Types of LED Lights You Need on the Boat during Night

We understand how difficult it is for sailors to navigate and manoeuvre during the dark. The best thing you could do to make your sailing smooth, safe, and easier is to buy LED lights for boat and install them. In fact, not having lights on your boats is not an option. Boating laws and regulations require boat owners to feature certain lights to ensure the safety of everyone on the boat and the others sailing in the night. Boat lights help you navigate in the dark safely.

So, let’s discuss different kinds of boat lights.

Boat Docking Lights Boat docking lights are generally referred to as headlights of boats; however, they are not meant to be turned on while sailing in the waters as they can distract or temporarily blind other sailors. They are simply installed to be used for close-quarter manoeuvring purposes. So, if you are going to buy LED docking lights, you should keep it in mind.

They are used most often when you are boating at night and reaching the docking area as you need to see where the slip is. They provide sufficient illumination to help you steer the slip without hitting the dock.

A lot of sailors who are new to or night fishing make the mistake of keeping docking lights on to see further while navigating in the water. But, remember that it is not advisable to keep docking lights on as it can lead to accidents, collisions and cause temporary blindness to other boaters.

These lights are small in size and available in a variety of shapes and colors. While there are halogen docking lights, buying LED Docking Light for Boat is highly recommended because they are energy-efficient, long lasting, and offer ample illumination.

Overhead and Chart Lights Reading charts is impossible in full dark conditions. So, when it comes to reading charts, overhead and cockpit lights are your companion. However, they should also be dimmed to enhance your night vision. If they cannot be dimmed, you can buy an extra dimmer switch.

Running Lights You know how uncomfortable it is to walk into a dark room. When you need to sail during the night, comfort level decreases by multiple folds. No matter if you are sailing through a small boat or a big one, you need to recognize the standard signals set by the Coast Guard. You are required to make sure that they are working properly as you have to keep them on at all times during the dark.

• Only green and white navigation lights - means that you are the stand-on boat and other boaters have to pass to your left way
• Red and white navigation lights - means other vessel is coming up on your right and you have to give way to them
• Red and green navigation lights - means the vessel is meeting you head on
• Only red or only green navigation light - means it’s a sailboat and always gives way. While red means you have to pass behind it to the right, green means you need to pass behind it to the left.

Spotlights and Searchlights These lights are used when you see a boat heading your way. Again, you don’t have to flash them at other boaters. There’s a reason why boats don’t have headlights like automobiles. Flashing light during can disorient or temporarily blind the other boaters.

Sailing in the night is an enjoyable experience for many people but you still need to be prepared ahead by buying and installing all required lights on the boat.