6 Best Tips For Boating At Night

My wife and I had the crazy idea of staying late on the water to watch the sunset on our wedding anniversary. After an unpleasant and scary nighttime boating experience, we decided to do some research and talk to more experienced night boaters, and we want to share what we have learned. 

Follow these tips the next time you are boating after sunset to enjoying the pleasures and help you avoid the dangers of boating in the dark.

1. Slow Down 

This tip is the most important rule to follow when boating at night. The difference between boating during the day and boating at night are huge. Not everyone has common sense, and what might seem pretty obvious to you is certainly not for others.

Check your local county or state regulations; they might dictate a lower speed limit or even idle speeds during night time. By slowing down, you’ll have a better chance of avoiding or maneuver around floating or stationary objects that are usually visible during the day. Some examples of objects are pilings, logs, debris, sand bars, or even anchored boats.

A lot of these objects become invisible at night until you are very close to them and if you are going too fast might not be able to avoid them in time and possibly damage your boat or get injured. Slow down, slow down, slow down. 

    2.   Practice And Familiarise  

If you are new to night boating or just new to boating, take your time to get familiar with your boating environment. Take your boat out during the day and familiarize with your surroundings and important and noticeable landmarks. 

Then you can try to take your boat out on a bright night with a full moon. Take it slow to keep your eyes and ears open and pay attention to everything. Also, get familiar with your boat settings and controls locations as they tend to disappear in the dark.

3.   Keep Your Ears Open

When you are in the dark and can’t see anything, your ears become your best tool to help you navigate safely. Listen out for other boat engines getting closer or further away, other people talking, water hitting an object, horns, music coming from another boat, all this and more are signs that you should keep an ear open for and use to help you navigate safely at night time.

   4. Keep A Lookout

Put your crew to work, have someone looking out helping you identify possible hazards like other boats, pilings, floating objects, channel markers, etc. It is an excellent idea and very helpful to have a second set of eyes and ears. 

   5.  Lights

The rules of the lights on the water are very different than the ones on the road. The color of your lights will let other boats know if you are coming or going and in what direction or if you are anchored and not moving. You need to make sure that all of your lights are 100% operational and that you understand how and when to use them.

If your boat is equipped with headlights to understand that those are only meant for docking, you can blind other boaters and even send them the wrong signal by keeping them on while navigating.

   6.  Human Eyes And Darkness

It is going to take a few hours for your eyes to fully adapt and adjust to the low light conditions when nighttime boating. You don’t want to have the lights inside your boat brighter than the surroundings and end up killing your night vision.

For this reason, it is recommended to dim down everything dimmable on your boat, including all of your boat electronics like GPS, Chartplotter, radar, radio, etc. also you might want to turn off your courtesy lights if they are not dimmable or install a dimmer switch.

Avoid looking at any light source as much as possible, so you don’t end up diminishing your night vision temporarily.

This is the gear that we take with us when boating at night. 

• Life Vest

Everyone should be wearing a life vest at all times when boating but especially when nighttime boating. You don’t want to scramble trying yo find your vest or throwable if you or one of your crew members need it on an emergency situation. 

• Spot Light

Only use it when absolutely necessary to spot markers or other things that might be on your way. Do not shine your spotlight to any other boats, this can temporarily blind its captain and cause trouble.

• Navigation Devices 

Your electronics navigation devices are going to help you big time when boating in the dark. Use your Chartplotter to identify stationary objects on the water like markers, buoys, sand bars, and others. Some of the new ones even have dock to dock navigation which can also help you follow a route. Use your radar to help you identify other boats on the water ahead of time so you can maneuver accordingly.

• VHF Radio

Keep a radio on your boat in case you are out of your cell phone coverage area and need to call for help or communicate with other boaters

• Jackets 

It can get cold at night on the water. It is a good idea to bring a jacket or maybe blankets for your crew.

• Glow Stick

 Is a good idea to equip all of your crew members with glow sticks that they can put on their pocket or even hang from their necks. In the case of someone falling overboard to the water, it could be near impossible for someone to be found in the dark. A glow stick would help to find someone quickly.

• Night Vision Devices 

I don’t own any, but I have talked to Some frequent night time boaters, and they have been getting night vision scopes to help them see at night. Or even night vision cameras facing forward connected to an MDF display.

Related questions 

1. Why Don’t Boats Have Headlights?

Because you run the chance of temporarily blind a fellow boater. Some boats have what seems like headlights, but they are actually docking lights, and their only purpose is to use them if you are trying to dock your boat in the dark.

   2.   What Lights Are Required On A Boat At Night?

 White light on the stern and another one on the masthead or an all-around White light. This white light should be visible from a distance of 2 miles on a clear night. Also red light on the port side  and green light on the starboard side visible from a distance of 1 mile on a clear night

By following this simple night boating tips, you and your family or friends have a better chance of enjoying the beauty of boating after sunset. Common sense is also very important like I mentioned before, take very slow and keep your eyes and ears open. Remember it is your responsibility to ensure the safety of everyone on your boat.