Lights on a boat question

[Savage Brewer]

This may seem like an odd question, but are there restrictions in MN for lights on a boat? I know about the USCG required lighting for the bow and stern, but are there any regulations against me putting a flood or spot light off the bow while underway?

I would like to add some light off the front as sometimes I am travelling at night in waters that have hazards and such. Having some extra visibility may mean the difference between putting a hole in the hull or making it back to the dock safely.

I looked at the USCG manual and the MN boating guide and cannot anything saying its an issue, but figured I would ask before ordering new lights.

Thanks

[Brad B]

the catfish guys use flood lights all the time when on the rivers at night.

[dan z]

If you have the battery power go nuts!

[Down Deep]

I have two hand held spotlights that plug into the power points located on either side of my consoles. I use one and my fishing buddy has one. Both are 2 million candle power and shine a long way.

[aanderud]

I run a couple of HID lights. I suggest looking at HID or LED because the power draw will be about 1/5 or 1/10 what the power draw of halogens at the same lumens.

That being said, I have heard rumors that it's "illegal" to run with spotlights on, but I've never seen this in any rule book -- just some web forum. You know how these forums are -- you can ask a question and get 10 different answers. I guess I just figure logically more light shouldn't hurt, and in fact all the regulation manuals I see for boating say "at least" when referencing necessary navigation lighting, which sort of implies that they're documenting the required subset of lights, but that more is allowed. I guess if I ever get a ticket, I'll start worrying more about it, but for now I'm going with what I like, and I like to be able to see well when I'm under way in the dark.

[Luke_M]

I run the mn river quite a bit and have off-road lights on the front of my boat. I have never been hassled about them. I think it makes sense to run them when its a safety issue. That said if I'm overtaking someone or coming up on someone I turn them off.

[Savage Brewer]

yeah looking at soem of then new LED off road lights, nothing extremely bright, just enough to help without drawing a ton of power.

[slammer]

You see some pontoons with headlights. Anyone swap out their regular bulbs for LED's on the navigation lights? Wondering if it would work without replacing the whole light?

[gunner55]

Brad was right about the cat guys.I found "lighting up the night in a boat" thread in the Equipt. & Expert Info forum.It's from last Spring but some interesting ideas/mods there.

[B-man715]

This is what I ended up with. Works awesome most of the time. If you get a fair amount of fog above the water, you're better off without it though.

[Savage Brewer]

cool idea with the RAM Mount.

I was going to RAM mount my lights also but they were going to be mounted to the bow, next to the Terrova.

Do you just turn the light 90deg when storing the motor?

[CAMAN]

If you get a fair amount of fog above the water, you're better off without it though.

That's because it is mounted too high. Get it low and slightly downward and it should help.

[B-man715]

cool idea with the RAM Mount.

I was going to RAM mount my lights also but they were going to be mounted to the bow, next to the Terrova.

Do you just turn the light 90deg when storing the motor?

I can leave the light on the motor and lay it down, but most of the time I just take it off.

As for the fog, even when the motor is in the water and the light is right on the bow, it's still hard to see.

Ideally you would have the light hanging off the bow right at the water line.

[Scott K]

These are the led ones I am using, I think they work pretty decent on the water, and they draw minimal amps.

[Alagnak]

Doesn't matter what you use in fog. If it's bad you're screwed. Tried fog lights too, didn't matter. Best is to turn lights off and pay attention to shore and tree line overhead and or GPS and go slow.

[JeremyCampbell]

I posted similar question last yr on here and the cat guys informed me of getting flood lights.I ended up buying one and worked well.I had a hard time finding the access where it was pitch black.The flood light was great for this when I used it on the river.