boating at night...need help with school project!

[dingbat]

Re: boating at night...need help with school project!

I boat quite regularly at night on the Chesapeake Bay. A couple of the spots I fish at night are 15-20 miles from port and require traversing the busy shipping lanes getting to and from.

While I?ve made the trip more things than I care to remember without radar in the past it?s not something I would recommend to anybody. Every year we have an accident or two by people who think GPS and a depth finder is a good substitute for a good radar system, it?s not.

You?re GPS isn?t going to warn you of a passing freighter or that cable running between that tug and the barge in the barge channel. Night glasses help some but you can?t see far enough, or in a wide enough field of view to replace radar. Not to mention that night glasses are useless if the fog rolls in on you.

You can pick up a decent radar system for less $1K anymore.

 

[oops!]

Re: boating at night...need help with school project!

best bob, i havent done it before.....

but....

#1 you can send a private message to a moderator......

i would suggest...... spinner bait nut....

all the moderators here are very good people and willing to help......

heck ...they dont get paid a dime for this ...so i guess thats all they do is help!


#2 start a new thread....under where it says submit reply there is another options box.....it says start a poll....and it will give you the options.....

i would suggest using the problems with the website forum at the very bottom of forum main page......way down there past the manufacturers forums.....you can use it as a test for the poll.......

 

[External Combustion]

Re: boating at night...need help with school project!

Dingbat:

I know there is a great deal of difference around the nation, but do the tugs routinely run there without proper lights on their tows? That would stop running between the tug and the tow. Where are the Coasties?

I'm basically a flat lander, but the tow boat operators would be toast here improperly marked, dredges doubly so.

Will I need more vigilance if I visit your bay?

 

[dingbat]

Re: boating at night...need help with school project!

They run the proper lights on their tows. It's just that most are large ocean going barges and they use extremely long cables at time. It's hard to estimate distances on the water but those cables are all of a quarter of a mile long or so I would imagine. If you don't know any better you would think it was two different vessels

Don’t even mention the CG around here. Where I typically fish is within 25 miles of an LNG terminal, a nuclear power plant, 2- Air Force Bases, 2-large military radar installations and the heart of Washington D.C.

It’s so bad that the first thing we do at the beginning of the year is to have the CG inspect your boat and give you an inspection sticker. Otherwise they will be on you like flies on stink every time you leave the dock.

 

[cbavier]

Re: boating at night...need help with school project!

I boat at night on an as required basis, if the fishing is good I will stay until it is dark. At dusk my white at anchor light is turned on and when under way the navigation lights are turned on. I use a portable spot light to pick up my bearings, drive slowly using the spot light as needed to confirm my position relative to known landmarks. When I approach the dock and ramp it is easy to tie up using the spot light. At least that's my story and I am sticking to it. Good luck with your assignment.

Ditto for me. We often take one trip around the lake after dark. If out riding or fishing. Taking it nice and slow. It's so beautiful and such a serene setting. My spotlight is a Hand held rechargeable, 2,000,000 Floodlight that stays on the boat except when it's time to charge it. I am very familiar with the lake but go extremely slow. The Dock is well lit with solar lights so between the spotlight and the Dock Lights, docking is not a problem. I never get up on plane in the dark. Maybe 10 mph at max. I do have depth sounder and keep a close eye on it as my draft is 32 inches. Thats' nearly three feet to float.

 

[jeffnick]

Re: boating at night...need help with school project!

When we lived/cruised aboard the sailboat we often ran at night (what's the option when it's at least 10 days to the Caribbean?). We didn't have GPS then, or radar, only a depth sounder (and radar reflector)...always kept a lookout.

Today, in our 18' cuddy, running at night is one of our pleasures...most often following a GPS track at less than 8 mph -- never on plane unless there's a bright moon.

Would I buy any kind of gear to help me 'see' better at night? No.

 

[sc_shane]

Re: boating at night...need help with school project!

I boat at night every now and then on my 25' pontoon. I ONLY navigate waters I have navigated before - usually the same day when it was light. I use my GPS and keep a close eye that I stay on the same track I was before. I also use my navigation lights and hit a spotlight about every few minutes to survey my path. I also shine my spotlight near other boats (not on them) to let them know I'm close. I only travel at speeds less than 10 mph - usually around 5-6. I would not buy anything that would help me see.

 

[brazosboater]

Re: boating at night...need help with school project!

Hello, I boat at night all the time, due to school/work as well. Know the area, and know myself. I don't think that on the Brazos river here in Texas any thermal imaging (other than my trusty little hummingbird) would help. Night goggles wouldn't help, again because of the lights on shore. The only thing I can recommend would be a way for other boaters to see you better. I can see just fine even with my bad night vision, through the use of moon, stars, spotlights. It's the other boaters I worry about most. The drunk, full throttle, stereo so loud that I now despise rap music and don't understand why it is played on a boat, type of boater that I worry about. If you could find me a way for the other boaters to know exactly where myself and my precious cargo of irreplaceable friends and family are, that I would buy. Good luck with your project, and remember that you influence everyone you come in contact with while boating/driving/living, so do it right.

 

[ironman3]

Re: boating at night...need help with school project!

I'm not new to boating but I am a new boat owner. I have a 95 Bayliner 1600 capri. Love it. I live near Kerr lake and in July we have "Lake Fest". Sat. night is the gathering of the boats and fireworks. The lake area is about 1 mile wide at this point, with two bridges across the lake. About 300 or more boats gather, lights on and sit for about 2 hours during fireworks. What a site! When the event is over everyone makes a mad dash to the camp ground or the take out ramp. My first time at lake fest fireworks was last year. Someone told me to hang back until all the crazies left and then go. Good advice! After about 30 minutes we headed back the 5 miles to the camp site. We used a 2,000,000 cp spotlight to shine on the shore so we could keep straight in the channel. The water was still somewhat choppy and still a lot of boats going in the same direction. Very scary. We made it back (very, very slowly about 10-15 mph). I love going out at night now. Just make sure the spotlight is charged.

 

[texanaustinite]

Re: boating at night...need help with school project!

We boat into the night at times on Lake Austin. After a day of swimming, skiing and tubing, we'll stop for dinner at Ski Shores Grill. The sun sets, then it's a nice quiet ride back to the boat ramp. Lots of houses on this long, narrow lake, so you always know where the shore is. Don't go too fast and keep a sharp eye out for other boats... provided they have their nav lights on.

It's especially nice on a crisp moonlit night.

 

[Nandy]

Re: boating at night...need help with school project!

I boat at nigth frequently. I boat in the Mountain Island Lake which is my favorite lake and I knwo its features well. It is not a lake that you want to get close to the river section of it if it rains, but the section close to the island that gave the lake its name is very clean. I still use my spotlight and trackback using my gps. I dont see to have much problem with other vessels at night. Most are either fishing or enjoying the night. I would buy equipment that will help my navigation given that I can afford it and I think I need it.

 

[Ezrider_92356]

Re: boating at night...need help with school project!

i boat at night with no radar just nav lights and the moon light, i dont go faster than below plaining speeds

 

[SuperNova]

Re: boating at night...need help with school project!

I regularly boat at night on the Chesapeake Bay's northern reaches including the C&D Canal. I've done it for years with nothing more than my running lights and a knowledge of the area gained during daytime exploits. If none of you have ever been on the north end of the Bay, let me explain something. 90% of the freighter and barge traffic heading for Philly come up the Chessie and through the C&D canal. The C&D is only 100 yrds wide or so and someplaces a lot narrower. With regards to barge and freighter traffic there is no spare room for them to maneuver..so you keep your eyes wide and give them a wide berth and telegraph your intentions well in advance.


Last year we decided to start heading a little more southerly into unknown waters(for us) so in addition to my paper charts and compass, I purchased an inexpensive GPS which helped a lot with navigation and this year I am adding a remote spotlight to pick out the channels that only have day markers. I used a handheld one last year, but that is a pain I am hoping to eliminate.

All that said, I never run more than 10-15 mph at night. The Sunday papers are always full of stories about people who think that is too slow. Last 4th of July I towed my B.I.L.'s boat almost 30 miles in the pitch black and extremely limited vision of a severe nightime downpour using just my charts and compass. His boat is a 26' Nova a few years older than mine. It took 6 hours, but no mishaps.

I have seen the recent articles about the new thermal imaging cameras, and they look great, but for me too much money for something that is not all that necessary. I think it is just another device that will make the drunk, incompetent a-holes that much more confident in running way too fast at night.
--
Stan