CMG

When I run at night offshore I get up and go a little bit, lot different than being on a lake, slow down when get near the river.

Mee-n-Mac

It all depends on so many variables. Are you on a wide open lake or on a river, cut-up by islands that restrict your sighting distance ? Compare boating during a full moon on a flat surface with little background lights to no moon, lots of lights and lots of traffic, perhaps some of it commercial boats, and toss in some unlit buoys and lobster pots. A speed limit that's set for the latter will be too slow for the former, and consequently ignored just like the SLs on our highways. Certainly you can go too fast for even the best conditions but "minimum planing speed" is too slow (at least where I boat). Just like we supposedly do on our roadways, you set a SL for the optimal conditions with the understanding that when conditions aren't optimal the SL is lower than what's posted. To that end I wouldn't fight a SL of 35 - 45 mph because when I run some calculations that's what I get (being fairly conservative about it too). The problem is I wouldn't expect a SL to fix much. People who know what they're doing run at reasonable speeds for the water and prevailing conditions. People who don't know what they're doing, due to inexperience, inattention, drugs or alcohol, aren't going to be deterred. Moreover they aren't safe even at reasonable speeds. Should we all slow to unreasonable speeds so the drunks can boat safely ? Personally I think you'd get more mileage from a change to the lighting COLREGs or, dare I say it, liscensing with an additional requirement for night boating (kinda like IFR vs VFR ratings for pilots). I'm getting a bit tired of letting a few unforetunate accidents combined with lots of bottom feeder activity dictate what the rest of us reasonable people can do.

mopower

Yeah , it only takes a few whiners and complainers

articfriends

there are too many variables to determine whats safe at night,We quite often drive our boat at night,sometimes with running a business and working full time our boating starts a few hours before the sunsets,I don't want a law maker determining what I do.My boat goes approx 90 mph,do i ever drive close to that at night,no. We drive a safe and prudent speed,if we can see well that might be 30-40 mph,if we have limited vision it might be 25 mph with tabs all the way down,if there is virtually no light it might be at idle. Have we had close calls,yes,once the frickinn COAST GUARD was driving down river at night with ABSOLUTELY NO LIGHTS ON at 45 mph,we saw a slight shadow moving and gave them a little blast of the million candle power light to see what it was (we use it to find buoys that aren't lit at night on our local river) they turned their running lights on and promptly pulled us over,I asked them what the hell they were doing,they claimed its part of their "surveillance tactics",Dangerous and un-professional to me but when i sent my letter of complaint of their conduct to coast guard district in charge of great lakes and rivers they cited some obscure reg allowing them to break the law.Also had a near miss 10 years ago with some retard who thought his docking lights were headlights and he was going full bore down river in dark( I don't think he realized the lights shining on water in front of his boat were keeping his eyes from actually adjusting to dark and seeing objects/other boaters). We obviously saw him but he didn't/couldn't see us because of his stupid lights and he keppt veering towards us,we were idling and finally had to punch the throttle to get the hell out of his way. Boating at night requires real cocentration and prudent judgement,I feel the majority of accidents are drunks going waaay too fast. I have been on shore before when its pitch black and heard the noise of a offshore boat screaming at WFO and wondered what they could possibly be thinking,Smitty

clearcut3

I agree 100%

If someone wants that regulation where they live...by all means go for it. Keep it the H*ll away from my state though. If you feel planing speed or less is the safest for your waterway then I respect that opinion but don't put blanket regulations on bodies of water you know nothing about.

Go ahead and pass a night time speed limit and I guarantee you the daytime one will follow. I am regulated up to my eyeballs now

I hate this tragedy occurred but things like this are exactly how we end up with regulations that are done on emotion and not logic. If it's logical on your waterway great...don't impose it on mine.

ActiveThunder

With the number of deaths and accidents this year alone, I do. There are no white lines to stay between. PWC, small and large boats zipping in every direction. Lakes are more dangerous than any road at night. Our lighting requirments are the pits. And a few posts ago it was said that night time licensing like pilots flying with instruments should be required. Absolutely!

88Fountain

We will be next week, Sept 1-4.

rich allen

LOL!!! Don't know why, but this para. got me laughing. In light of recent accusations by some members, of pre-judging the actions of others , on recently poofed threads, this is about as far around the block as you can go to avoid controversy. Way to go Fund ! I need some of those pills you must be taking now.

Wobble

No kidding, maybe Fund's been hi-jacked.

Hydrocruiser

Can they put speed bumps on a lake?