Good day Jim,

For vessels under 7 meters, and for non-powered vessels, the only requirement is a 360 degree all-around white light. Of course to be 360 deg on a kayak it really needs to be up on a pole. I would check out the Kayalu deck light. Joe O'Blenis at www.joeopaddles.com sells them. Mine has been through a hurricane- literally- as the kayak sat on my porch with the light attached during a category 1 hurricane. It stayed put! I have done visibility tests and it can easily be seen at over 1 mile even with other lights around it. (Very important because often your light blends in with or is overpowered by other lights on shore.) Save the complication and get the deck light. I have also seen a similar red/green bow light that attaches to the bow. I only recommend it because the 360 deg white may be obstructed by your body if it does not stick up over your head. In that case the bow light gives added visibility.

You can do a red/green LED bow light but it needs to meet USCG regs for 1 mile visibilty, and also- very important here- you must have it visible only as green from starboard, only as red from port, and both must be visible head-on. If you deviate from this you will (a) be out of regulations and more important (b) indicate improperly your direction. If I see a red and green then I am going to assume I am approaching you head-on. Although it's not as critical when you are not under power and moving slowly, it does help when I'm out in a boat at night and trying to take the best course to avoid you. I will always opt ot go behind you or if approaching you head-on I will steer to pass port to port. Very often due to the low stance of a kayak I won't see you until I am right on you, so it is important to show proper lights.

Living on an island, I boat a lot at night. I rely heavily on the lights of other vessels to determine which way to go in order to avoid a collision. My favorite story is when a vessel once passed me with lights indicating he had a vessel in tow (three white masthead lights). I was in a RIB doing about 25 knots. I stopped, waited and looked but saw no vessel in tow. The vessel in tow should have at minimum a stern light. after waiting it out a bit I decided he must have forgotten to turn off his lights after dropping off the vessel he was towing and I was about to proceed. Just then all the lights on St. Thomas went out. I thought it was a power outage (very common here). Suddenly I realized that the lights didn't go out, but a huge barge with no lights at all was passing in front of me, thus blocking my view of the lights of St. Thomas. On the moonless night the barge was just a blackness. Had I not correctly interpreted the towing vessels lights I would have gone between him and the towed barge and either gotten decapitated by the steel towing cable or been crushed by the vessel in tow. The story hasn't much to do with kayaks, but it does illustrate the importance of showing proper lights at night, and knowing what the lights of other vessels indicate.

One that is more related to kayaks and small vessels- There was a tiny "rubber ducky" dinghie with 8 souls precariously perched on the tubes, crossing one of the busiest channels at night with nothing but a dimly-lit and poorly-held flashlight. I was underway approaching the harbor. I was again in my 15' RIB. It is only by the grace of God even in my small boat that I saw them and avoided running them over. Right behind me was a ferry boat. I motored alongside them to keep the ferry from running them over, and the ferry visibly steered to correct when he saw us. Had I not been there they would have been t-boned.

It is good to see you are putting lights on your kayak and that you seek advice before doing so. Go with the Kayalu deck light. It is USCG approved, very visible, and even hurricane tested!!!

Cheers,

Malcolm