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Night Time Navigation Questions

Adam2012

Adam2012

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Hello All,

Planning to do a lot of night cruising this coming summer- something I didn't do at all last year being my first year on my boat. Just want to confirm what navigation lights I am supposed to be using while underway. Also, I don't believe my marina has alot of lighting at night- will my lights be enough to easily navigate into by slip?  Thanks in advance!!
 
Take a night boating course. I did and it was very helpful. One thing they did say, if you're out at night and get lost, just drop the anchor and wait until morning. I also have a handhelp spotlight that I keep by the helm.
 
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To me it is well worth the small price of buying the Navionics app that will go on our phone or tablet.  It has all the charts which is almost a necessity for nighttime navigation.  I also carry a spotlight to find a marker if we are navigating really narrow channels...paranoid about hitting one.  I also slow my speed way down.

Just picked up this little gem(iKross 2-in-1 holder) that is fairly inexpensive compared to others, fits perfect in the cup holder on my Benny and holds either a cellphone or a tablet.  http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00F0IQTE8/ref=oh_details_o00_s01_i00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

As someone has mentioned on these forums before, the Polaris app is a nice, free app that has a compass, indicates speed, gives you position by latitude and longitude.

Weather radio is probably a must....the bottom line is to consider what would be a necessity at night if you were boating, got caught in a bad storm and you lost power(engine and electric) with no other boats around.  If you aren't prepared for that, then don't go out at night would be my advice.

We got caught in a bad storm night fishing in the keys.  We didnt lose power and there were 2 or 3 boats out there fishing around us and it still was not fun!  Sport light and GPS w/charts and my previous track was a lifesaver.  Always used my cellphone as a backup plotter as well.  We took our time, watched the waves, got soaked but we arrived safely.  5 miles felt like 50.  Good luck and be safe.
 
Adam2012,

All the above post are spot on, the one thing I would add (and I assume your on a lake or river) is venture out on short excursions. Lengthen them little by little through the summer and by end of this summer you will be making nice long cruises and be very comfortable with your surroundings, it will begin to feel like home.

If your really new to night cruising you may even want to start at sunset and get a feel for the lights or lack of lights in your area.

Steve
 
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Adam I see no one answered your question about docking in your slip. You didn't say if you have docking lights. I have the stainless steel docking lights and have been disappointed in the amount of light from them at night. Some of the guys have changed out the bulbs in them to LED's. As others recommended, I would think a handheld spotlight would be a necessity.

David
 
When cruising at night NAV lights must be on, when anchored, NAV LIGHTS OFF AND ANCHOR LIGHT ON.

Also go here, post 43, but I recommend starting at beginning of thread.

http://club.benningtonmarine.com/index.php?/topic/2203-todays-lesson-is-check-in-for-good-info/page-3

As mentioned above, start with short trips, carry a spotlight if your dock lights are dim, AND DO NOT CRUISE WITH DOCKING LIGHTS ON. It's like a car with high beams, and the person coming toward you CAN NOT see your NAV lights.

I HIGHLY RECOMMEND A BOATING COURSE if you have not taken one.
 
I have changed out navi and anchor lights to leds. Our docking lights are the old style plastic ones and I changed those bulbs to Silverstar Ultras. The stainless led docking lights while looking cool, their output is poor.They are not like a Porsche or Audi with led headlights ($2500.00 option).
 
Also, unless you are on open ocean, with radar, I recommend nothing faster than NO WAKE speed at night, except possibly a full moon night where you can see easily, and even then, keep it slow.

It's very easy to mistake an anchor light for city lights in the distance, and next thing you know you are on top of a boat.
 
Hey brentah,

You mentioned a free Polaris app for marine use. I looked for it and did not find anything that sounded like what you mentioned. I am sure others would be interested if you could help us find it.

Thanks in advance,

Marc
 
Our most enjoyable boating is done on Summer nights.  We back out of the boathouse and run about 3/4 mile out into the middle of the river channel. 

We'll float listening to music for hours, and will motor back upwind from time to time.  But the best thing is that we can boat for 5 hours--on $5 in gasoline, or less.

And since the lake 1 1/2 miles wide and well over 75' deep, we don't worry about where we are or what's under the water.  And I know the lake bottom intimately since this place has been in the family 5 generations and 70 years.
 
cwag911 said:
I have changed out navi and anchor lights to leds. Our docking lights are the old style plastic ones and I changed those bulbs to Silverstar Ultras. The stainless led docking lights while looking cool, their output is poor.They are not like a Porsche or Audi with led headlights ($2500.00 option).
Click to expand...
Cwag

Do you know the bulb number of either the Nav lights (red / green up front) and / or the SS dockling lights.  Would like to swtich to better LED bulbs but the boat will be in storage for another month or so.

ADAM

Mandatory

GPS chartpotter / compass / spotlight as all have mentioned.  Along with VHF with weather (can be hand held or fixed but realize if your on a big lake, handheld may not reach out very far).  Blankets, food, and water incase you need to stay out for the night unexpectedly.  You don't need to stock up for 30 days, but a few extra bottles and some blankets int he console storage is great

Don 't ever say, we're going for a quick cruise, I'll fill up the fuel tank on the way back. I don't ever leave the dock without atleast 1/2 tank of gas.  Reasons are this:  Boat fuel gauges suck, very inaccurate and if something happens, running out of fuel isn't going to be haunting me if I get lost etc.

Secondary

Paper chart (water proof of course), log book with notes of surroundings (see below for more info).  Red map light to read chart and other things without blowing your night vision with a bright white light

We do a lot of "dark time boating". Not always at night but early morning (fishing or duck hunting) and it all about practice, knowling your surroundings, and where you are in relation to shore "tell tales"  Look for "markers" on shore. Examples, does your marina have range lights to help you line up to the channel entrance?  Is there a water tower, wind turbines, or a Cell phone tower beacon that stand outs above the rest of the shoreline to see its red blinking light?

Is there a light pattern on the shoreline that stands out at night?  Pin point those areas in day time and mark that down on a chart (log book). For example, there is a incadescent light on a pole that sets above all other lights on the shoreline near our canal and its a differnt color then any other light around. Once I see that, I know approx 1/8 mile to the east is our canal entrance (and I double check that to my GPS chartplotter).  My chartplotter has every bouy, marina, reef, shallow water, and anything that is a PERMANENT fixture on the water we boat in.

We are on Saginaw Bay / Lake Huron, so its pretty big water.  If you don't have a GPS and chart plotter.  Get one.  At least get a chart of the lake / bay you plan on spending time in.

Practice without electroinics if you have them.  Have a back up plan if they go out.  To make sure my wife can understand everything, we run drills.  Yes, I know this sounds stupid, but hey.  I am a diabetic and if something happened and I went down, she's gotta get in if we are by ourselves.

Electronic navigation. Daylight.  Use both electronics and vision

Electronic navigation. Fog / Night.  In the daytime, put a jacket over her head and the console, With me watdhing up front and able to interrupt her if needed, she needs to get to canal entrance without being able to use her eyes or senses.  Once within spot light range of markers, she has completed this task

Electronics out.  Charts, notes in log book on navigation / shore markers.  I will say something if needed, but unless its all going wrong, I keep my mouth shut.  This works for both daytime and night time scenerios.

Good luck and hopefully you will get better and more comfortable the more you do it and you can enjoy it more wihtout the worry in the back of the head, how will we get home from here

Hope this helps

Todd
 
Todd, I don't have the SS docking lights, I have the old style plastic ones.
 
Adam2012 - one tip, to go along with these other great suggestions, is place white reflective tape on posts and/or inside cross beam if a pulling in dock slip! The Bennington stainless dock lights pick up reflection from at least 30-40 feet. They are basically un-noticeable in day time for appearance. I have the Navionics App / eastern charts, which work well for wayward point marking (do in daytime) that would help in familiar marked waters. In unfamiliar waters or low visibility the app can give terrain variances by either Google or Bing layer maps. I am fortunate to have been on our lake for over 28 years of boating to know my way in a lot of night cruises, but I find something every year in low water that has not been noticed before. One final precaution, make everyone on the boat behave on night cruising, things could down hill real quick in dark water. I've seen a brand new $200K+ Cruiser sitting on a sand bar with 2 VDrives ripped off in its first cruise at night! Best Wishes to good cruising!

https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/navionics-boating-hd-marine/id744966613?mt=8
 
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Hey everyone- I noticed a few of you recommended having a handheld spotlight.  Great Idea!  I looked around and there are many on the market.  So, I was wondering which ones you have?  What is the CandlePower or Lumens?  AC or DC?  Waterproof or not?

Thanks

Eric
 
When I first got my gps, I set down bread-crumb tracks from most of the difficult areas to my dock...it really made night life more enjoyable.

Reflective tape on the dock is also your friend.
 
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