How is getting caught out after dark dealt with?

[Greg Luckett]

I am wondering what to do with my Spindrift 12 should I not be able to get ashore with it before dark. It will need some nav lights but I hate the idea of toting a heavy battery in the boat. How is this being handled on the Spindrifts and Core Sounds?

Thanks.

[Dale Niemann]

I shine a flashlight on the sail.  I think this is legal about everywhere for small boats. Other boats see it.

Dale

[Hirilonde]

A flashlight is all that is required for sailboats under 23 feet.

[Ray Frechette Jr]

I make very sure I do not get caught out after dark.

Wayyy too many idiot power boaters out there who feel it is their G-d Given Right to tool around at 45 MPH or greater to trust my life to a single 5 watt white stern light to prevent them from driving up on my backside.

From dead on the rear all you would have showing is a single 5 watt white light...Easily lost in the wash of shore lights....

Nope,  not for me.

I get off the water at all costs before nightfall.

Now having said that.  I do take  a belt and braces approach.

I do carry a red green bow light that takes two D cell batteries and can be clamped on and looks sort of like a flashlightin a prior life.. And also a white all arround light that is also made same way and designed to be clamped on.

And I carry a Million candlepower search light with internal battery if that fool gets too close for comfort to get his attention.

And if he ignores that then I likely would start firing off flares!

[Ray Frechette Jr]

[quote author=Hirilond

[Oyster]

This is all that I use on my small runabout and will also work for you.

http://www.jmsonline.net/marine-electrical/portable-running-lights.htm

Rig any of these lights to the mast too if you wish with some fancy wooden insert at the top too for a staff light.

[Dogdad]

I've used detachable battery-powered LED nav lights on our kayaks for night paddles on the local lakes -- a red/green on the bow and a white on the stern.  We've had compliments from powerboaters who appreciated being able to see us.

A flashlight shining up on the sail is very visible.

[wkisting]

We have a set of the AquaSignal LED suction cup lights, like the link Oyster posted. Haven't been caught after dark to need them yet, but they are quite bright and the suction cups seem to hold very securely on our varnished deck. I have heard, however, that they do not hold up well in a saltwater environment and are notorious for corroding--though ours are mostly around freshwater and still look like new after more than a year aboard.

A light on the sails is very noticeable as long as the bulb is bright. Some hardware stores sell a flashlight with built-in tripod legs recessed into the handle (I think it might be manufactured by Stanley). If I didn't have the AquaSignal lights, that's the way I would go since the tripod would be very easy to set up with the beam shining on the sail, for hands free lighting.

Wes

[John Turpin]

I have done nothing about this, but need to.  The flashlight method sounds easy, but wouldn't it ruin your night vision? 

[Dogdad]

COLREGS(international rules) -- local laws may vary

Rule 25

Sailing Vessels Underway and Vessels Under Oars

(a) a sailing vessel underway shall exhibit:

(i) sidelights;

(ii) a sternlight.

( In a sailing vessel of less than 20 meters in length the lights prescribed in paragraph (a) of this Rule may be combined in one lantern carried at or near the top of the mast where it can best be seen.

© A sailing vessel underway may, in addition to the lights prescribed in paragraph (a) of this Rule, exhibit at or near the top of the mast, where they can best be seen, two all-round lights in a vertical line, the upper being red and the lower Green, but these lights shall not be exhibited in conjunction with the combined lantern permitted by paragraph ( of this Rule.

(d)

(i) A sailing vessel of less than 7 meters in length shall, if practicable, exhibit the lights prescribed in paragraph (a) or ( of this Rule, but if she does not, she shall have ready at hand an electric torch or lighted lantern showing a white light which shall be exhibited in sufficient time to prevent collision.

(ii) A vessel under oars may exhibit the lights prescribed in this rule for sailing vessels, but if she does not, she shall have ready at hand an electric torch or lighted lantern showing a white light which shall be exhibited in sufficient time to prevent collision.

[wkisting]

John, that was my thought too, which is why we bought the AquaSignal lights--we do intend to do some night sailing in the future on our CS. But if it was merely a case of "getting caught out after dark" unintentionally and on rare occasions, a flashlight would serve in a pinch, and I'm not sure there would be need to purchase comparatively more expensive nav lights.

I think if someone expects night sailing to be a fairly frequent event, it is foolish not to equip the boat with proper nav lights. Our previous boat had permanently-installed, ultra-bright LED running lights visible up to 2 miles, but we still also used a flashlight to illuminate the sail if any powerboater came uncomfortably close. If you don't look directly at the sail, and only illuminate it until the danger passes, it doesn't adversely affect your nightvision.

One other note about lighting: I do not trust masthead lights, tri-color lights, etc. that you mount atop the masts. Perhaps because they are so high, it seems like powerboaters never see them. We switched to regular running lights (red and green lights on the bow, white light raised off the stern on a 20" pole) and that proved much safer, as we could see the powerboats responding to us sooner and giving us a wider berth at night.

[chuckpierce]

On our Harpoon we use a cheap 6 volt lantern battery type flashlight. Go get a 4 cell MagLite bulb and put in it (lens built into the bulb makes the beam angle smaller hence the beam is brighter) and shine it on the sail as necessary. Don't look at it and you'll keep some of your night vision. We only sail that thing at night 2 or 3 times a year, so IMHO it is not worth putting nav lights on it...

[Oyster]

We are actually talking about a Spindrift which has a pretty short mast by comparison in lieu of carrying large batteries. Of course on the other hand outside of the portability issues of cartop carrying boats, a gelcell battery type would also work as ballast and can be stored anyway on the boat even in an inclosed seating area.

We are also talking about a boat that I doubt or hope folks would not be in big bodies of waters unless they are well versed in seamanship. This is also the reason that the small handheld batteries work so well too.  You can actually afix and type light to the top of the mast and run small wires to the step and use custom rigging for small celled batteries such as is used in the flashlights if need be.

[Greg Luckett]

We are actually talking about a Spindrift which has a pretty short mast by comparison in lieu of carrying large batteries. Of course on the other hand outside of the portability issues of cartop carrying boats, a gelcell battery type would also work as ballast and can be stored anyway on the boat even in an inclosed seating area.

We are also talking about a boat that I doubt or hope folks would not be in big bodies of waters unless they are well versed in seamanship. This is also the reason that the small handheld batteries work so well too.  You can actually afix and type light to the top of the mast and run small wires to the step and use custom rigging for small celled batteries such as is used in the flashlights if need be.

Oyster, you are right on the money with this, but I was thinking of sailing my Spindrift 12 out onto Lake Michigan.....not at all really. That lake is really a fresh water sea and no place for a small boat unless very close to shore. My real concern is getting stuck on the river waiting on some bridge or having motor problems which would slow my return to the landing.

[hokeyhydro]

I have done nothing about this, but need to.  The flashlight method sounds easy, but wouldn't it ruin your night vision? 

Quite possible.  I equipped my 23' Parker with a giga-candlepower remote control searchlight after an interesting and very slow return to dockage on a new moon night.  Light works but it destroys all vision outside of the light cone. ZNow I may flick oit on to search for a specific target, as in nav mark, but turn it off so I can scope out a wide vision field.

[Oyster]

Well it really depends on how fancy you want to get. If you are serious about depending on lights, I would go the mast head route since the boat and rig is so short. Any ships or yachts on the river rarely looks for lights down on the water. If you are sailing on the river in conjected areas such as a town too, its quite possible that neither will be good enough. So a wise and prudent mariner plans for the worse and hopes for the best.

[Greg Luckett]

When in the Navy, we used red light inside at night to keep from losing night vision. I wonder if a very bright red colored spot light might work....assuming one is made by somebody?

Quite possible.  I equipped my 23' Parker with a giga-candlepower remote control searchlight after an interesting and very slow return to dockage on a new moon night.  Light works but it destroys all vision outside of the light cone. ZNow I may flick oit on to search for a specific target, as in nav mark, but turn it off so I can scope out a wide vision field.

[wkisting]

Just to clarify: You only need to shine the light on the sail when another vessel nears. The law only requires you to have it "ready to show at a moment's notice" (or some wording to that effect). So if you shine the light on the sail, but do not look directly at the lit sail (I usually watch the other boat anyway), your night vision should not be seriously impaired.

I was recommending the tripod-style flashlight, however, because there may be times when you have to sit/wait at night in the constant vicinity of other vessels, and then you'll want to keep the light on constantly. (Back when I lived on the Mississippi, for example, we would keep the light on the sail while waiting for the lock & dam to open, or while waiting for a tugboat/barge to pass.) At those times, you could set up the flashlight to shine on the sail, then look out over the water (not at the sail) and all should be fine.

It's not as ideal as proper nav lights, but it's the best solution I know of for a small boat like a Spindrift, where the complexity and weight of nav lights and a battery would probably be undesirable (and night sailing would be rare). It is also the standard way that sea kayakers travel at night (with a flashlight on deck, ready to be shined at approaching vessels).

You could use a red spot light, but I think that technically may not satisfy the law. In some DNR and Coast Guard brochures I've seen, it specifies a "white light" although others just say "bright light", "flashlight," or "torch," so it may not have to be specifically white. Another possibility would be a head lamp, which some kayakers use, but I really do think it is best to illuminate the sail for easy visibility.

[JeffM]

I'm out at night pretty often, both intentionally and not.  I started with the little LED nav lights, graduated last year to proper 12v LEDs, and also carry a powerful rechargeable spot light and a little runs-forever LED headlamp.  The nav lights should work most of the time, the PRICELESS headlamp (which can be switched to red only) helps read the gps hands-free without the battery-draining backlight, and the spot light is for when the (other) idiot doesn't see the nav lights.  Nearly got run over by a cat ferry near Woods Hole a week ago--becalmed so I couldn't get out of the way, and the careless captain (me) didn't make sure the spotlight was on board and fully charged.