Boat light comments invited

Photos added a few frames above.
 
As mentioned above, there was a fatality navigating a boat under a bridge in South Carolina with allegedly inadequate lighting. Through convoluted causation, the involved attorney went on trial today for 2 homicides. The Netflix presentation starts Feb 22.
Quoting an internet source:
"The Murdaughs were the law for a century in the 14th circuit:' Corrupt legal scions finally get the Netflix treatment as streaming giant releases trailer for deep dive into murder and very 'Southern Scandal'
  • A three-part documentary series will delve into scandals and murders that plagued the Murdaugh family
  • It will examine the death of Mallory Beach, 19, on board a boat driven by a drunken Paul Murdaugh, as well as his and his mother's subsequent murders
  • It will also touch on the mysterious death of their housekeeper as well as the death of Stephen Smith, who was found dead."
  • The series will premiere on Netflix on February 22
 
Arminius said:
As mentioned above, there was a fatality navigating a boat under a bridge in South Carolina with allegedly inadequate lighting. Through convoluted causation, the involved attorney went on trial today for 2 homicides. The Netflix presentation starts Feb 22.
Quoting an internet source:
"The Murdaughs were the law for a century in the 14th circuit:' Corrupt legal scions finally get the Netflix treatment as streaming giant releases trailer for deep dive into murder and very 'Southern Scandal'
  • A three-part documentary series will delve into scandals and murders that plagued the Murdaugh family
  • It will examine the death of Mallory Beach, 19, on board a boat driven by a drunken Paul Murdaugh, as well as his and his mother's subsequent murders
  • It will also touch on the mysterious death of their housekeeper as well as the death of Stephen Smith, who was found dead."
  • The series will premiere on Netflix on February 22
Click to expand...

Inadequate lighting caused the boat driver to be drunk? Is that what the lawyers will argue? Creative, unique, I like it.
 
The WSJ said the boating fatality allegedly occurred because Paul had been drinking and tried to navigate under a bridge using just a flashlight. It was unclear if the alleged stupidity was drinking, using a flashlight or hitting a submerged piling. Yesterday, opening statements were made in Alex's's homicide trial, as summarized by the NY Times:
"Prosecutors say he quickly tried to send the police down the wrong track by suggesting that the perpetrator must have targeted his son because of a fatal boat crash two years earlier. At the time of his death, Paul Murdaugh was facing charges that he had drunkenly crashed a boat, killing one of his passengers. In 2019, Paul Murdaugh was indicted but pleaded not guilty to charges related to the death of Mallory Beach.The boat crash was connected to the crime, prosecutors allege, but not in the way that Alex Murdaugh suggested. They say that litigation over the passenger’s death had threatened to force Mr. Murdaugh to share details of his finances, potentially revealing his embezzlement." At the time of the WSJ article, I thought forward illumination might be a good idea. Apparently we will be able to see a dramatization on 2/22 on Netflix.
 
Arminius said:
The WSJ said the boating fatality allegedly occurred because Paul had been drinking and tried to navigate under a bridge using just a flashlight. It was unclear if the alleged stupidity was drinking, using a flashlight or hitting a submerged piling. Yesterday, opening statements were made in Alex's's homicide trial, as summarized by the NY Times:
"Prosecutors say he quickly tried to send the police down the wrong track by suggesting that the perpetrator must have targeted his son because of a fatal boat crash two years earlier. At the time of his death, Paul Murdaugh was facing charges that he had drunkenly crashed a boat, killing one of his passengers. In 2019, Paul Murdaugh was indicted but pleaded not guilty to charges related to the death of Mallory Beach.The boat crash was connected to the crime, prosecutors allege, but not in the way that Alex Murdaugh suggested. They say that litigation over the passenger’s death had threatened to force Mr. Murdaugh to share details of his finances, potentially revealing his embezzlement." At the time of the WSJ article, I thought forward illumination might be a good idea. Apparently we will be able to see a dramatization on 2/22 on Netflix.
Click to expand...

What's not clear?
 
murdaugh-15.jpg

The reports make it clear that the drunk underage kid was able to buy booze at waterfront bars and stores. I'll bet the funds underlying one theory came from their insurers. He was at .24 and it could be he was overserved. Headlights might be useful if the boat is used for barhopping.
 
You are not understanding, “head lights” are for cars not boats. Boats have “docking lights” to be used only when docking… if you can’t see well enough with nav lights, don’t take the boat out at night!

Arminius said:
murdaugh-15.jpg

The reports make it clear that the drunk underage kid was able to buy booze at waterfront bars and stores. I'll bet the funds underlying one theory came from their insurers. He was at .24 and it could be he was overserved. Headlights might be useful if the boat is used for barhopping.
Click to expand...
 
"Headlights" on boats are NOT useful because they distort the driver's vision. They are even LESS useful for the other boaters that are subjected to a practice that is universally illegal and /or unethical. If you need light to see, you shouldn't be there in the first place. Driving drunk is a topic all in itself. It has no reason to be part of this discussion.

Don't we have moderators here? This thread should be locked, so that it does not give unsuspecting and uneducated boaters stoooopid ideas.
 
Trust me, if mods lock, it will just morph into something else overnight.
 
My friend had twin aircraft landing lights for a forward view from the helm of the Viking Mist. That was a 40' bow picker, a planing fishing boat powered by twin 454s with outdrives. Alaska would broadcast an opening for Bristol Bay salmon fishers and the first boat that got its nets set, got the fish and the money. So he tells me.
 
As the original poster, I'm taking a liberty with the subject of boat lighting that I hope some find helpful. My boat is in my garage and I recently replaced the 12 40 Watt fluorescent ceiling 4' tubes with 40 Watt equivalent LEDs from FEIT at about $12 a pair. These are the 5000 Kelvin laundry room lights. Those old tubes were erratic in warm-up, not so bright, and a nuisance to change fairly frequently. I figured I would get LED fixtures eventually but these tubes just popped right into the existing 4 pin sockets. The quality of the light is outstanding and there is no warm-up (although there would be limitations on outdoor installations.) They were on sale for half off at Ace.
 
Arminius said:
My friend had twin aircraft landing lights for a forward view from the helm of the Viking Mist. That was a 40' bow picker, a planing fishing boat powered by twin 454s with outdrives. Alaska would broadcast an opening for Bristol Bay salmon fishers and the first boat that got its nets set, got the fish and the money. So he tells me.
Click to expand...
A working boat with lights for working (picking up net buoys, lighting the deck, etc) is understandable. Lights are not used for driving a boat at night, other than maybe some time slowing right down and using a spot to pick up a navigation buoy or maybe to light up a narrow inlet for a few seconds. Maybe.

As for that court case, that is a lawyer trying to deflect from BUI as the cause. And because a jury probably won't have a majority with actual night boating and navigation experience or training, it just might work. Unless the prosecution calls an expert to explain proper night time navigation. And there are lots of captains or USCG experts that will agree. The safe way to navigate at night is with only your navigation lights on, so others can see you. There is a reason they are not visible to you at the helm when they are on.
 
An inventor could soon be producing boat headlights using HID (high intensity discharge) auto headlights as a model. These ultrabright headlights are only allowed in cars with self-leveling technology to keep them from blinding oncoming drivers. Cellphones have levelling sensors which ignore acceleration/deceleration and an app could sense when the boat was level enough to safely use headlights. The app would be connected to a safety relay on the headlights by Bluetooth. The app would display the craft's pitch with respect to safe operating pitch to enable the operator to work throttle and trim. A more advanced model might incorporate automated headlights gimballed on the pitch axis like an old Citroen. You can't stop progress but you can make a buck off of it.
 
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