Boating after dawn or after dusk has the same requirements when it comes to safety and operation. However, operating a vessel at night requires more preparation and knowledge to ensure a safe return. We offer our tips, but our best advice is to take a hands-on course geared to boating after dark.
1 File a float plan so someone ashore knows your route and the approximate time you expect to return to shore.
2 Turn your running lights on and confirm they all work. If ALL the lights don’t operate, a fuse or the light switch is likely bad. If one or two lights are out, chances are you have a burnt out bulb (or two), or the contacts between the bulbs and the housing have become corroded. Never head out with less than all your lights operational, as the configuration of lights signals to others your size, vessel type, position, and direction.
3 Almost everything appears different in the dark, so don’t rely on your daytime familiarity with the landmarks of a harbor or waterway. Study the charts for your nighttime route — they show lighting codes and flashing sequences for buoys and beacons and other aids to navigation. Laminated guides for recognizing fixed aids and boat lights are available to keep alongside the wheel should you spot an unfamiliar formation.
4 As day turns to night, turn off all unnecessary lights (running lights are necessary). Adjust electronics’ screens to minimize brightness. Put a red filter on your handheld flashlight, use a red filter app for your phone, and a soft red light when looking at your chart or guide (white light messes with night vision).
5 Preserve night vision for yourself and other boaters — shine a spotlight across the water only for as long as it takes to locate a buoy or marker and note its heading. Never shine that spotlight towards another vessel.
6 Reduce your cruising speed substantially. All available hands should be on deck to act as lookouts; encourage reporting of everything they see and hear.
7 Urban light pollution poses a risk to skippers. Traffic lights along the shore turn from red to green, tricking the eye into seeing a vessel. Enlist a spotter to confirm what you believe is an aid to navigation and not a light on the shore.
8 Sound carries on the water, but it also bounces around. Learn the sounds and sequences of horn signals, listen to the VHF radio to hear who’s in the vicinity, utilize your radar, and exercise caution as another vessel approaches.
9 Keep in mind that other skippers are also at the same disadvantage as you while night boating. Though you may have the right of way, captain, your paramount duty is to protect and prevent. Therefore, you must do ALL within your power to avoid an accident.
10 Attach a whistle and a strobe flashlight to everyone’s life jackets (it makes it easier to locate someone who’s gone overboard).
