On the fence about nightime boating

[goldnrod24]

So we have options such as lighted biminis, underwater lighting and illuminated cupholders. All cool, I must add.

Yet, how much of us, aside from those who can enjoy the evening from their dock, have the chance to enjoy their boats during nightime hours? Is this really practical?

First, there's the bugs. Skeeters love human flesh at sundown. Next, since I trailer my boat, it's hard to fathom pulling out of the water at 10 or 11 pm. Finally, colder evening temps and dewfall can make for a cold, clammy boat ride.

I'm just askin'....................

 

[ericscher]

Well, there's no getting around it... It's pretty much just esthetics. Make the boat prettier. And let's face it, it's not so dark at night that you need the water illuminated in order to remember where it is.

BUT...

If you've got the bucks for froo-froo, go for it.

As for night boating, I do that all the time.

The trick to the bug thing is to keep moving. You get going about 7-8mph, the bugs will mostly fall away.

I guess it comes to this: Don't decide on the LED lighting stuff based on whether you think you'll use it, because you EVENTUALLY WILL. Decide based on whether or not you think the LED stuff is affordable and pretty enough for you to want it.

 

[matthew]

I love being out at night!!! In Texas we don't really get "colder evening temps" on the water at night. It's normal to stay above 80 and 90 in the summer here. It's also a huge SAFETY thing for me. I'm of the belief that if other boats can see you from far away they are less likely to hit you (especially drunks going fast at night which i hate!!!). As far as bugs if you are on a big lake once you get out far enough on the water there's usually not any skeeters unless they rode with you out there. I usually turn my lights off once i get to the slip because the bugs are attracted to the bright LED's. And yes the cool factor is awesome but then again I'm 29 and like that kinda stuff on a boat i guess. If nothing else though i think the blue LED lights in the bimini give the perfect amount of light for nighttime to see everything/everyone on the boat and can be seen as a faint glow from a distance. Go with whatever floats your boat though...pun intended...LOL

 

[Friar]

Thought I would add my $.02 (really just for a posting credit!) - I think those blue LED lights really do look nice, especially the interior ones. Personally I would not want to pay for them, but they are nice looking and for "matthew" the safety factor on Lake Lewisville is a valid concern.

I lived in Chicagoland for 17 years before moving to DFW area 10 years ago; anyone familiar with the Chain of Lakes area would understand Lake Lewisville - lots of boats/people, lots of them going fast, and lots of them having partied all day into the night.

I have also noticed that mosquitos are not as bad in Texas as they are up north; on the other hand, I really am amazed how you can be in the middle of a lake a mile from shore in any direction with no bugs around, then open a food container and instantly the flies show up!

I also trailer my boat like "goldenrod" and have not yet been out at night in 10 months; heck it was just last week that it finally occurred to me that I should check out the nav and docking lights to see if they worked (they did)! (still haven't checked out the livewell to see if it works)

Anyway, like "ericscher" says, if you got the bucks for "frou-frou", go for it! (believe thats the proper spelling of the term eric )

 

[ericscher]

Yeah, I don' know nuttin' 'bout that Frenchie stuff.

 

[Bjammin]

Well I enjoyed a nice long night time cruise this weekend to watch a fire works display. It was about a 10 mile boat ride which was slow going on the return trip at about 10:30 or so. A few things I noticed that I will comment on is the helm although beautiful was a little too bright while navigating the dark night, my eyes were having difficulty adjusting. I know I could have cut the master switch but I wanted to have power to my hand held gps and the depth finder. I like having the sony remote mounted control but its a little to bright. I wonder if there is a way to dim down the display. May investigate switching the radio to a different switch. Oh and regarding the LED bimini light option, I chose it not knowing if it would be a gimmick but I have to say that I was pleasantly surprised how much light they put off.

I will share a quick idiot boat story. After the fireworks show all were trying to leave; keep in mind there were probably 100 boats anchored in a small channel. Well there always has to be one idiot; a person in a 50+ foot houseboat trying to navigate through all the boats at about 10 mph. As my luck would go he chooses the path by me. He apparantly didn't see us ,so a quick flash of a 2000 watt spot corrected that but the group just past us he didn't see.....not untill he was right on top of them........so what does he do.......throws it into reverse......now headed back towards us again....fortunately I saw this coming and had started pulling the anchor and was getting out of his way. Lucky he didn't kill someone; and why isn't there a requirement to get a boating license? I guess all is well that ends well.

 

[Butchkid]

My favorite time to cruise is at night. The interior lights, cup holder lights, and swim platform lights all light up the night beautifully. I put on some good classic music, and slowly cruise just fast enough to get a cool breeze blowing. The cooler is stocked, the stars are out, almost all of the boats have gone home, and the lake is like glass. My Garmin keeps me safe from the shore, and my spotlight from Lowe's helps me avoid any boater without lights. Sometimes I even need a midnight swim. To me this is some of the best boating there is.

 

[Gastonguy]

We often go out to watch the sunset for what I call a "Blues Cruise". We have the led lighted cup-holders, blue interior lights, bimini LEDs and underwater lights. I was kinda on the fence about ordering these options but so glad we did as its adds a very tasteful and elegant look to our pontoon. Most surprising was how much light the bimini led provide to the interior of the boat.

It is interesting to see how many other boats just motor out to the center of our lake and chill while the suns goes down. Nice time to reflect on another great day with family and friends. Just another aspect of boating that we really enjoy.