Boating at night

[Ruune]

if you want to board at night, I would highly recommend you take a spotbeam. It also helps tremendously to have the riders wear those glowy necklaces that you can loop around your lifejacket, in the shoulder area.

Not that I speak from experience or anything...

Oh, and if you're in Texas, I HIGHLY recommend you head over to Texas Ski Ranch on Friday and Saturday nights during the summer. They have the cable lake open. Tons of fun, safe (completely legal), and you get a LOT of riding time in!

[tessa]

OK, so we might have got a little carried away on this one. But with glass, and not another boat in sight, how can you say no.

Maturity, safety for yourself, safety for those on your boat and general safety of others should say no for you.

With idiots on the water at night is how accidents occur and people die.I have seen a kid die because of lack of visibuility so how can you be immune or worse put me in danger. I could see a wakesurfer has a little more safety at night due to the proximity to the boat but a skier or boarder 60 ft back is just waiting to get hit let alone how fast they are going. Have you never seen fishing boats turn off the aft light to conserve battery at night. Another idiotic thing just contributing to a formula for disaster.

[Jason B]

I know Lake Geneva because it is so crowded has those types of laws and a mandatory maximum speed limit because of all the safety issues. There are some weekends in So Wisconsin that I swear you not floating on water but on used cases of Bud.

Not sure what you're talking about "used cases of Bud." Aside from the Chain all the lakes I know are very nice. Granted, I haven't seen all of them yet. Some do get busy--VERY BUSY though.

[eks]

OK, so we might have got a little carried away on this one. But with glass, and not another boat in sight, how can you say no.

Nice! I wish we could get that kind of glass during the day

[Jason B]

I get the watch point regularly. I love the morons who feel that sundown is that time of the evening where if you are close to shore, you can't see the sun over the trees. Jason B, I've heard stories that on some of the lakes up in WI there are only limited hours when you can ski/board/tube. Do you know about that?

Most lakes in WI are no wake after 7pm so that fishing can be done in relative peace. Depends on the lake though. You normally can ask a resident on the lake or keep a lookout for what others are doing and follow suit. If you see everybody who lives on the lake make a bee-line to thier docks/lifts you may want to see why. It might be time to fish (j/k)

[maximus2003]

Utah state law is no pulling a rider or tuber after sunset or before sunrise.

A good friend of mine was given a citation for this on Powell a few years ago.

It is only illegal if you get caught

I think it is not very prudent to wakeboard or ski when it is dark. I love a little post sunset riding when it seems like the visibility is good.

If you look at a few of the threads of thrashed boats, I am sure most of those accidents happened at night.

How far do you think the guy driving was ejected from that boat? OUCH!

[chpthril]

How far do you think the guy driving was ejected from that boat? OUCH!

More importantly, why did the dumb @$$ tie it up

[eks]

More importantly, why did the dumb @$$ tie it up

I didn't even notice the rope. Now it is a funny picture....

[jacques2727]

Maturity, safety for yourself, safety for those on your boat and general safety of others should say no for you.

With idiots on the water at night is how accidents occur and people die.I have seen a kid die because of lack of visibuility so how can you be immune or worse put me in danger. I could see a wakesurfer has a little more safety at night due to the proximity to the boat but a skier or boarder 60 ft back is just waiting to get hit let alone how fast they are going. Have you never seen fishing boats turn off the aft light to conserve battery at night. Another idiotic thing just contributing to a formula for disaster.

To be totally honest, the pic was taken after a full day on the lake when we were headed back to the launch. We knew whenever there was another boat on the lake, let alone anything in our vicinity. We just stopped and did one quick pull for the photo op with the moon in the background. I do not make a habit of even being on the lake in the dark, let alone pulling anything. Sorry dude, I didn't expect to be called an idiot for this. Hopefully you feel safer now for knowing I won't run you over on the lake at night.

[tessa]

To be totally honest, the pic was taken after a full day on the lake when we were headed back to the launch. We knew whenever there was another boat on the lake, let alone anything in our vicinity. We just stopped and did one quick pull for the photo op with the moon in the background. I do not make a habit of even being on the lake in the dark, let alone pulling anything. Sorry dude, I didn't expect to be called an idiot for this. Hopefully you feel safer now for knowing I won't run you over on the lake at night.

I feel real safe because I doubt we are on the same lakes ever during the season. I feel real strong about skiers, borders and tubers getting that last run in after sunset. It makes it unsafe for a lot of people heading in legally. Enough said. Done preaching to the choir.

I am curious on how many years you have been boating?

[ragboy]

First off, the guy is in canada, probably has 2 months of a usable season anyway, needs to stretch out what he can get.

Second, any picture you take, looks much darker than it really was. I know that because the whole summer we went out in the afternoons and closed down the lake. Which means you are always boarding back to the marina. When you do that, you go to the edge, and pull the person in, but you feel much safer, because you KNOW what is around you, because it was light, a few minutes ago.

Also, I would probably have the same reaction to that picture a few years ago, when I lived in a heavily populated area. Since I moved away from the city, and enjoy underpopulated lakes, its a bit different. When I come back from boarding with my family on a weekday afternoon, its almost like our private lake. We still obey the law, but when the water is perfect glass, and heading back, I may do a U turn at the booeys with my son in tow, to give him some more time. Pushing it past dusk just a bit. Remember, the glass is there, because no one else is, and you have been riding there in the LIGHT all day.

Anyway, I would cut a little slack, I don't think its as bad as it looks. I think I am very safe with my family. I am the only guy I know that makes his kids wear helmets when they surf! I would never put my kids out when it is dark, but pushing it a bit when heading in, I can see that.

[jacques2727]

Sometimes we can stretch the season into 3 months if you don't mind scraping the frost off your boat prior to the run.

And you are totally correct Ragboy. The picture comes out way darker than it actually is. As far as just driving it was totally legal and safe. Just borderline to be skiing still. This is also a lake where if you don't have a cabin on it, you don't boat on it. This mass of boats heading to the launch at days end simply doesn't exist on this particular lake. I am one of the few who actually pulls the boat out of the water at the end of each day. Typically everybody is off the lake by 8 or 9 at the latest, leaving us with a couple of solid hours of skiing by ourselves. Keep in mind we only get a couple hours of darkness in the middle of summer, and the sun can pretty much be seen on the horizon even in the dead of the night.

So as far as any real safety issues, there are none. To answer your question TESSA, I have been boating for about 10 years now. We got a hand me down boat from the wifes family (she grew up in the water) in 1998 and just upgraded to our TIGE last year. I have never had any incidents, and have always followed the laws as laid out by the Alberta regs. I am not arrogant or cocky and I do respect the water and everybody on it. If I was using real busy lakes like I'm sure you guys do down south, or anything unfamiliar, I would be way out of there with a big safety margin. But in a totally familiar setting, I don't mind pushing it a bit.

Bottom line is that safety is very important to me, and I would never do anything to put others in danger.

[dogbert]

One more thing worth mentioning, up where he is the sun sets way late. I was fishing in northern Saskatchewan in June and it was still light at 10:30.

[dcsnowwake]

I wakesurf all the time at night. We have a place with a secluded cove so theres noone else around. we have the transom light, and put a night stick on the surfer......this year were going to put up PIAA off road lights on the tower

[chadster2]

There is risk everywhere. All day all night. I can't believe people ski on the week end. I would go nuts with all the other boats buzzing like nats, and wave runners jumping waves. Lets start a list of everybody’s injuries doing it the safe way.