Quote:
Originally Posted by MYTraveler
Perhaps our uses are different (underway at night I am always offshore and don't need to pass barges in a narrow channel), but I can't imagine benefiting from a 1M candle power searchlight. But if I did need better illumination, I would prefer my FLIR. I would be interested to understand the circumstances under which a light like that is useful, and what it does to your night vision afterward?
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Most of our night travel is offshore too. As to use for a 1M candle power searchlight, perhaps limited, but the tiny spotlights that come with many boats are totally useless. You don't have to use it at full power. We've probably not used any searchlights more than 10 or 12 times in the past five years. 1m is as part of our security system on the boat we cruise off shore and outside the US on. A couple of times offshore and trying to identify other boats plus make them aware of our presence and that we saw them, a couple of early morning trip starts. Most helpful on some of the inland rivers, seeing far ahead and around bends. Beyond that we've only gone up to 500 candle power and often 350. The Navy and Coast Guard tend to use 350 and 500 except on vessels over 175'.