Search light not giving adequate illumination for cruising

[max from alaska]

I have a 2014 R27 with the light mounted at rooftop level. It shines through the bow rail and with glare it doesn’t illuminate the water ahead to see logs, buoys, the shore. It’s so bad that I can see better in the dark with it turned off. Is there a solution for this? Im thinking that moving it up the mast to the platform above the radar would help it to shine over the handrail and down onto the water, possibly solving the problem. But I wonder if the light is powerful enough to do the job even if I clear the rail with the beam. Any suggestions? Thanks

 

[Cutwater28GG]

Move it to the bow in front of the railings. Only option. Or use a flir device.

 

[HookedUp]

After several different attempts at night boating I got a Sionyx camera and mount it on a rail when I"m going to be out at night. I use the iPad app to view and it's almost as good as daytime and it's in color. On really dark nights I have to use the black/white setting, but only had to do that once.

We went out to watch fireworks on the beach several years back. Cloudy, no moon and an abundance of crab pots. Boat full of grandkids. Decided that night I had to solve the problem or not travel by boat at night. The camera isn't a perfect solution, but it's way better than anything else I've tried.

 

[max from alaska]

Wow. New technology is amazing. I used to work on salmon seiners in the 70s and the only option was a good light. But now there’s FLIR and Sionyx night vision cameras. Seems that the Sionyx may be an economical option for me....what model do you use? I could leave the search light alone, it seems to be a good hood ornament and not good for anything else.

 

[Scottfree]

No one has said how fast they are travelling so for fun I get to make assumptions. According to Google if you are going 10 mph you will cover 15 feet a second. So to round it out one boat length in 2 seconds. So is the point here that the stock light does not cover at least a boat length? Because in two seconds my wife can give my a pretty comprehensive list of my driving inadequacies. So for nostalgic purpose only, one could have the spouse on the bow with a lantern. Or cut your speed to a third and use a 10 foot pole. I have a $20 dollar flashlight that lights up the night. Then again is driving at night not the same as driving in fog? How about a chart plotter and radar? My preference would be to convince the wife to stand on the bow with a flashlight, especially if its raining!

I actually agree that the fancy light that is occasionally directionally controlled is a poor navigating tool. I'm sure there is some rule that limits the lumens of light a boat can use, because they had lanterns when they made the rules! I want to put on the obnoxious light bars that the non off roaders use, those suckers are bright.

Just my thoughts, Leon

 

[rpmerrill]

As a rule I prefer not to do any cruising at night but sometimes stuff happens. My last mile to my marina used to be particularly hazardous with some twists and turns plus crabpots. Occasional bursts of light was all I could stand the look ahead was all I could tolerate. (Besides, I believe, boating with lights is considered to be bad manners.)

One day I thought I'd try a junkyard engineering solution, just for the hell of it. I bought a one gallon paint can, painted the inside flat black and installed a couple pieces of dowel to help locate it on the spotlight housing. (It is held in place with a piece of elastic velcro.) Total cost might have been $5.

I tried it out.... AMAZING! No glare and the aimed spot really reaches out there. I know it looks hokey but it only comes out at night. It only takes about thirty seconds to install and it hangs on a hook in the cave. Photos in my album.

 

[CruisingElvinRay]

Yes. Boating with anything other than nav lights in navigable waters Is bad for other boaters. In a lot of places, it is illegal. Docking lights are for docking. Constant use is bad seamanship.


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[HookedUp]

Wow. New technology is amazing. I used to work on salmon seiners in the 70s and the only option was a good light. But now there’s FLIR and Sionyx night vision cameras. Seems that the Sionyx may be an economical option for me....what model do you use? I could leave the search light alone, it seems to be a good hood ornament and not good for anything else.

I have the Aurora Sport. The battery lasts about an hour, but I plug it via USB since at night I'm not going fast and it won't get splashed. It is no fun to change the battery, but I also carry a spare in case it turns out to be a rainy night. The camera is rated water resistant (IP67) and it's gotten wet without any problems. Just found on their web site that camera is being phased out but they'll honor the warranty until expiration or you could use one of their other cameras. All their cameras are IP67 rated. The Sport is good enough it's the only camera I usually take for daytime or night use.

 

[max from alaska]

Does the Aurora Sport work well on those really dark nights when there’s no starlight or moonlight (ie raining)? Also does boat motion affect performance like it does for binoculars? Seems this device should be as useful as a pair of binoculars on a boat. I could go with the more expensive hand held FLIR as an option for dark nights. Thanks for the input.

I think I’ll first try the least expensive option: move the search light up higher on the mast and if helpful slip a paint can over it when in use. Also add the hand held device to my gear quiver. A fixed FLIR costs more than I want to spend.

I now don’t normally cruise at night (we did so every day as a commercial fisherman). But I’ve always believed that if you’re on the ocean you should be able to do so safely as much as being able to cruise in the fog. Especially in Alaska where you could be anchored 70 miles from the nearest port, in a gale and having to do an anchor drill in the middle of the night.

 

[HookedUp]

Does the Aurora Sport work well on those really dark nights when there’s no starlight or moonlight (ie raining)? Also does boat motion affect performance like it does for binoculars? Seems this device should be as useful as a pair of binoculars on a boat. I could go with the more expensive hand held FLIR as an option for dark nights. Thanks for the input.

I've only been out on one starless night and when I switched from color to night vision it worked okay. Better than my infrared home cameras, but not as good as when there is moon or starlight. BTW I tried using the camera alone, but driving a boat and holding the camera didn't work well at all. Got the iPad and app and now I have a great view of the water. I also have the app on my phone, but the picture isn't large enough.

Motion hasn't been an issue as I don't travel fast at night. It isn't as bad a binoculars, but perhaps that's because I'm not holding them up to my eyes.

 

[doke01]

We were trained in the Navy to use searchlights for navigation only at idle/slow speed in small boats. At cruising speed it was better to turn off all lights (except nav lights, which are pointed away from you) or use red lights only and let your eyes adjust. After 30 minutes in the pitch dark, it is really amazing what you can see, as I learned during Navy mid-watches while underway in the Atlantic.

Today though, I think I'll stick with some of the modern tech in these cameras.

 

[FlyMeAway]

The searchlight is not supposed to be used for cruising (as others have noted).

I have not taken my tug out at night, but I have sailed (or motored under sail) at night. At about 6-7 knots, with no lights to destroy your night vision, unless it's a completely cloudy night far from reflected light pollution your eyes should adjust enough for 5-7 knots of speed. That's about all I'd feel safe doing at night, anyway, though others might want to go faster.

 

[Scottfree]

Speed is the key issue here. How fast do you want to hit something? I don't run to the bathroom in pitch darkness, what if I stepped on some Leggo? I have a Flashlight I got in a Mc Donalds Happy Meal that is sufficient at five knots.

My wife got to eat the Happy Meal too! Win Win.

 

[max from alaska]

I usually travel at 7-8 kn at night. Impacting something at 14-16 kn wouldn’t be fun. At low speed you can usually see the log in time to jog around it. But sometimes it’s just too dark to get away with it. Pouring rain blown horizontally. When that happened we just took a chance on a prayer that there would t be a log. Once however we hit a log which jammed the prop and bent the shaft. Which is why with today’s tech it makes sense to use it. Why do it like we did in the old days. Back then we didn’t have gps. Or chart plotters. Or cell phones. We had search lights and radar and a Fathometer. That device which had depth on a circular scale and a blinking orange light to mark the depth. And good charts.

 

[CruisingElvinRay]

Why? Because the light is blinding and confusing to other boaters. It washes out your red/green lights so they think you are traveling away from then when you are on a potential collision course.

Imagine a night on the water if everyone used a spotlight while underway. Sheesh.


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[max from alaska]

I turn it off if anyone is in the area which seldom

 

[max from alaska]

I turn it off if anyone is in the area which seldom occurs up here anyway at night. With good etiquette you can prevent affecting others and make use of the tools you have. The commercial boats up to 58ft all have light bars and/or huge mast mounted lights and they use them when they have to. That said, my light as configured is useless even when anchored. So I’ll move it higher on the mast so the beam may clear the bow rail, and check out the night vision or FLIR devices.

 

[bob daily]

Max, A few years ago I installed a work light for my cockpit area it works great for getting the down riggers and lines in the water prior to sunrise. (Pictures in my album). I have thought of getting some SMIX mini waterproof LED flood lights and mount to my anchor run the electrical via the anchor locker,
They would be clamp on and removable, this would eliminate the glare that you get from the spot light and would light up the area fwd of the boat. Just my thoughts! Bob

 

[max from alaska]

Bob, terrific idea. It also solves how to power them as well. I really think that’s the way to go. Low cost as well. I’ll definitely do that, Thanks

 

[CruisingElvinRay]

The boats mentioned using forward lights are working at sea at night. I use light etiquette to figure out who the amateur boaters are.


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