What is the best way to maintain visibility while boating at night?

Maintaining visibility while boating at night is crucial for safety, and keeping navigation lights on is the best method to achieve this. Navigation lights serve multiple purposes: they make your vessel visible to other boats, indicate your position and direction of travel, and help prevent collisions. By displaying the correct lights—usually consisting of a red light on the port (left) side, a green light on the starboard (right) side, and a white light toward the stern—you effectively communicate your vessel's location and movement to others in the waterway.

Using high beams can be dangerous because they create glare that can impair the visibility of both the operator and approaching vessels. Driving slower can help in some respects, as it provides more time to react to obstacles, but it does not improve visibility itself. Having someone look out for danger is certainly a beneficial practice for overall safety, but it does not enhance the visibility of the boat, which is essential for preventing accidents at night. Therefore, keeping navigation lights on is the most effective way to ensure that you and your vessel are seen by others, thus maintaining safety during nighttime boating.