Why don't boat have head lights?

Lazy Daze said:
Boat's do have a thing called "docking lights". You may have seem them on some boats - they are two "headlight" looking things that are flush mounted a few feet back from the bow, under the rubrail.

However, they are, as everyone has stated, pretty much useless as your boat is going to be bouncing around.

In addition, it is illegal to run with them on at night.
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"Docking lights".
My Searay came with them and they are very useful. Surprisingly they don't spoil night vision at all. I can barely tell there on. Just don't RUN with them on for other boaters safety.
 
No doubt they can be useful when docking. But, don't you find it annoying when your boat is bouncing/pitching?
 
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Trick questions, right? My guess is there are no fenders to mount them on.
 
B-Fitting said:
I should have rephrased my statement. Coming back in from the Chesapeake Bay and through the rivers in my area is loaded with crab pots. Radar does not picks them up but my prop will. I do have a spot light put the thought was maybe headlights could be a better option.
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If you're leaving the area after around 6pm and expected to return after dark it helps to use the track function on your chartplotter. I have not run into too many situations where more pots were set after 6. Sure, it's possible, but most commercial crabbers have long since gone home. I've had good luck with this trick when coming back from Cantler's after dark. Saves some time being able to come south out of there instead of going all the way out to the channels.

But of course it won't work if you've left early in the day and are coming back late. That being the case your only real choice is a spotlight or someone on the bow keeping watch. When I've had to use the spot it required more than just a fixed angle. Docking lights don't move and wouldn't be as useful.

The biggest hassle with a mounted spotlight is if it lights up any part of the boat itself. That just absolutely kills your night vision. Ones mounted on the bow pulpit deck are really bad at causing this. But then the ones up on the rail tend to block forward vision during the day. Up on the arch tends to be even worse because it lights up the foredeck. Handheld by someone up at the bow rail is usually the 'least worst' choice, but that depends on them being capable of, or interesting in, doing a decent job of it. And we all know what good it does yelling at the admiral for stuff like that...

Like everyone else has said, you really don't want to use any sort of spotlights when another operating boat is in view.
 
Lazy Daze said:
No doubt they can be useful when docking. But, don't you find it annoying when your boat is bouncing/pitching?
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Nope,
They are flood lights and work well.
My bow spotlight is another story. Its great for its intended purpose.
 
wkearney99 said:
If you're leaving the area after around 6pm and expected to return after dark it helps to use the track function on your chartplotter. I have not run into too many situations where more pots were set after 6. Sure, it's possible, but most commercial crabbers have long since gone home. I've had good luck with this trick when coming back from Cantler's after dark. Saves some time being able to come south out of there instead of going all the way out to the channels.

But of course it won't work if you've left early in the day and are coming back late. That being the case your only real choice is a spotlight or someone on the bow keeping watch. When I've had to use the spot it required more than just a fixed angle. Docking lights don't move and wouldn't be as useful.

The biggest hassle with a mounted spotlight is if it lights up any part of the boat itself. That just absolutely kills your night vision. Ones mounted on the bow pulpit deck are really bad at causing this. But then the ones up on the rail tend to block forward vision during the day. Up on the arch tends to be even worse because it lights up the foredeck. Handheld by someone up at the bow rail is usually the 'least worst' choice, but that depends on them being capable of, or interesting in, doing a decent job of it. And we all know what good it does yelling at the admiral for stuff like that...

Like everyone else has said, you really don't want to use any sort of spotlights when another operating boat is in view.
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Your right about using the track function but I'm off the South River and if you ever came in from the Chesapeake the crab pots are everywhere, even in the floating channels. Sure tracking gives you a general idea back but its not precise.
 
Isn't it illegal to put a crab trap in the channel? I see them a lot near me, i always wondered that. It's annoying.
 
Disclaimer: I have NO plans to ever be a night boater in Puget Sound with all the debris that pops up in the water around here from time to time (think trees, logs, etc.); however, I was thinking about this thread coming back from the airport last night and started thinking about how we use headlights on cars. Again, this is simply a curiosity and not some kind of support for "headlights" on boats

Imagine if cars had large halogen spot lights on the hood, or on the roof, we would all be blinded of course. And, I would contend the car's driver would have so much residual glare, night vision would be impaired. Could the whole argument (for or against) be on how spot lights on boats are mounted? I think of the Jag I used to have, it have auto-leveling bi-xenon lights that were mounted quite low (due to the nature of the car).

Just curious how forward looking lights would work on a boat if they were custom mounted below the rub rail. Just curious if anyone in the industry ever tried something like that. Radar of course is what we all use, but it's interesting to think "what if".
 
Chris R said:
Just curious how forward looking lights would work on a boat if they were custom mounted below the rub rail. Just curious if anyone in the industry ever tried something like that. Radar of course is what we all use, but it's interesting to think "what if".
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My experince with the forward docking lights on my old boat has been that they are mounted low enough and directed low enough that they are barely any brighter to oncoming boaters than the navigation lights. If designed properly I don't see why all boats couldn't benefit from this is calm water.

Never the less, unless I'm coming out of the C&D Canal where the spotlight is pointed as low as possible (especially a couple days after a storm) I find it best & most courteous to drive with the least light possible.
 
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