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Night Navigation and Towing Vessels

Night navigation presents additional challenges. You should always operate at a slower speed at night and be on sharp lookout for the lights of other vessels. The lights displayed by other vessels will help you determine whether they are operating under power or sail, and their direction of travel. Once you've determined this, you apply the same navigation rules used in the daytime.

When commercial vessels are towing or pushing a barge, they display one or more yellow lights in place of a sternlight. Learn to recognize commercial vessel lights if boating on rivers, harbors, or coastal waters.