buck183

I'm still REALLY confused by the original post. The only reason I could see using the words "caught in the dark" would be if my lights weren't working. If that wasn't the case then something is definitely wrong. We stay at restaurants late on purpose to wait for the sun to set so we can run in the dark. And get this, that's WITH our kids in the boat.

We consider night boating a privilege in my world.

Maybe if he was driving an Active Thunder that he considers to be too slow for a performance boat things would be safer for him running at night. Yeah I went there.

Buck

Panther

When people say boating at night, how fast do you run?

I trypically run 2500-2700 rpm and thats about it.

Luckilly, the restaurants I run to at night are only 5-10 minutes from my hous and the C&D canal is well lit, like a highway. But once you leave the canal, it's lights out!

I don't have an issue with navigation but I don't like not being able to see drift wood and things like that.

Wobble

Thats for Gen 3 night vision, if you need it then thats what you want

mainstreet

On our PQ we cover dash with towel. Boat at night alot. Takes team work. Sail boats and fisherman like to leave their lights off. Must be to keep their battery strong. When you get close they will turn the lights on. Keep it slow and pay attention.

bwd

I always looked at boating at night a real treat. How many people out there get to show up at a nightclub or restaurant by speedboat and rip home in the moon light. What a blast. At one point in my life boating started in the late afternoon and ended in the early am. However, there are pitfalls. Floating wood, buoys , lobster pots, and other unlit vessels. I'm pretty sure the Coast Guard rules of the road says that darkness is reduced visibility and that the operator shall continue at a prudent speed to be decided by the operator. It always pays to be cautious . At night we always ran in the channels, staying in the reds and greens , you know ..... red right returning, at a reasonable speed. Once we got to open ocean, hammer down to the next lighthouse. I always turned off the dash lights and wore clear safety glasses which were great to see clearly at night. When Gps came into play, it took the compass away but put out too much light and takes attention away from driving so I would cover it with a hat and peak here and there. Its best to know your area. Though I comfy here in mass and in some areas in So Fla I would not be so cavalier in a strange area.

Double Rigged

I have the Nighthawk. It uses a FLIR core. It works awesome.
Here is a video clip.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oyvIO...e_gdata_player

Not cheap but well worth it if you boat at night.

BajaFresh

I ran from Long Beach to Newport once at night. Big moon so very bright and temps were in mid 70's. It was an incredible experience.

We were at at Lake mead and got a slip for the weekend. Launched very late Friday night and it was pitch black with zero moonlight. Had to idle around the back of the marina to get to the slip and could not see a thing, only the lights of the marina. Didn't care for that much.

Did 4th of July once in Channel Islands harbor. Cruised out to the middle and anchored with a ton of other boats. Watched all the fireworks which was pretty cool. Once it was over had to get back to the slip dodging hundreds of dingys, kayaks, paddle boards, small sailboats and other goofballs running around with no lights. I thought for sure I was going to run over someone.

Rode on a buddy's boat from Havasu to Laughlin on the Colorado river once. We left Havasu at dusk and headed upriver. We were in a small 21' Ultra and normally a bit of a rough ride as the water gets pretty kicked up during the day but everyone had gotten off the water so it was dead flat. As the sun set the sky was still glowing orange for quite a while. I was in the back with my feet up on the seat and just completely relaxed listening to the Allman Brothers "Melissa" cranked on the stereo. It was one of those magic boating moments that will stay in my memories forever.

Sydwayz

I've run as fast as 60MPH in the dark with a full moon, BUT only after I did a sweep of the area to make sure all was clear. That was just a novelty thing many years ago to get the experience of fishing for square grouper in the middle of the night. It was at a friend's lake and I made 2 laps around the "pond" which was the large open 3 square miles or so in front of his house.

The 37AT can run on plane at 17mph. I've done it in several boats, and also done so at night more than a few times. But only on water I'm familiar with, never more than 20-30 miles or so; and always with 1, usually 2 GPS units on following breadcrumb trails that I've made earlier that day.




We have all of that addressed on the 33AT going into the Miami Boat Show in a couple weeks. Wait and see.
Or you could read the AT vs. OL thread. You will be able to see the Outerlimits idling through the Bermuda Triangle at night.

buck183

I was hoping you saw my reply to this. I saw the thread. That's why I brought the topic into this thread too. Couldn't believe what he wrote over there.

I've come to realize you can't even make up half the crap people post on here anymore. It has to be alcohol or drug induced. That's the only way to justify it.

Ing

I have extensive experience running at night in the military, law enforcement and my personal boat. First and foremost the rules of the road come into play with proper lights and shapes, maintaining safe speed and a proper lookout. Secondly Night Vision Goggles (NVG’s) amplify the available ambient light and any setting with a lot of backlight such as coastlines near cities, NVG’s are totally useless because they will white out. Also once you use NVG’s you lose your natural night vision. NVG’s are only good for areas with very little light. FLIR works best in most all situations except fog and smoke but a Raytheon handheld is about $7,500-$10,000. Some companies offer deck mounted FLIR and they work great in flat water like the ICW or a marina but in any situation involving wave movement they suck because the field of view keeps moving because the boat is rocking. Without any fancy gadgets your best bet is to allow your night vision to develop. Try to avoid looking directly at any bright lights for about a half-hour after dusk. Do not turn on any of your cockpit or helm/gage lights to retain your night vision. You can also cover one eye if you must turn a light on and that eye will retain the night vision after you turn the light off. If you have regular binoculars they actually work quite well at night, especially moon light nights. GPS is fairly accurate but only to the last USCG survey of the area. I would never trust a GPS to guide me through unfamiliar waters where tight maneuvering around any underwater obstructions. Lastly nothing beats local knowledge.