Pocket, for that, as it wasn't covered by Healthcare. The Regular Lens was No Charge. I did get reimbursed by my Insurance for the Special Lens, though they were wiggling like a gaffed Jackfish trying to get out of Paying it. I truly Hate Private Insurance Plans.
 
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cyclops222

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Ocean objects ? How about hitting that big floating shipping container. Just below the surface. You will be looking for your teeth in the dark.
 

jimmbo

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40 or so Yrs ago I used to take my boat out at my Dads Lake, roar around at 50mph, on Nights with a Full or almost Full Moon. My Dads Girlfriend commented that it really looked like I was going faster than that. She also asked how I was able find my way back to the lot. I told her, that I just looked for the Fire Pit. My Dad then replied he was going extinguish the Fire Pit, go a few Hundred Feet west and make another Fire along the Shore where there was a very Thick band of Bulrushes. He gloated that I would head there, and get stuck, and he would be laughing as I tried to get the Boat out them. This from the Man who drove his boat completely out of the water onto the Shore about 10 yrs earlier.
 

dingbat

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Ocean objects ? How about hitting that big floating shipping container. Just below the surface. You will be looking for your teeth in the dark.
Shipping containers are not sealedā€¦.. they sink pretty quickly.

USCG issue a notice to mariners when an event occurs.
 

nola mike

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Pots are expense. Nobody sets a string in a heavily traveled location, let alone a marked channel. Stay in marked channels and it's not a problem
Ha, good one! Apparently around here the middle of the channels have the most crabs. Also, the tubing is way better.
 

airshot

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Ha, good one! Apparently around here the middle of the channels have the most crabs. Also, the tubing is way better.
Here in Lake Erie they keep the nets out of the channel but they often set them in the common routes taken by sport fisherman to get to the various markers we use on the water where fish gather. The flags are quite small as are the floats. Often you find yourself in the middle, surrounded by nets going in various directions. It can become a puzzle trying to figure a safe way out !
 

tphoyt

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Shipping containers are not sealedā€¦.. they sink pretty quickly.

USCG issue a notice to mariners when an event occurs.
Some friends once had their car shipped from France and they lost that container over the side.
It took almost 2 years for the insurance claim to come through.
 

aspeck

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Just got back from a vacation in Maine. On a few of the inland lakes we visited there is no way I would run fast at night ... rocks everywhere! On the ocean there is no way I would run at night ... lobster pots everywhere! Guess it really depends on where you are the the water on which you are boating!
 

Dubed

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I've spent a lot of time n the water at night fishing all Narragansett Bay to Block Island. Never was much afraid of it, but always cautious and alert!
 
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