Boat Navigation Lights

At Boat Outfitters, we recommend though, that all vessels be fitted with navigation lights of some kind. The alternative to taking this rather small, preventative safety step? You could collide with another vessel, the rocks along the edge of the water, or even the docks when you are trying to leave or coming into shore. 

Without navigation lights, with appropriately poor conditions, you could easily get lost out on the water, even on a very short and simple expedition.

When you consider all of the different safety measures you can take, navigation lights remain one of the most important you can take. As well as alerting other boats that you are close to them and avoiding collisions, you can also keep yourself safe from colliding with obstacles. It doesn’t matter if your boat comes with lights or not, you need to have the right kind installed with the proper configuration. 

Navigation light requirements vary by vessel size and type. For powerboats underway (not anchored), the basic requirements are a red sidelight on the port side, a green sidelight on the starboard side, a white masthead light shining forward, and white stern light. The masthead light must be higher than the sidelights.

For powerboats under 40’, some substitutions are allowed. First, the separate red and green sidelights can be replaced with a single bi-color red and green light on the bow. Second, the masthead and stern lights may be replaced with a single all-around white light that is aft of and higher than the red and green lights.

Whether you choose a single bi-color bow light or separate red and green sidelights, they must be installed correctly in the right location. The Coast Guard requires that these lights are visible in an arc from directly ahead of your boat to 112.5 degrees aft on each side.

When installing shark eye-style red and green lights or rub rail-mounted bow lights, it is extremely important to make sure they meet this visibility requirement. If mounted too far aft on your boat, they may not be visible from dead ahead. If mounted too far forward, they may not be visible from as far aft as required.

Powerboats at anchor in darkness or reduced visibility conditions must display a single all-around white light visible from 360 degrees.

For all boats under 40’, red and green lights must be visible for at least 1 nautical mile and white all-around lights must be visible for 2 nautical miles. Boats from 40’ to 66’ are required to have red and green lights and a stern light visible for at least 2 nautical miles and a masthead light visible for 3 nm. Always check the visibility rating when purchasing lights.

On boats with T-tops or hardtops, we recommend mounting a permanent all-around white light on the top. But for small boats without tops, a permanently mounted light on a pole will likely be in the way and removable plug-in style all-around lights may be preferable. They can be stowed out of the way when not needed, then plugged in for night operation.

Likewise, removable plug-in bow lights are a good option for small boats that aren’t operated frequently at night, especially flats boats and skiffs that need a clear, unobstructed forward deck. They’re much less expensive and easier to install than shark eye navigation lights, which require drilling holes in the hull.

Pop-up navigation lights are another option for keeping decks clean and unobstructed. These bi-color or side lights can be pushed down flush when not needed.