Navigating after sunset

[BrentB]

Does anyone have any comments on navigating a boat after sunset?

[Papillon]

Go Very Slow...Know your route by daylight first...Watch out for the sticks, red and green...the object is to say between them. A good lookout comes in very handy. A chart plotter makes for a pretty good "sudo-radar" but do not bet your life on it....Slow...Pratice First on a Full Moon...Half Moon...No Moon. Good Luck.

[CaptMac]

Brent,

1. Navigate slower at night than daytime,
2. Keep a sharp look out for other boats nav lights. Those little green or red lights could be a 15' boat or a 150' barge,
3. Use a spot light descretionally to locate nav markers,
4. Have safety equipment available,
5. Become familiar with uscg colregs and inland rules.

As a charter boat Captain, I do 180 - 200 charters per year with all of them being at night. Night time navigating takes skill, focus and concentration. Gps and radar are essential at night, but are no substitute for visual awareness.

To summarize night-time crusing in a couple of words...Be Careful!

[ffheap]

Boat preparation is important for night navigation.

Are all your helm station navigation lights have a red bulb? My Gas tank gages have a white light that in bright and has to be painted red, or a red bulb to replace the white bulb.

Do you get reflection of your white all around white light on the bow rails? This problem has been discussed under other trends.

Do you have a red light in your cabin in order to read the charts? Also, have you tried to read charts with the red light?You might also get a flashlight and cover the lens with red clear plastic.

Just a few ideas.

Good trend.


Fred

[Sea Wolf]

Navigating at night along a well lit up and defined harbor or bay can be very beautiful, enjoyable, and reatively safe. In short, a fun experience.

But doing so in an unlighted, unmarked, unseeable abyss of dangerous nature, like the Inland Passage, is something to be avoided by all but the most experienced crews with redundant electronic navigation systems and boats/ships large enough to encounter unseen deadheads w/o worry.

Considering the level of anxiety posed by the more dangerous types of passages, they should be avoided not only because of their difficult and dangerous nature, but certainly also because they won't be any fun due to the anxiety level they produce underway.

JMHO

Joe.

[JamesTXSD]

The time right after sunset is gorgeous. Then it gets dark... real quick. Then it isn't so gorgeous anymore (can't see nuttin), and it becomes an exercise in caution. Nav equipment up to the task is important. Lighted nav aids blend into background lights if you're near a populated area. We will do it occasionally in our local area, but I avoid it in unfamiliar waters. Open water sailing is different, but I haven't had the opportunity or reason to do that with the C-Dory yet.

Chartplotters and radar need to be kept dimmed. Red lighting at the helm. Any white light will mess up your night vision for a while.

That's why I like going out before sunrise... it's gonna get brighter real soon.

Best wishes,
Jim B.

[lloyds]

The second best insurance for night passage is daytime familiarity and radar. The best insurance would have to be radar. But I have only used it, never had it on my own boats. At night you cannot presume to know what any light really is. You cannot place the light in relation to the horizon, nor tell it from a street light or a barge light, or any other light, other than the difference in colors. North Portland Harbor, Elliott Bay in Seattle, The bar at Greys Harbor. Terribly confusing places at night. If you aren't familiar with it during the day, try not to tackle it at night. Unlit obstacles, light crab pots or logs are another discussion entirely.

[Larry H]

For the PNW,

Right of way rules for logs.(the floating kind)

1. Logs always have right-of-way!
2. Logs never show navigation lights!
3. Logs travel in packs, if you see one, there may be others nearby.
4. Some logs are submarines, traveling just below the surface.

Due to #1 thru 4, most pleasure boaters don't travel at night in the PNW.

[Sawdust]

In the PNW only at night during emergency! Larrry is so right. Logs have the right-of-way every time.

Dusty

[drjohn71a]

For those in less treacherous (logwise) waters... I have always enjoyed slowly motoring upwind until to the end of the lake, then drifting, watching the falling stars, etc., back to my starting point. Use a drift sock abeam, or forward if the wind is up. The biggest hazards are drinking sailors, partying belowdecks, on autopilot, who feel it is the world's obligation to get out of their way. John

[doc]

I am not an expert in night navigation but I know from experience that it places us in an alien environment and it is good to have respect for it. One way to find that respect in a hurry is to try navigating an area that is already very familiar to you. This can show you how much different things look and feel in the dark and how issues such as lights, glare, motion, lack of perspective and uncertainty can confuse and slow thought processes. Practice using charts, gps and radar a lot in daylight conditions helps to get an understanding of the night picture before you see it for the first time in pitch black but it still doesn't prepare you for the other sortid variables that crop up. Adding distractions from crew and passengers doesn't help. If crew doesn't take watch seriously, you may be better off with them off the bridge. If I am traveling in the dark, it is to be moving into an improving situation.

[thataway]

Even though we have thousands of hours at sea at night (anytime you cross an ocean--half is at night). However we made hundreds of trips from Long Beach Ca to Catalina Island long before Loran, GPS or radar was available for recreational boats every Friday night with only a compass and depthfinder--also trips to Mexico sailing at night, with no navigation tools as we know them today. Many of the world's small craft have no electronics.

There you must learn to trust your senses. If you are boating after dark on a lake (assuming that IN) means lake country--I don't feel that Radar is essential. Listen for sounds--if in question--stop, turn off the engine and see what you hear. You may also get clues from the water surface--weeds, sea grasses or kelp. Echos become important--as well as engine noises and prop wash!

We always ran a higher than necessary white light on the masthead. I have not yet modified the Tom Cat 255 light, but I may well put in a 25 watt light rather than a 10 watt light. This white light must be shielded from your vision. Same for the side lights. I find that putting the grey foam water insullation over reflective SS railings near the lights helps with the glare.

Also you can do more than just dim lights on charts etc. There are plastic "Gels" or plexiglass in red, blue or purple which can be put over screens. On my principle chart plotter the night vision is a red/purple hue instead of the bright yellows, vivid blues etc of daylight screens.

Also depth finders can be a great help--for example at one point I was boating out of Rodendo Beach CA--and there is a deep submarine canyon which extends right to the pier. We would pick up the canyon and follow the bottom in to the end of the pier

Go slow and enjoy. Watch out for other boats. One of the most dangerous things is tug and tow. Even worse are drunk high speed boaters. I don't ever advocate shining a light in a helmsman's eyes, but you can both illumiate your boat, and shine the light in a general direction of an approaching boat to warn them of your presence.

Enjoy the night--it is beautiful.

[Sea Wolf]

" One of the most dangerous things is tug and tow. Even worse are drunk high speed boaters." - Bob Austin

That first deal, for those who might miss the point, is that sometimes there's 100-200 or more yards between a tug and her barge(s), and the chainsaw like cable is totally unlighted. Knowing the light configurations for a tug and her barges helps greatly in deciphering the dangers.

The second danger, drunken speed boaters, is a Certified Sport in Clear Lake California!

Big name rock bands, country and western singers, and anything that draws a big, well lubricated crowd play the weekend nights at the Konocti Harbor Inn.

After about four hours of drinking and show watching, the partyers emerge swearing and stumbling to their boats and cars.

Those in boats, start 'em up, idle out of the harbor, turn the navigation lights back off, and head towards the light on the horizon 5-25 miles away that represents their home port/lakefront house, all at at 35-70 mph!

It's a fiasco of disasters begging to erupt. Once you've witnessed it, you rent a room for the night anytime you're catching the show.

You'd think the Sheriff's Department would get out there and stop 'em, but it would be like trying to stop a Fourth of July Fireworks Celebration with a hang glider and flyswatter!

Joe.

[Butch]

I boat around the head of the Chesapeake Bay at night. Same rules apply... watch out! The channels are narrow, commercial and pleasure traffic is abundant and worst of all there are the inebriated idiots to deal with. All this and I still like the still of the night... and the waters are calm. Rule of the road... go slow and be careful. Butch

PS... I hope Charlie (Captain's Choice) chimes in, he's at the mid to lower Bay... I value his opinion and I am certain we can learn from it.

[colobear]

Had my first, unplanned, night return to port last weekend. A good learning experience. We'd been to Victoria BC with our daughter, got delayed watching Orcas, thus missed the Friday Harbor Customs open hours, waited an hour, etc. Debated overnighting and getting an early start the next AM but the water was glassy, clear skies, half moon had dusk light so went for it. All went well until the light got so low the C-80 screen was killing night vision. Daughter found out that to go to night lighting, one taps the "on" button. Huge difference with dim screen. We'll never forget how to do that. Have chartplotter with radar overlay so not too much worry until we got close to Deception Pass. Handheld spotlight too weak and if it glints on the bow railing the glare kills your vision for quite a while. Discovered that keeping the heading line the C-80 projects ahead of the boat centered in Deception pass is easier said than done. My wife said I was doing quite elegant Ess curves. I found that by opening the center window on the 22 I could stand to the left of the helm, see and steer much better. My wife was the port lookout, daughter the starboard and spotlight. That worked well and allowed me to focus on navigating/steering. The most challenging was docking. We ended up one dock over from our planned spot and had to pull the boat around by hand.

Some lessons learned:

Be ready to overnight even if it would complicate your plans. I was watching everything very carefully and had weather, etc. looked even slightly bad, we'd have stayed on the boat and come in the next AM. I'm comfortable with my decision but it was not lightly made.

Learn about things like changing screen lighting before hand. A rookie mistake.

Trust your instruments but have every available eye on lookout.

Test things like handheld spotlights beforehand.

When trying to thread a needle like Deception Pass or a constricted harbor, if there's any light, try opening the window and steering by feel.

Slow down before you think you need to. I was racing the light coming in and made it most of the way but had to force myself to slow way down before I lost all light. Safety first, you'll get there.