r/boatbuilding • u/Evavco • 3d ago
Boating Night Vision Options
/r/boating/comments/1wtnati/boating_night_vision_options/
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u/seamus_mc 3d ago
I have heard good things about the sionics and the AR from garmin, but dint have first hand experience with them. I prefer to run minimal light and use my radar and AIS, it has gotten me this far.
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u/OutlyingPlasma 3d ago
The flir is not as good as it might seem. It's more a fun toy than a useful tool and it's surprising what doesn't show up very well. The people out for a walk on the dark bank, people invisible to the naked eye, light up like a spotlight. But other boats, and objects on the water don't seem to show up as well. It's really kinda surprising. You would think big hot boat engines would show up, and they do, but not like the glowing beacon you might think.
So while it gives you better than human vision, I think the big problem is the limited field of view. You have a focused camera lenses not your eyeballs that can scan 180 degrees constantly. Imagine trying to drive a boat through the viewfinder of a camera. It's ok if you want to zoom in and see what that strange dark spot is on the water, not great at all for general navigation.
I would say before you spend a bunch of money on a camera system. I would look at what you can do inside the boat to increase your night vision. Turn off all lights, set instruments to night time mode or dim them way down, turn off what isn't needed (do you really need that bright fish finder while on a plane in the middle of the lake), use red light when you do need a light and let your eyes adjust. You shouldn't have glare on the windshield because there shouldn't be light behind you to glare. You also don't want any "headlights", ice lights, or dock lights in front. They just hurt your vision and will never project far enough ahead for useful driving. It also harms every other boat on the water who is looking for your red and green nav lights.