"Dennis Vogel" scribbled thusly:
I'm going to be in an all night race and expect to be sailing back in the
direction of other boats coming right at me.

I thought a night vision scope would be handy, but someone told me only the
very expensive ones can see half a mile or more. Most can see only about 100
yards which is a short time when two boats are coming at each other on a
collision course.

Anyone have any experience with night vision scopes on the water?


OzOne wrote:
Not really necessary with a good set of eyes.

Agreed. That plus a VHF to call any traffic.

With no cockpit lights or light from below you'll be amazed at how
much you can see.

Agreed again. With night vision scopes there is the issue of field of
view and focus. A lot of times with a boat bouncing around, you can't
see anything through any optical equip't.

Another issue is that when keeping watch, if you have a night vision
scope then you will be fussing with the scope, not extending every
possible nerve to spot oncoming trouble. It is surprising how subtle
little clues cna be spotted & interpreted, but would be missed by either
a less experienced or a distracted watchstander.

A good friend of mine has a nice "3rd generation" night vision scope
which is a cool spy toy, but he insists it's good for all kinds of
things (like hunting) that would be scary to rely on IMHO.

Fresh Breezes- Doug King