Illegal running lights OK sometimes?

[suzukidave]

Re: Illegal running lights OK sometimes?

Shangster,<br />I think our mutual philosophies are just different on this. I am not helping much because I am resistant to your idea of regularly running a fibreglass boat in darkness in our waters at more than maybe 15 mph because I think you just can't pick up and react to deadheads quick enough. Your point is that if you get powerful enough lights you can fix that. When I think about it, to get enough light to make me comfortable to run at 25 knots I would want floods in a row up on a radar arch or something and it would be bright enough to shoot a movie on your bow. Even then I don't know whether the throw on marine floods would be far enough, since I think they are generally intended for local ambient lighting, not running lights. <br /><br />I agree with your concerns about weather. I run boats for pleasure and for commuting while on vacation so have the luxury of ducking out of the nasty stuff most of the time. I do think if it can get rough enough to punch out thru-hull lights where you are then I think if you mounted floods on your bow rail they wouldn't last either. Maybe you can take the ferry those days?<br /><br />So I'll just add one last comment. I guess, as you say, thru-hulls are technically docking lights but they do throw a pretty decent light out and I would say because of the angle they pick up the water surface so you can see debris better than a spotlight would and are good enough at low speed. <br /><br />good luck!

 

[Shangster]

Re: Illegal running lights OK sometimes?

HI Suzuki---thanx for the additional input! My point is NOT that I can fix the problem with a powerful enough light. My point is more like---"Somebody somewhere must be facing a similiar problem---why don't I take advantage of this website and see if I can get some ideas from other boaters because I wouldn't be surprised if someone has worked on this problem for years and has come up with THE BEST SOLUTION CONSIDERING THE FACT THAT THERE IS NO TRULY SAFE SOLUTION!"<br />So, basically I do realize that there is no truly safe way to do 25 knots in the dark in a 22' boat. Having said that though, I still would like to find the SAFEST way that can be engineered within reason. I have owned those docking lights before and they are several orders of magnitude too small. Your point about going slower is of course a good one and I plan on experimenting to see how slow I can go without falling off the step. I do have trim tabs but it's a heavy aluminum boat and I'm guessing I'll still have to go about 18 Knots to keep it planing. Having the aluminum hull being 3/16" thick adds security for sure but wiping a leg off would ruin my day big time!

 

[Gordie]

Re: Illegal running lights OK sometimes?

Buy a 500cp Optron removable spotlight with mount ,run a power supply next to the mount on a switiched circuit,you have it when you need it simple ???

 

[dustydiesel]

Re: Illegal running lights OK sometimes?

I was wondering what kind of lights they use on airplanes, float planes must have to take of at night on ocasion. Truckers in nortern ontario run bright spots to help keep an eye for moose in the ditches. I was told they were aircraft landing lights. What ever they were they were bright.

 

[sony2001]

Re: Illegal running lights OK sometimes?

A FRESH IDEA may be is to find a weather radar and tilt the gain down to 200' feet infront. It could pick up the difference in densities between logs and water. I've used it to find the runway when the visability is low.

 

[Chum Slick]

Re: Illegal running lights OK sometimes?

Shangster,<br /> I have been keeping a****** of this topic since you first posted. I also run a lot at night on the Potomac River which runs from above Washington D.C. to the Chesapeake Bay. After any substantial rain the river is full of floating debris, I mean huge stuff. I also run quite a bit in the bay where there are a bazillion crab pots and need to be able to navigate around them at night. I have tried several types of running lights but none seem bright enough. I have also used high output spotlights but they through too tight a spot and are not good for navigating. If you come up with a good solution, let me know. <br /> Some of the earlier replies mentioned not to use spotlights. My spotlight has saved me and my boat numerous times when an approaching boater does not see me for some reason. A quick blast from my Q-Beam lets me know I am out there.

 

[Chum Slick]

Re: Illegal running lights OK sometimes?

By the way the word that was edited out was:<br /><br />A..B..R..E..A..s..T meaning, keeping up with, not a part of the body.

 

[suzukidave]

Re: Illegal running lights OK sometimes?

Shangster, I thought this would amuse you on the timing. Just found myself reviewing a lawsuit (I'm not a party!). Subject matter, commercial fishing boat running at 5am last November on Fraser river. Hits log. Sinks. Loses cargo of halbut and redfish. No word on how fast he was going. Whose fault? The boat owner claims it's the companies that store log booms on the Fraser River who don't keep them tied up properly. However, he doesn't seem to know whose log holed him, so he's sued them all.<br /><br />Maybe you can be an expert witness for the defendants?<br /><br />Anyway, if you're running an aluminum boat I take back some of my concerns (I thought it was a Sangster!), but I still don't know what light set-up to suggest. Maybe you could ask the coast guard or the local constabulary what they employ!

 

[Shangster]

Re: Illegal running lights OK sometimes?

Thanx for the comments guys--Hey Chum Slick-- I have used spotlights for years to help steer through heavy junk when travelling at night but that was all at low speeds (7 to 10 knots)with larger boats (35'-60'). As you said, at higher speeds a spotlight just doesn't do the job for a smaller boat because if there is any kind of chop the light beam is flying all over the place. I think a wider beam is necessary. Hey Suzuki--seems like anyone can sue anyone for anything these days eh? (Is that "eh" thing Canadian? I've heard it is.) I don't know if this guy has a good case or not but if he can prove he kept a good lookout using everything at his disposal (slow or moderate speed and conforming totally to both international and local regulations) he may have a case. Maybe the river was choked with deadheads because the sorting yard company did not take reasonable care to prevent their wood from becoming a serious navigational hazard. If this was the case (and I'm not saying it was) then if I was the judge I might decide in the fisherman's favour. It gets complicated of course if he can't actually prove whose wood it was of course but Hey!---this is why God made lawyers! They might be able to keep milking a case like this for years! (Is a guy allowed to make a joke about lawyers these days?) I can tell you that it would be an unlikely lawsuit up here in the boonies because there just isn't the "I'll sue everybody!" attitude around here.

 

[clanton]

Re: Illegal running lights OK sometimes?

Do a search on airboats, they must use a brite light to miss the stumps and find the frogs.

 

[mtp]

Re: Illegal running lights OK sometimes?

Hey, what about night vision stuff? I haven't used, but maybe someone could suggest... <br /><br />Try various spotlights. I recently got one that has a narrower beam, it's great for longer distances and works better in haze, light fog (doesn't glare as much). It was converted from old powerline surplus 12V spotlight....

 

[Shangster]

Re: Illegal running lights OK sometimes?

I have looked into night vision at www.nightvisiongoggles.com and they say forget it. It was worth a try though I guess. They said that they have an excellent product but when I described the conditions it have to perform under they backed off real quick and mentioned how "extremely difficult it is to get accurate images when there is a lot of water vapour and water drops in the air and the image targets are constantly moving and shifting". Surprise, surprise eh? Oh well, I didnt really think there would be an effective product using this technology within my budget. I wouldn't be surprised if some of the Special Ops guys have something that would work but I also wouldn't be surprised if the cost was over $100,000.00 for a headset with supporting technology. Actually, it could be far higher than that--I'm totally in the dark (so to speak) on this!

 

[Shangster]

Re: Illegal running lights OK sometimes?

Hey Clanton--Thanx for suggestion to check out airboats--there are lots of these in Florida aren't there? Sure ain't any around here but then we dont have much in the way of swamps. Anyway, I will check into them---you never know---even though my impression is that those boats are usually skimmming around on flat H20. (or as we say around here--"urine" on a platter.

 

[Shangster]

Re: Illegal running lights OK sometimes?

Hello again fellow Aquanauts!<br />Today I bought a couple of halogen "off road" wide beam spotlights that have 250,000 candle power each. They call them off road because they aren't legal on the road. I'll be mounting them on my boat this coming weekend. Although they'll help I already know they aren't going to really solve my problem. I will post a report however. Being spotlights, in rough weather they will spend a lot of time shining on the bottom of clouds and on the bottom of the latest trough the boat just augered into. Oh well, its a start. Maybe I could add a couple of floodlights after the sea trials and have some significant visibility improvement. And as I said----I will post a report on their performance. Cheers!

 

[suzuki115]

Re: Illegal running lights OK sometimes?

Just an added suggestion to the off-road lights. I run 4 over the cab off-road lights on my pick-up. I also have a hand adjustable single light for spotting. I run two of the overhead lights at a different angle than the other two lights to give me a good field of view in rough conditions and use the hand adjustable to key in on the occational item out of the view of the overhead lights. I have run several lighting setups on boats for night water skiing and have found that running lights overhead works much better than lower mounted lights and give a better field of view. Have fun.

 

[Shangster]

Re: Illegal running lights OK sometimes?

thanx suzuki115---I will be mounting them fairly high (2 feet above eye level anyway) and I think I'll spread them apart like headlights for the 1st attempt. I was going to mount them side by side but I think it would result in a very narrow visibilty "arc". I'm thinking of using 2 Xenon floodlights also but I may have to go to a bigger alternator if I want to use the radar/sounder etc. Have you used Xenon lights? The advertising says they are 80% brighter than halogen but this claim could be misleading as well as false.

 

[suzuki115]

Re: Illegal running lights OK sometimes?

I haven't used or read about those type of lights. As you said, be suspicious of advertisers, wait until you hear it from someone you know.