In the darkness your depth perception and ability to see objects is reduced. Also small objects like buoys look different and are difficult to see.
There are six critical precautions you need to take to reduce the danger of boating on the river during the night:
#1) Know the area
I will not boat at night along a river I do not know very well. Knowing where the turns, shoals, buoys, no wake zones, islands, marshes, stumps, rocks, tree tops, bridges, piers and other obstacles are located is critical for night boating along the river.
#2) Go slow
When boating along the river at night I slightly lower my trim tabs as well as fully lower the outdrive so I can hold the boat on plane at 20 MPH / 17 knots. Lowering your speed gives you more time to react.
#3) Use all your senses
If you have a bimini or camper top I recommend you remove the front center piece of isinglass. As you make way the side and rear panel pieces literally will bubble outwards slightly and you will be in an area of higher air pressure. With modest speed you will have very little wind and wind noise. It’s amazing how well you will be able to hear another boat motor or other moderate noises. Maintain an alert lookout with your eyes and your ears as you stand directly behind this open section of your isinglass. In our boat I stand in the foot well behind the cabin door and steer with my right hand.
#4) Understanding and protecting your natural night vision
The eyes iris has the ability to shrink during bright times as occurs in the daytime and expand in the dark. The process is relatively quick and occurs in a few minutes.
In addition to the iris expanding the eye goes through a chemical change over a longer period of time, taking at least an hour. The eye’s precursor chemicals are transformed by light. The greater the precursor chemicals the more sensitive your vision becomes to light.
This chemical change needs to be protected since even a brief burst of direct light will break down the increased level of precursor chemicals and require the process to start over, reducing your night vision for upwards of an hour.
The buildup of precursor chemicals occurs on the sides of your eye not directly in the middle of your vision. Because of this you can see an object in the dark better if you are not looking directly at it. This is called averted vision.
To take advantage of this increased night visions sweep your eyes side to side. The eye is better at picking up dim objects in motion. This sweeping motion also helps you spot non-moving objects like buoys.
Once you get your night vision and get some practice using it you need to protect it by avoiding light. Keep all dash instruments as dim as possible, including electronics and keep all cockpit lighting off.
Spotlights are not headlights.
If you are in a situation where you need to use a spotlight don’t shine another boater, thus ruining their night vision. This not only makes sense but it’s the law. If it’s obvious another boater does not see me I have briefly flashed the spotlight to get the other boaters attention however I would never do this so the light or lights reflection goes into the other boaters eyes. Do not run with your spotlight on. The spotlight is for docking or for reading a number off a buoy for navigation or other reasons that are all brief in nature. A spotlight is not a headlight like in a car. Actually, with a GPS / chart plotter along a river that you are familiar with you should not need a spotlight until you reach your final destination and need to secure your lines to the dock. Before that it just ruins your night vision.
#5) Use your GPS / Chart plotter
Mark all no-wake zones, the location of all buoys and other danger items like shoals, stumps, bridges and objects on your chart plotter during the day as you make your way up and down the river. I also set the Chart plotter to give a ‘beep’ at every waypoint along the route then make the chart so all buoy locations are a route waypoint. I set my GPS / chart plotter to the lowest level of brightness and turn it so I can see the screen as I am standing in the middle of the boat’s foot well leading to the cabin behind the removed center piece of isinglass so I can look down at it briefly as we make way. This helps keep you in the middle of the river in very dark areas where there are no lights or trees on shore. The Wolf River south of Orihula and north of Lake Poygan is such an area.
#6) Educate your passengers
Make sure all passengers understand your need to keep your attention to what you are doing. They need to not interrupt you and if they go below into the cabin they need to close the door before they turn on lights. Returning they need to turn the lights off before they open the door. If offered I will always accept a spotter to help keep a watchful eye for floating objects, unlit small boats, unlit buoys or anything else.
Just an additional tip on night boating. Make sure your navigational lights are in good working order and carry spare bulbs. I take the extra precaution of keeping two navigation battery powered flashlights onboard, one with the red/green reflector plus mounting clamp and the other with a white all round reflector.
Night boating requires all the above precautions for safety. If you are not rested and are struggling to keep awake you are not alert enough for night boating. Alcohol only adds to your reaction time and increases the risks.
Learning to boat at night increases your enjoyment and extends the boating options at your disposal.
The above information was prepared by Presentation Rentals a audiovisual equipment rental company in Appleton Wisconsin that offers LCD projector PA public address sound system and accessories. Visit them on the web at http://www.presentationrentals.net
Boat - SeaRay Sundancer 240
Port - Slip #2A, Skipper Buds, Oshkosh, WI
Lisa
