[Paddlewise] night lights

For the past couple of years, I commuted to work by kayak. During the
winter months, I paddled home in the dark. Though not crossing any
designated traffic lanes, I was passing among tugs and barges, fishing
boats, yachts, and two local foot-passenger ferries, so being visible was a
major concern. 
I've tried those battery powered red/green split lens and upright
flashlights on a pole sold for inflatable dingys. They were unsatisfactory
on several counts. I had to build a fairly elaborate platform to hold the
light brackets. I used a short mast for the rear light to keep the centre
of gravity low (two D cells are quite heavy and exert a lot of leverage at
the end of a pole). The front light was mounted directly at deck level so
as not to interfere with paddling. Mounting lights low decreases the
distance they can be seen. Nor are these dingy lights truly waterproof,
meaning that even if you don't capsize or have water sweep the deck, the
salt air corrodes the batteries. They use a very old technology for the
bulbs, and as result are not very bright and consume batteries at a fearful
rate. In addition to the difficulty of changing batteries at sea, an
adequate supply of D cells is heavy, bulky and expensive.
The solution I've hit on was made possible by the current generation of
high-tech waterproof lights. The first unit I used was by Princeton Tec and
is called the SportFlare. It’s a 2AA cell flashlight with a cone of
translucent plastic in front of the lens. Although Princeton Tec makes
these cones in white, the Canadian distributor does not carry them so I
used the yellowy-green cone that is available. Avoid using a green or red
light as they might be mistaken for port or starboard lamps. I’ve
encountered Coast Guard patrol boats at night, and the crew have always
smiled and nodded as they passed me, apparently delighted (sorry) that I
had any lamp at all. As a bonus, when I'm touring, the flare cone light
doubles as a “lantern” in my tent.
I later replaced this with the ACR "C" light, which uses a single AA
battery, and which has moulded plastic dome lens which beams the light out
in a 360º ring around the unit, rather than having most of it "spill"
upwards. This light is pure white. As a bonus, each time I take a stroke, I
can see a line of light on my paddle blades to confirm the light is burning
brightly. The ACR "C" light is SOLAS approved and was originally made for
the front of PFDs. 
I've duct taped a short length of flexible marine water hose to one end of
a piece of 1/2” wooden doweling. The body of the flashlight press-fits
securely into the hose, with the cone or dome pointing upward. You could
also use heavy elastic bands to attach the light to the pole.
Sew a snug vertical sleeve to the outside back of your PFD (naturally, you
never paddle without your PFD on, do you?), similar to tent pole sleeves
and closed at the bottom. 
(Strictly technically speaking, I suppose the sleeve modification
invalidates USCG or Canadian DOT approval on PFDs, but my experience with
front-line Canadian Coasties has been that they are practical people, more
interested in real-world safety than nailing you on the letter of the law.
Commercial operators should not modify approved PFDs for liability reasons,
but then commercial operators should probably think twice about
night-paddling with clients anyway.) 
Slide the doweling into the sleeve and the light rides about a foot above
your head, visible 360 degrees, does not interfere with your night vision,
is too lightweight to exert destabilizing torque, and in any case stays
upright as you balance in the boat. (I carry a mini-strobe as back-up, but
have never had to use it). The light is in use 20-25 minutes at time 3 to 4
times a week, and a battery lasts several weeks.
Theoretical, as yet untested advantages of this system: If I did wet-exit
at night the light would be above my head, making me visible to traffic and
providing illumination for my self-rescue efforts. Should the whole
assembly slip from its sleeve, the wood in the doweling will provide enough
buoyancy to prevent the light from sinking (I've taped some pipe insulation
foam to the upper part of the doweling to ensure this).
Other companies make after-market light cones intended to fit 2AAA and 2AA
flashlights such as the Mini-Mags. Though the Mini-Mags are sealed with O
rings, I'm not sure how their metal bodies would stand up to a salt air
environment. In any case, they’re heavier than plastic-bodied lights,
affecting balance and buoyancy.
If you don't do enough night paddling to justify a special set-up, you
could pop a small flashlight into the bottom of a translucent (not
transparent) plastic bottle, and tie it on your rear deck. Wear a headlamp
to cover the field of view blocked by your body, bearing in mind that
because the headlamp beam is focused, you'll need to “aim” it at traffic
for them to see it from any distance. If you were going to "aim" a beam at
someone, you'd want to be sure that they were far enough away and/or the
beam was diffused enough not to blind them (or "embarrass" them, as the
official term goes - presumably because it's embarrassing to run smack into
the shore and/or other boaters after your night vision has been nuked by
some idiot with a headlamp.)   

Philip Torrens
"The opinions expressed in this posting are not necessarily those of my
employer, or indeed, of any sentient being."

 

 


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