Yes all manner of purpose made lights are still available and much better than the old days.
Search ‘dingy running lights’ and you can find what suits you.
Jim
Search ‘dingy running lights’ and you can find what suits you.
Jim
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Happy Paperback Book Day (1935)! 🐧📃🔙📖
Boating Lights
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Coming off the lower dam portage, those stumps can be tricky to negotiate even in daylight hours, especially at racing speed. But during the official race or nearing the end of the Cannonball, at least it is during daylight.
During the Yukon River races we are required to carry a flashing strobe for when the large tour boat, the "Yukon Queen" might be active (it never really gets dark during the "night" on the Yukon at that time of year). Now that would be some distracting flash while paddling, but I don't think we ever actually had it on while we were racing as the big boat with its gigantic wake was never in our view during dusky light of lower latitude Yukon River night time hours before we came within the night bright night sky vicinity of the Arctic Circle.
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"backscatter" can be a real issue at night, that's why I like the bike lights, they're small enough to be shaded by the gunwales (they generally hang flush with or slightly below them) to block them from your view- all you really see is a glow reflecting off the water, and the white light is on the back of the stern paddler's head so no light is actually thrown forward into your eyes
Throwing a line to floater is much better than letting them grab onto your boat, until you can assess their panic level. And of course, you don't need to throw it very far, unlike a land based throw. I paddle solo about 90% of the time and I carry my 75 ft throw bag on nice weekends when the no-PFD people are out. As much as I generally avoid the no-PFD folk, I have had training and would feel morally obligated to assist.
I also carry the throw bag (clipped to the canoe) when I winter paddle as I am usually within 75 ft of shore and would prefer to grab the bag and swim to shore, and then deal with the canoe.
As to boat lamps - do an internet search for "suction cup boat lights". I found one in the water and mounted on the stern of a canoe it would probably meet the bill for night boat lighting.
When I taught annual BSA high adventure guide leadership training, another instructor and I would often do oddball role playing scenarios for training. I often played "Bobby", the worst behaving incompetent young scout you could ever imagine. Commonly at a favored campsite, upon returning to our canoes after experiencing his antics on a long hike to visit an ice cave, he would be so distressed from being constantly reprimanded that he wanted to immediately paddle home by himself, and ran to launch a canoe himself, even though he could not paddle a decent stroke to get anywhere. Of course, he capsized in deep water not far from shore, and the "leader of the day" guide student had to pick someone to help in another canoe to rescue Bobby who was certainly a lousy and panicked swimmer. He kept grabbing onto the rescue canoe gunwales with sometimes predictable results. The other instructor on shore took notes and we all had a good calming instructional event debriefing afterwards. Lots of fun.
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I have a couple of sets of battery powered boat lights but hadn't been using them. Usually after dark I just have a headlamp to turn on if needed. Trying to keep hands/arms low with an in-water recovery is what I do when a headlamp is required for avoiding stumps and such. One time last year getting a late start paddling out to meet others at a campsite, I decided to try using a stern mounted white light to make sure I was visible to any night time fishermen out on the lake. There were low clouds that night and I got disoriented on the lake. Even though the stern light was not directly visible to me I found it worsened my disorientation since every time I tried to look around at shorelines I would get glimpses of light and light would reflect from objects off to the side.
I put a headlamp on and pull it down around my neck. I just want it handy so I can turn it on if a boat approaches, otherwise the headlamp remains unlit. I hate ruining the little night vision I have left by paddling around with light in my field of vision.
If I’m with a group I throw my Luci light into the stern so the other paddlers can see where I am. Sometimes light reflects off the paddle and I’m impressed by my “blazing” speed
If I’m with a group I throw my Luci light into the stern so the other paddlers can see where I am. Sometimes light reflects off the paddle and I’m impressed by my “blazing” speed
I suspect I've met "Bobby" a few times, sometimes accompanied by "Bob Senior" who occasionally requires restraining to prevent a second rescue...
on group trips at night we've often strung a small glowstick off the back of the paddlers' pfds on a short cord in case of a flip, it hangs about mid-back and will float beside them in the water. Some times the group leaders use orange ones so people know which canoe they should be following...I put a headlamp on and pull it down around my neck. I just want it handy so I can turn it on if a boat approaches, otherwise the headlamp remains unlit. I hate ruining the little night vision I have left by paddling around with light in my field of vision.
If I’m with a group I throw my Luci light into the stern so the other paddlers can see where I am. Sometimes light reflects off the paddle and I’m impressed by my “blazing” speed
Your "Bob Senior" would be our "MR. Finkelstein", an equally incompetent scoutmaster doing everything wrong, both as an outdoorsman and as a leader of youth on a wilderness trek. He would be role played in another training scenario either independently or along with a Bobby scenario. I have talked to former guide students after their season on the trail and they said they had encountered both personalities during their guided treks and were grateful for the training scenarios.
Sorry for the drift from the night light discussion thread.
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I was in a race once that required a visible white light after dark. I found a 360 degree white light that was magnetic and I used a piece of metal under the top of my hat to attach it to. That way it was never shining in my eyes.
Thankfully I finished before having to actually use it so I can't comment on how it works other than the few minutes of testing I did with it.
Alan
Thankfully I finished before having to actually use it so I can't comment on how it works other than the few minutes of testing I did with it.
Alan
Good thing you didn't capsize and fall in the water head first.
As the author of this thread I approve the drift.
My plan (subject to change without notice) is to first try out the headlamp. This is very much because I already have a few of them, so I won't have to buy anything and I'll be meeting the requirements as presented by the PA overlords. Also, having a light handy seems like general good safety practice.
Some of the other lights may be useful for making myself more visible to motorized boaters in general, so I may consider those as well. (e.g. the green/red lights that I'm sure I could figure out how to attach somewhere.) I definitely get overly anxious when I see motorized boats zipping around in low visibility situations, even if they're limited to 20hp motors.
Coast Guard regulations require a vessel less than 7 meters long and moving at less than 7 knots (almost all of our canoes) to display a single white light. If the light is on all the time, there is no question about showing the light "in time to prevent a collision."
Mine is an "all around" (360 degree) light from Duckworks, mounted on a pole. It's supposed to be one meter above the superstructure of the boat, but it doesn't seem reasonable to strictly apply that requirement to canoes. I have only used my all around light in conditions where there was a lot of ambient light, so I have little experience regarding its effect on night vision. I do keep the pole-mounted light at the stern of the canoe, so it will cause minimal impairment.
The red and green combination light is required on the bow of a motorboat. If it is on your canoe, another vessel could mistake you for a powered vessel.
Strobes or other flashing lights could be mistaken for a lighthouse, a buoy, or a fixed aid to navigation.
Mine is an "all around" (360 degree) light from Duckworks, mounted on a pole. It's supposed to be one meter above the superstructure of the boat, but it doesn't seem reasonable to strictly apply that requirement to canoes. I have only used my all around light in conditions where there was a lot of ambient light, so I have little experience regarding its effect on night vision. I do keep the pole-mounted light at the stern of the canoe, so it will cause minimal impairment.
The red and green combination light is required on the bow of a motorboat. If it is on your canoe, another vessel could mistake you for a powered vessel.
Strobes or other flashing lights could be mistaken for a lighthouse, a buoy, or a fixed aid to navigation.
Thanks Ucanoe, all good points to consider. I don’t paddle any coastal areas/oceans, so I’m assuming Coast Guard regs don’t apply. But I will certainly be looking into the DuckWorks light. I don’t paddle much during evening/night, so I have some time to figure this out.
This discussion does have me considering the effect lights will have on night vision, I would lean towards lights that don’t interfere. Something else for me to consider I guess.
This discussion does have me considering the effect lights will have on night vision, I would lean towards lights that don’t interfere. Something else for me to consider I guess.
