What is it you want to see at night that isn't visible to you now? Are your conditions especially hazardous? I guess I don't see the problem (no pun intended).
To me, workingdogs is on the right path. If you add the KISS principle to that, you get pretty close to a practical solution. It would take awfully special conditions to make IR, and etc. useful, and: (1) how often would it be used (or be necessary?); (2) how often would it fail (always at the most critical times! remember Kelly's Law); (3) what will it really buy you (and at what price?).
The more I read about the "high tech" stuff we keep adding to our boats, the more I realize we are losing perspective. Thousands of years of boating experience are set aside to have the "latest and greatest" toy. When the toy breaks, and it always will, what then? Will we have the basic skills to get home alive? Just looking at the complaints about failures of the new "high-tech" diesel engine controls and monitors on this board indicates we have lost something somewhere along the line, whether it is through legislation or just wanting to look "cool".
Troglodyte here, I guess. But keep in mind the old saying "4WD lets one get stuck in more inaccessible places!" I have used RADAR to good effect in the fog and at night. I have also passed within inches of a piling with a huge RADAR reflector on it in the dark. And the proximity alarm was set! Sometimes things just don't work as advertized. I slowed and posted my wife on the foredeck shortly thereafter. I regularly used GPS, even when selective availability was turned on. Being "dithered" 500' or more was a real lot of fun, especially near coral reefs. I have had both my GPS and my autopilot fail in The Bahamas. We lived through it because we knew basic piloting and navigation, and knew how to steer with the wheel instead of letting "Gus" do it.
A question about the spotlights on the newer tugs. Are they not controllable? If so, the problem is not with the light, but with the boat. I discovered many years ago that even the standing rigging on a sailboat would give so much glare that one had to hold the spotlight beyond them to be useable. On our Ranger, we had the same problem but the fix was easy. When on the water at night where you might need the spotlight, cover the stainless rail with black foam pipe insulation. We cut pieces to the proper length and split them so we could "snap" them over the rail sections quickly. If it is really windy, secure them with a piece of small stuff or tape. Voila! Instant visibility with the spotlight. But the most basic key to success at night is to preserve your "night vision" by not using any lights and keeping the panel lights dim. I know, it isn't always possible, but it does work.
