How many times do you boat at night in a season?

[biglar155]

Haven't boated at night yet - but I'd like to do it someday.

We typically hit the water pretty early in the morning so by the time the sun is beginning to get low in the sky, we're all tired and ready to call it a night.

The 90 minute drive back home at the end of the day (which we have done after dark) encourages me to get off the water before I really start to feel fatigued. I don't want to be a road hazard.

 

[octavio3311]

We've never boated at night either. Come dark, everyone is usually beat and want to get off anyways. We then move the party to the beach.
And where we are is very very busy - right next to the lakes only on water pub. Lots and lots of idiots coming and going. Heavily patrolled as well. We usually sit around the fire and watch the show.

 

[Raphael]

@Raphael you would have found it simple with a GPS Chartplotter and a large spotlight or two. Follow the GPS line until you get to the dock, then fire up the spotlights to dock with. I was like you when I first boated at night in pitch black with no moon....white knuckles for sure! It was the reason I got the GPS in the first place! I wasn't comfortable doing that in a lake with tons of rocks and narrow channels to get from my MIL's cabin to the one we rented. With GPS there was still a bit of concern, but it was more about making sure there was nothing ahead of us in the water....logs, boats, deer (swimming from one island to another) etc

Lake Powell is a completely different landscape every year depending on water levels, as an example rocks that jumped off last year might be completely submerged this year because we are expecting a 40ft rise in water levels if I we on a traditional lake I would love to boat at night because it is so peaceful just not lake Powell.

Night Boating: Not Recommended

For many years Glen Canyon National Recreation Area has maintained an Aids to Navigation (ATON) Program on Lake Powell. The ATON infrastructure includes red and green buoys, which mark the main river channel and indicate the safest routes for boat operators to navigate within. Given that lake levels fluctuate on a daily basis and during some years vary almost 100 vertical feet from winter to summer, the ATON program is not designed to mark hazards outside of these delineated areas, as they are ever changing. Therefore, the National Park Service does not recommend that boat operators attempt to navigate vessels before official sunrise or after sunset. Operators who choose to operate during these times are at an increased level of risk and subject themselves, fellow passengers and other boaters to accidents which can result in property damage, serious injury or death.

Boaters who find themselves in emergency situations, which may necessitate navigating at night, are reminded there are inherent risks associated and are encouraged to seriously weigh the benefit versus the risks involved. When operating they are strongly encouraged to utilize as many of the following tools as possible to help mitigate the risk involved: training and understanding of ATON, formal boating safety classes, topographic maps and technological devices. In addition to these tools, there is no substitute for area knowledge and experience obtained during day-light hours.

Boaters should keep in mind the National Park Service only initiates responses on Lake Powell between sunset and sunrise during emergency situations, which involve life safety.

 

[Julian]

@Raphael I can see how boating on a Lake with huge swings in water levels would pose a serious danger, but I find it hard to believe that from one day to the next a lake the size of Powell would change much more than an inch in depth. With a GPS and a depth sounder, it would be easy to chart a course that kept you at a depth of 5+ feet....if you can't, then it is too shallow to boat at night. But if you can, then as long as you don't let your track age more than a few days, it should be safe to head out in the morning, and track back that night in the dark (I typically would only go just over planing speed). All that said, you have to judge the lake and conditions, and if Powell is too shallow and too narrow, then I wouldn't do it either.

 

[txav8r]

I agree with Julian. I know lake Powell is big, and full of surprises. But at night, I wouldn't be outside of the navigation channels! I would use my gps and stay in deep water all the time. I did that very thing on lake ray Roberts. We really only spent an hour or a during daylight hours, as our main boating consisted of the evening. And even though I knew the lake, I didn't depend on objects and lights along the shore, or trust that I knew the lake, so cutting through shallows even 12' deep was avoided at night. I followed my track line to the letter and stayed out away from shore, points, and shallows. You could so the same at Powell, but the weather is a bigger issue there, as is the size of the lake. While I have made runs of 13 miles on Texoma at night, I would really limit my travels on a lake I didn't know...even with gps. Other than the cove or docks, I would stay in open water for my track. But I respect your decision @Raphael , and in no way am I encouraging you or critiquing your standard. As well as you know the lake even, and even for daylight boating, I would add a gps chartplotter to your bag of tricks. It is a game changer...but it doesn't replace a good head on your shoulders ever.

 

[Rigger]

Cruising at night is awesome! We do lots of it here on Lake Anna and when we're down on Lake Martin. Upgraded the standard 1NM nav lights to the 2NM LED's - huge difference! 1 million candle power spot light is at the ready - just in case. I've never had to deploy it though. As others have said GPS makes tons of sense, following known tracks from day trips.

 

[Lspeedss]

As often as I can. Its the best.

 

[Julian]

We did all of our night boating on Lake of the Woods, and one added benefit was seeing the northern lights! It was one of the most amazing things I've ever seen. We stopped in the middle of the lake in pitch black and all leaned back and watched the show over head. I never knew until then just how bright they can get, and that they can cover the entire sky!

Million candle power spots are useful! I did run at night on my brothers Grady White coming back in from fishing a few times into Tampa bay...but he not only had GPS but radar too! We were approaching the sunshine bridge and the bouys showed up on Radar so it was easy to remain in the channel. But as we were approaching the bridge, there was something in the channel but we couldn't see it. We got closer and closer and still couldn't see a thing, so he had two huge spots on the roof and we fired them up and used the remotes and swept the water ahead, and sure enough, there's an idiot in a 15-17' flat bass like boat sitting in the middle of the channel fishing with NO lights on at all! We could easily have just run him over at 25mph. So as @txav8r says....know your limits, and be careful. After that, I occasionally sweep the water ahead of me with a spot just to make sure there aren't idiots parked in the middle of the lake!

 

[jdonalds]

4 year old child goes to bed at 7pm so night boating is out for us. It can be quite hot even after dark in the summer so boating would be in good conditions. I just don't have the attraction to doing it though. Maybe someday.

 

[jaybro72]

Anytime there is a full moon.

x2 on the full moon

 

[davel501]

Night boating is a lot of fun with a good plotter, dimmed all the way down and inverted for night vision. Night boating without the plotter is a white knuckle, disorienting experience.

We love to go out at night and just putter around in the highest no wake mode. Bring a few blankets to keep the dew off of you and it is perfect.

 

[txav8r]

I think this is a good thread to share some of my experiences with you guys, rather my dad's experience I guess. I was a kid, and we had a cabin on the west side of Texoma between Briar and Rock Creek. It was common for us to venture out in the day and stay until late evening. We always had a driftwood fire on the beach, hotdogs, somores, and fun. And then at the end of the evening, we would pack up and head back to the marina and up to the cabin.

On two separate occasions, we ended up on dry land before we got to the marina, and once it wasn't exactly dry, but we were grounded nonetheless! This was of course in the days before GPS and chart plotters. He knew the lake well, but we still ended up stranded. So the risks are out there boys and girls. The chart plotter is a game changer and I use it in bright daylight too! I wouldn't have another boat without one. Even with a chart plotter, you MUST listen to your gut and pay attention to those hairs on the back of your neck. While boating at night is a wonderful experience, it is totally different than daytime boating.

If you keep most of the light off in the boat, you can see 50 yards or so, even on a moonless night. All you are concerned with is the area immediately in your path that you need to be able to stop for. I confess I haven't always had everyone wear their lifejackets when running at night, but it would be a good idea. As well as having them all seated. Running a spotlight at night simply destroys your night vision. The back scatter from the light on all the reflective surfaces of the boat and water will limit your night vision. Smoking and alcohol also restrict your night vision. I throw a towel over the dash gauges and dim the chart plotter, using it for speed, direction, track, and depth. I run up on step at a slow cruise around 24 mph. I can stop the boat in 50 feet or turn away from a danger easily and my night vision will give me a 200% margin of safety over that. Depend on your track for depth and distance safety, depend on your eyes for surface objects. This obviously doesn't work as well when there is ambient light in the area. So inter coastal and urban boaters may have more issues and need added help, like radar, to make sure their paths are clear. That may not be a player on our sized boats.

There are many variables in recreational boating, and the night is nothing to fear, but it is something to respect. Have fun with it and be safe out there!

 

[davel501]

Good point on keeping a sharp lookout. I almost ran over a pontoon boat that was cutting across the main channel with no nav lights. As near as we can tell the guy was drunk and trying to avoid the police to get his boat home. In hindsight I probably should have looped around and lit up his boat with my docking lights to let the cops know he was there and keep other boaters from hitting him but I was so freaked out by how close a call it was that I was home and tied to the dock before I was thinking clearly about it.

 

[txav8r]

I know how you feel Dave, I have run across those idiots too. What is almost as bad, is a boat with his dock lights or a spotlight on. I have wanted to get out my million candlepower beam and blind them. But I would be at fault just as much as they were, just like you would be at fault for lighting them up. I don't actually know what the best course of action, beyond phoning them in to the authorities. An unlighted boat on a body of water at night is a hazard to all boaters and is clearly in violation, just as a boater that is running with dock lights or a spot light continuously on. Neither of these lighting conveniences were intended to be "light the way" tools for open water. It is kind of like the guy on the road that runs with his high beams on continuously, because it helps him see...well, I hope it helps him avoid the wreck he causes!