Head Lights on Boats

[gizzard shad]

I recently found out that is illegal to have a spotlight on when you are running you boat at night. I think that is totally ridiculous and I never have been stop by utilizing my spot light to see what I boating towards. I also never seen in the boat regulations that forbids spot lights when driving your boat. I for one would rather get a ticket than hit a unforseen object. Just my two cents. Any thoughts on this issue?

[RayP]

Headlights/spotlights are fine in quick bursts to see where your going, any more than that and you can "blind" other boaters. Nobody likes to be shined on when their on the water, it can take a while for your eyes to readjust. I sure wouldn't want all of the boats to have headlights on all of the time they are running.

[Embrey]

i use my spotlight when i want to see something. they can deal with it,i really dont care. i dont shine other boats,and if i do, its their fault cause they have no lights on,in which case i dont care

[gilly]

Headlights/spotlights are fine in quick bursts to see where your going, any more than that and you can "blind" other boaters. Nobody likes to be shined on when their on the water, it can take a while for your eyes to readjust. I sure wouldn't want all of the boats to have headlights on all of the time they are running.

cars have their's ON all the time. this law is just another outdated rule that has caused many accidents. i'd rather be blinded a few seconds that dead forever.

[ryan_ekubass]

cars have their's ON all the time. this law is just another outdated rule that has caused many accidents. i'd rather be blinded a few seconds that dead forever.

cars have their headlights on yeah and your eyes are adjusted to it and used to seeing it.... suppose i top a hill with my brights on and there is a good possibility that your going to be blinded by my lights same as a boat when u are out on the water at night your pupils constrict in your eyes to gather light so u can focus and see in the dark then someone puts 1million candle power in them and then you wont be able to see at all for a bit.. like turning the bathroom light on at 3 am after u have been asleep it takes a bit for your eyes to adjust..... and its not outdated and i dont think it will ever change because the lights are bitter sweet... handy to have at night and pain when some yahoo shines u in the eyes while u are running down the lake or fishing down a bank even though u have your navigation lights on..... people can get on here and wine and gripe about how they got a ticket well if the law says dont do this and u do and u get caught pay up....its simple logic.... i have a bow light on my boat and use it in short burst to locate a bouy or something like that but i would never turn it on and run down the lake or anything like that........ yall ever try turning a spot light on when the dew is falling or its raining... it is completely useless..... best lights i have found are them cheap plastic 6 volt or whatever they are lights that cost about 6 bucks at walmart and come with that big battery.....

[fishalltime]

Come run your boat on Herrington at night without a light an see what happens to your boat !

[bigboyjon]

How munch would the fine be? $$??

[Shimano4Life]

Come run your boat on Herrington at night without a light an see what happens to your boat !

I feel you there. I mostly fish Herrington. Herrington is notorious for floaters. When we fish night tournaments and make a long run, I constantly look for stuff -- that way my partner and I know when to burst the spotlight at night.

[HURRICANEBOB]

Do some math, I agree the law is antiquated and stupid.

Towboat/Push boat on the Ohio River runs its 25 million candle power searchlight to see the banks most of the time. Don't believe me, do some boating from Brandenburg Ramp up to Greenwood. Oh, and by the way these boys all have very sophisticated radar going on, so they darn sure know where they and the banks are at all times.

Handheld and most mounted onboard remote comtrol pleasure craft spotlights range for 2.5 million, to 500,000 candle power. That's 1/10 to 1/50the the power of the light you run into on the Ohio.

Pleasure boat docking lights, 55W/12V might on a good day put out 50,000 candle power. That's 1/500th the power of a towboat searchlight. And we ain't got the level of radar or displays on board to tell us some smuck with no lights is dead in front of us.

So if the commercial guys can run them to see foreign objects like the banks, and run that light to avoid hitting the bank, then tell me why its illegal for me to run a light 1/500th as strong to avoid hitting the moron without lights on, or that floating log IN THE MIDDLE OF THE LAKE that jeopardizes my craft, and my health?

Doesn't this hint that the commercial shipping craft is more important than the safety of pleasure boaters and fisherman?

If a meathead with a car approaches me on the highway with his "highs" on, we have all been trained as drivers to look slightly away from the bright lights. Same same is logical on a boat.

All that said, the current law is the current law, and he who runs a foul of it pays the fine. Atleast until somebody at the good old Federal and Coast Guard level starts to recognize that we pleasure boaters and fisherman are just as darned important as the commerical shipping rigs, and so we too ought be able to "see in the dark".

Incidentally, tow boats run aground and hit stuff quite often, ever heard of anybody dying from it?

And to be fair, why in the name of sense do people run 60 mph in a bass boat at night knowing they can't see in front of them? Just plain stupid. I always learned as a car and boat driver that your speed is dictated by the limits of your visibility.

[BPenrod]

Yes, antiquated and stupid!!!!!!

[crazyfishinnut]

I disagree strongly!!! No one need to use running lights or continuous spotlights. Lights are great to show the bank while fishing or docking/loading but on the open water they cause more problems.
1st dont be on water you dont know after dark.
2nd there are 3 color lights on your boat for a reason coming around a corner seeing white lights one should assume that you are behind a vessel not coming up on VERY DANGEROUS with other lights on you cannot distingush red or green
3 dont be on water you dont know after dark
4 light travels like on rainy roads at night/with a lot of glare and blinds on coming boaters.
5 dont be on water you dont know after dark
6 Take a boating class and learn the hows and whys instead of assuming the laws should not apply to you because you are smarter than the many who do know and made them
7 for gods sake dont turn off your correct lights after dark

[HURRICANEBOB]

dont be on water you dont know after dark.

Some thoughts.
First, do you know where every piece of debris or floating logs are on any given lake? Are you real sure the wind isn't going to move them around since you last saw them in the light?

Second, given nobody on boats can use lights, why then don't the tugboat guys get whacked with tickets? That's really part of my point. If it makes sense for the "big-boats with radar", why not the litle boats that don't have radar?

I do totally agree with you, leave the red/green/and all round lit. I also agree headlights don't have to be aimed to shine the hole way across the lake, they ought to be like car lights aimed say 200 feet in front of the boat only.

Last, I do agree with you, its the law and we have to live with it right now.