A Question on Boater Etiquette

B

BenDiss

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Nov 13, 2009
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31831
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I've been thinking a bit lately about the night run we made Monday from POU back to Haverstraw. A couple things I did have me questioning if I was rude to my fellow boaters. For background, it was 10:30p, without much moon light. Water was calm and we were running about 32 MPH. There were 4 adults. I was at the helm and navigating. One adult was working radar and the other two were calling out traffic and buoys.

1. North of West Point we met a large barge going north. It looked like two targets on the radar. I lit it up with the spot light to see what it was. I lit it from bow to stern. Shortly after it lit us up as well. Which happened:

a. the barge wanted to see who we were and let us know that he sees us as well.

b. the barge was pissed that I just ruined his night vision and wanted to share the experience with us.

2. South of West Point we passed another southbound boat going just a little slower than us. We were in his wake and along side for maybe 2-3 minutes. It was a narrower area and we were probably 75' from him when we passed. I wonder if this was too close. I think so.

What do you guys think about the whole situation? Am I being to sensitive or should I be more careful?
 
Never "light up" another boat at night.

You had your radar on and you saw him on it, you should have also seen it's nav lights and understood which way it was travelling. You can monitor channel 13 and you will hear all commercial traffic giving their location, whether they are pushing or pulling and what direction they are headed.

75' is not too close, however if you throw off a big wake you should try to get further away.
 
If I were guessing I's say the answer to question 1 is B. I would also question the wisdom of running at 32mph on a night without much moonlight. Large ships use separate radar operators, but I think I'd prefer to see the radar display myself, especially when traveling at a higher rate of speed; things can happen so fast and communication errors could delay the proper response. With regards to your passing distance, I'd ask myself the question of would I like to be passed that close and without warning during the daylight. At night, the other operator probably didn't know you were there until you began to pass and may not have had time to maneuver his boat as he would have liked.
 
Many times barges will sweep their spot light quickly on you to make sure you know they are there.

Down in NYC it is sometimes difficult to make out nav lights with all of the lights from the shorelines. The barges routinely hit their lights to let you know they are there.

Whether it is correct is another issue.

I personally don't use my spot light at night. In fact, I've never used the spot on my boat.
 
You need to take your boat out during a busy time some sunny afternoon and watch the radar, you'll be surprised at all the things it misses. Running 32 mph at night in a channel is reckless, radar or no radar.
 
I have been "lit up" many times on the ICW ... usually just breifly, but enough to destroy night vision. As far as running 32 MPH at night ... you are an accident waiting to happen!!!
 
I'm glad I unzipped my fly and posted this up. I was worried about use of the light and learned more than I expected. Thanks everyone.
 
Upon overtaking, night or day, please stay aware of where you are and plan accordingly. As a boater experienced with the area, you could have planned your pass better. Sometimes to be courteous all it takes is a slight pull back on the throttles so you can time your pass better. What's the rush? No head on the boat? You knew you were going to pass this boat long before you were aside. If not, you were inattentive or otherwise distracted.

Look at it this way, you never know when you will run into the same folks again. And by then they may have a different boat. One that makes you wish you were better to them in the past.

Having done the ICW south I can tell you from experience it pays to be polite when passing and make arrangements on the radio when people are listening. Many friends can be made this way.

All too often we meet people that have cubic HP and decide they will push into a situation that will impact another boater's safety margin. People like this force us to take action in a narrow channel when we may have traffic situations that require us to maintain course and speed. A good example is when we were headed South and a North bound barge and I arranged a one whistle pass. A$$hole comes around barge Northbound and I have traffic all around me. I swear I heard his stringers separating.

Personally if someone hangs by my side for an extended period of time, or just astern, the S.O is thinking bad things. So am I. We're thinking of defensive measures. But then we've been run over by an a$$hole that was looking aft talking to his wife because she was afraid to sit next to him on the helm.
 
Knowing the boat light scheme, if they all work on the tow and the barge, would make it better.
I agree with running that fast at night if you are not sure what was in front of you.
Go slower and give the tow some distance.
 
Ben I know that 32 mph probably seems slow to you being you normally cruise about 40 however many boater would choose to travel at hull speed or a just planning speed at night. I for one travel extremely slow at night aside from other boats and buoys that hopefully show up on the radar there is a lot of other hazards that you wont see such as logs. Traveling at 32 mph you have little to no time to react to what you might see a the last second do to limited night vision. I always leave a lot of time for a return trip at night. I find night travel stressful trying to stay alert of all the dangers around me and knowing I'm responsible for the safety of everyone on board. I'm glad you are aware of these issues and I'm sure you will make adjustments in the future.

BTW how many hours have you put on you boat already. I'm willing to bet it's near double what most of us have done this season. Boating is a great family activity, welcome to the family.
 
We run the ICW, rivers, lakes and ship channel's a lot at night. But we go 10 kts. or slower.
The sun and heat are brutal down here in the day time and our boat doesn't have good ventilation
at the helm station. Running long runs at night makes it a lot more comfortable.
 
My wife and I run our boat more at night than during the day. We usually travel at hull speed to 10knots tops. Even with a FLIR and good radar set up I doubt I would ever run above those speeds. I think your asking for problems running at those speeds.
There are too many variables at night, speed is one you can control.
Bill
 
I know Ben has lot's of experience flying planes and using RADAR but not many deadhead poles floating around in the air.
 
Slow down...............Just not smart to run at that speed at night. As far as your spotlight, chill with that as well, use it only when needed, better for you and boats around you.

Great questions, and great you want to get what is best for you and your fellow boaters.

We all started with zero knowledge, not saying this is your case. 30 years of boating, I learn something every day from this site.

Smart people ask the questions you ask...:)

Walter
 
"I find night travel stressful trying to stay alert of all the dangers around me and knowing I'm responsible for the safety of everyone on board"

I actually find running at night relaxing ... of course I do it at about 7 kts. It's usually much cooler, and less crowded ... a full moon makes it perfect!!
 
quote:
Originally posted by psalzer

"I find night travel stressful trying to stay alert of all the dangers around me and knowing I'm responsible for the safety of everyone on board"

I actually find running at night relaxing ... of course I do it at about 7 kts. It's usually much cooler, and less crowded ... a full moon makes it perfect!!

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I too enjoy the calmness of night travel when there is enough light, however I have been out on numerous occasions when there has been little to no light and I found this scary and stressful at any speed. I don't make night travel a habit I will return from dinner or fireworks but these would be short trips on rare occasions, I'd would never travel in unfamiliar water at night but that's just me.
 
quote:
Originally posted by BenDiss

Guys- Got it. Thanks.

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