Night boating

L

Larry Patrick

New member
We tried to get a slip for this years fireworks in august in Erie,wolverine marina. We have a slip at Lampne but cant see fireworks from there. Would need to travel a mile to bay and anchor there. We have never traveled after dark. I would watch plot charter to retrace our way back to our marina. If theres moonlight it would be easy,but what about a dark night? We don't have a spotlight mounted. What is best idea? Get a hand held spot light? Have the wife spotlight from berth window or center window where wipers are? Will have radar on and watch plotter,just wondering what you need for a trip like this. Always were back at dock or at anchor so far.
 
Larry Patrick":ltlx1efd said:
We tried to get a slip for this years fireworks in august in Erie,wolverine marina. We have a slip at Lampne but cant see fireworks from there. Would need to travel a mile to bay and anchor there. We have never traveled after dark. I would watch plot charter to retrace our way back to our marina. If theres moonlight it would be easy,but what about a dark night? We don't have a spotlight mounted. What is best idea? Get a hand held spot light? Have the wife spotlight from berth window or center window where wipers are? Will have radar on and watch plotter,just wondering what you need for a trip like this. Always were back at dock or at anchor so far.
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Depending on the number of drunk and out of control boaters in your area, the best idea might be to stay off the water on the evening of 4th of July. Of course, that advice comes from someone who really hates being in crowds. In total darkness, the spotlight is of little use unless you are looking for someone or something in the water. Often the light makes it harder for you to see. When I boat at night the real concerns are hitting something floating in the water that I can't see easily and getting hit by someone else. For the latter, making sure all your running lights and anchor lights are working is a good defense as is running the radar (you can't count on the other boater to have working lights or common sense). For stuff in the water, it can be very difficult to see anything even with the best lighting. For that I just go slowly - 6kts is my max speed in the dark. Most anything that is floating won't hole the boat at that speed.

So my advice is to follow your GPS track back to the marina. Don't use a spot light and dim everything in the cabin as much as possible to keep your night vision at it's best. Leave anchor 1 hour after that show is done and after most others have left and take a slow, leisurely trip back to the marine.
 
As someone who commutes in a boat regularly at night I'll just give a few thoughts (I'm definitely not an expert):
1. Go slow--you never know when there might be a canoe, fisherman or log hiding in the darkness.
2. Any lights inside the boat ruin your night vision. We put a towel over the gauges, instruments and the chart plotter to block the lights.
3. Figure out how to turn the brightness down on your electronics, especially anything you'll use for navigation like gps, chart plotter or radar.
4. There is a huge difference between a moonlit night and a cloudy night. Things become much more challenging when you throw in any rain, wind and chop. A calm night with a full moon is almost like boating in the daylight. On a stormy night you can't even see the waves until you hit them...it's like an aircraft in the clouds, you quickly find yourself navigating almost solely on instruments.
5. I find that my depth perception at night is poor. Docks, shoals and shorelines sneak up on you quickly.
6. We have a handheld spot light and have never used it. Not to say it wouldn't be useful, we just find our eyes adjust to the darkness.
7. Get to know the area in the daylight before going out after dark.
8. Boating at night is lonely. That might sound funny but you are often the only boat out and you don't have anyone around to help you if something goes wrong. Nobody to witness an accident. Nobody there to tow you in if your engine quits. Nobody to rescue you if you fall in water. I can remember a night where we got weeds stuck in the water intakes on our outboard and the motor when into limp mode due to overheating. There's nothing quite like hanging off the the back of a boat, in your shirt and tie, in the middle of the night, trying to read the owners manual and pull weeds off the intake screens while the boat drifts aimlessly into shallow water. Did I mention it was also late October so the air was cold and the water was even colder (we do keep survival suits on our boat).
9. In this instance it sounds like there will be many boats out--other boaters make me nervous, especially on a night when inexperienced boaters are likely to be out and drinking might be occurring.
10. Boating on a calm moonlit night is a really neat experience and well worth the effort.
 
Thanks for informed info,I guess I will hope for a moonlit night? This is an event in august called Erie Days,so I hope it wont be as bad as 4th of July. We will keep checking for a slip near fireworks incase someone cancels.
 
Larry, the first thing you have to do is go buy a boat with a forward raked windshield! :lol: Well,,,, that might be a little drastic for one trip. Agree with Roger - lots of good points.

A few more random thoughts,

Although the windshield of a Cdory has an aft rake - the brow helps protect your night vision from a full moon. It will still reflect glare from inside lights(gauges, etc.). This can be somewhat mitigated if you have the red backlit gauges. Most chart plotters have a night option where the light is dimmed and some colours are changed.

A full moon isn't your only friend - if it is a clear night a lot of light can be had from the stars.

If I read your post right you are only going 1 mile? You can usually do "coastal conning" at night from shore lights - at least enough to keep you oriented.

You probably know that lake Erie usually starts calming down in the evening - a night cruise is often the best time out there. We often anchor at Pottahawk til after sunset then cruise back to Port Dover(about 12 miles).

Don't forget if you are back tracking that a gps draws that track from a bunch of dots. You can adjust how close those dots are marked in your setup menu. To be precise the dots must be close together. Some captains if they are mostly crossing lakes with no obstructions set the dots farther apart to conserve space in the chart plotters memory. The problem with this is if you go around a sharp point it will draw the line between 2 dots that might end up being across a point of land.

Go slow - keep a lookout - and enjoy.

Regards, Rob
 
I only go boating at night with The Admiral bc she has great night vision. We have our running lights on, gauge lights are off and dim the chartplotter. Both of us have flashlights and a horn ready to use. Usually run at 1000 rpm or 4 - 5 knots and know the area well. Big problems are impaired operators, driving fast, crab pots, disregarding navigation aids and boats with no lights on but all of the above occurs during the day, too
 
As mentioned, don't worry about the spotlight. It's not a car, and you don't tend to use them. The spotlight would be of most use recovering a person or item overboard. I'd be very reluctant to use it. Moreover, you may find it challenging to keep your passengers from "helping" you out with the light. Use your night vision, and preserve it.

It's good to have red lights if you need lights. They help you keep your night vision. Many marine electronics will have night modes that display a red-based color scheme, a negative color scheme, or some other night friendly color scheme. Still, dim it as low as it will go.

I'd way rather have my night vision and turn off my GPS than to be night blind and have it on. If you don't know the water a bit, don't go out at night for fun.

Do you have radar? Can you BE SEEN by radar? If not, get a reflector ASAP!

It's not that bad. Some of my best times have been on a boat at night.
 
Nothing more than noted except we have a red cabin light and that is the only light on within the cabin. Even the gauges are too bright. I trust my radar/plotter and keep a good look out. Slow and steady wins. Other lights can be confusing, especially lights from shore sources and be watchful for some ass-hat coming up from your stern at full throttle.
 
Contrary to all the other replies....you will need a light. Every 4th of July, we leave our berth at the marina and travel out in the bay, set anchor and watch the fireworks display. We are surrounded by boats of every size and type, kayaks, canoes, SUP, you name it. All of these "vessels" should have nav. lights (few do). When the show is over it's every man for himself! We usually wait for the rookies to clear but having your mate keep a sharp eye out and a light is essential. Keep your window open. Do not try to shine the light through the windshield. You will not see the family of 5 in a tippy canoe on your radar. Go slow, keep careful watch and have a great time. If you don't need the light...great! At least you have it available.
 
I think Larry has received very good advice here for the type of night boating he is considering doing, but there are times when a spot or other good light projecting source can be close to a necessity & not just for avoiding objects floating on the water. I have anchored in a new anchorage in the dark, close to shore with & without a spot light & I sure found the stress level much lower making quick observations with it than without. We have also been forced to move to a different anchorage in remote areas several times in the dark with high wind causing the boat to be bounced about & rain blocking most all visibility with as miserable as it would have been to stay, these moves would have been to dangerous to do with out the gps. I agree with not losing your night vision being extremely important as its hard to forget my experiences years ago of jumping out of airplanes at night & how eerie those red lights were in the plane interior & yet how important it was to be able to see once outside when mixed with all the other jumpers, but I've also experienced times in the boat when seeing my location on the gps was well worth the risk of diminishing it.

Jay
 
Great ideas from all of our posters above. We do a lot of night boating, thousands of hours. You can get red cellophane, or "gels" to put over the gauges, or paint the bulbs with red nail polish. Although we have 3 red lights in the cabin, we do not have them on when underway. We do have several flashlights, which have dim red lights, as well as the bright white LED. If we have to locate something in the boat, we use the dim red flashlight.

Keep boat windows and back door open, so you can see, and hear any other boats. Do watch out specifically for small sailboats, canoes, kayaks, and even stand up paddle boards with no running lights. PWC--fair game!--most states they are illegal after sunset.

Chart plotter; Some have 'night vision" modes, with less color, and more in the reds. Keep the chart plotter as dim as you can.

Radar--since you are only going a mile or so--keep it on the range of 1/2 mile or 1/4 mile. BUT I doubt if radar will be of much help to you. I suspect that you are not skilled in both use, and adjustment (Radar is not at optimal, just by going on "auto tune". For each condition there is a best set of settings. (Gain, filters, Sea Clutter etc.) I agree with a cheap radar reflector in the "Rain Catch" position--Davis makes cheap, foil folding flat reflectors.

Wait until most of boats have left. We anchor, and have both our bright anchor light, and maybe a light in the cockpit--so our boat is very visible to other boats which may begin to leave early. You want all of these nuts, drunks, speed demons, etc to get off the water! Be sure that you know where the marina is by compass bearing--and get the boat headed in this way as you start the voyage back.

Spotlight. We do have a two power spotlight. We try and use it on "low", just to hit buoys, or rocks etc, when close. On occasion when another boat does not seem to see our boat, I have shined the light on the side of our boat. (Some folks are totally oblivious of other boats on the water!). If the spot light is used, it is only for an instant.

Navigation lights--be sure that they work and are bright. I like for my all around white light to be as bright as possible. I also want to be sure that there are no reflections off the foredeck or railings. (These tend to decrease your night vision). You can put the "pipe insulation foam over areas of the top of the bow railing if there is a lot of white light flare back. Some folks do put small shields to keep the white light downward. If you do this, be sure that your lights are well seen from even 20 feet away.

Other reflectors. I have white and red retroflective tape around the periphery of my radome. This will show up well with both white and red light and it does not take much light to make these visible. If one were to shine a white or red light on the boat, the radome shows up well.

We have had boaters follow us to our slip at our house--miles and miles from where they want to be--and as we dock, ask us where is XXXX marina. We have had to tell them to go back the way they came for 6 miles, turn right and go another 6 miles on bearing of XXX to their marina! Don't follow another boat--know where you are going!

We love night boating. You enjoy yours !
 
1) Figure out how to get to the night mode in gps and radar (read the manual, I have to) and do it at night at least once; I say at night because mine is hard if not impossible to read in daylight when in the night mode; hence, when I finish boating at night, I return it to the daylight mode right then because the next use will most likely be in daylight. 2) The delay on my radar and gps (2002 models) makes it almost impossible to steer by them; I use the compass to steer but continuously check the radar for boats, etc and the gps for my position. 3) Have a light handy but if its powerful (good idea) hold it out the side windows and don't shine it across the front deck (shine only away from any part of the boat) because you'll be blinded by the reflection. I use the light to see (or confirm) buoys (usually have some reflective material) and when docking with no shore or dock lights. 4) Displacement speed is safest speed.

Jay
 
Larry, interesting thread - lots of good ideas. The thing that worries me the most is point #8 on Thousand Islanders list. I keep thinking if I lost power at night on Lake Erie and a north wind came up I could conceivably be blown out into the shipping channels :shock: .

I realize most Cdory's are a pilothouse boat, but for anybody with an open boat like mine I find it best to stand at the helm keeping your eyes above the windshield and well forward to evade light from gauges. A lot of boats have the gauges light up whenever the running lights are on. I have my chartplotter on a gimballed pedestal mount so I can turn it to face the first mate. That way one person can watch your coarse on the plotter and the other can keep watch while preserving their night vision.

Oh - one more thing - leave the dog at home on fireworks night! A full grown Lab/Shepherd can rip canvass getting through the side of a camper top to get to the dock! Don't ask how I know this :oops:

Rob
 
A couple of comments from my experience:

- As mentioned before, debris in the water can be very difficult to see. Dark stuff in dark water doesn't stand out much.
- Depending where you are, an overcast sky can be helpful if there are sufficient light sources to light the clouds up (i.e. near a city). This can silhouette things better than a clear night. In my neighborhood it is generally much brighter on cloudy nights than clear ones. A full moon will light things up too, but it will cause dark shadows and can confuse the shape of things.
- Sit tight until all the numbnuts leave. Your just likely to get stuck in the queue at the ramp anyway and things will be worse there than were you are now.
- If you sit tight, turn on all the cabin, cockpit, nav, and anchor lights (but not bright spotlights or spreader lights). This will illuminate your boat and will help keep one of the above numbnuts from running into it. I have small down lights under the lip of the roof that light up the cabin sides and front deck, partly for this purpose. There is also indirect lighting under the gunnels of the cockpit.
- Anchor out and just spend the night. That's what we have done. It's way more pleasant then trying to rush back to the dock (or ramp) at night.
 
Some of the best times I've had in a boat were traveling at night. I enjoy the experience and it's beautiful on the water at night. Sure, you've received a lot of good advice but do it anyway. You'll enjoy the experience.

I miss the nighttime trips we used to make down the coast, offshore in our sailboat. The phosphorescence would follow us, the plankton would rise and every once in a while we'd go through a flock of sleeping ducks. Any light from a navigation aid would be prominent. I realize you'll be in Lake Eire, not the ocean, but do it anyway.

Boris
 
I've been too many of largest firework displays in the midwest, right here on our Lake Mendota in past years. Fortunately, quite some time ago the powers to be decided it was wise to put a no wake restriction on the entire lake from sunset to midnight. This was to alleviate some of the accidents that were happening from too many crazy boaters hauling ass after the show to get back to their docks or the launch. Still, I have found the most prudent action is to just wait until those in a hurry have departed, then run slow and deliberately with the proper lighting, and use of my radar and GPS. Keeping the cabin dark to sustain night vision, and being familiar with the meaning of navigation lights on other boats. Fortunately, I have no shoals or debris to worry about, just open lake water and knowledge of where the shore is. Colby
 
My $.02...prior to having a decent sonar with GPS I would go out night fishing. Problem we have around here is that people throw out crab traps in channels. So I always make a mental note on where/what side they are on. I've also seen construction booms extend 100's of feet out - another mental note.

We also have lots of 6' makers that are not lit up at night.

First trip I had to spot light the channel markers and took it easy.

After a few trips I got pretty good at it and would just line up the major landmarks and go from there. Your night vision is probably better than you think. The use of the QBeam was mainly to let other boaters know I was there (typically fishing/staying still) - I wouldn't point it at them, but just around. Especially if they were headed my way.

More than likely you'll have to worry more about others than yourself or debri.

That said I almost ran over a kayaker when he was out in the channel with no lights. I had just passed him when my buddy pointed him out. I turned around and gave him an earful. Probably missed him by 10'. He apologized; I think I was more rattled than he.

I would say take it easy the first few times. Other than that enjoy and exercise the usual common sense rules.

On a side note I avoid the water around any major holiday.
 
Another hazard:

SHORE LIGHTS are very distracting; cause confusion with
what is on the water.

Optional night boating for a newbie, in unfamiliar especially
congested areas, IMHO: lots of potential problems
vs a temporary benefit.

Aye.
 
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