Light up solar buoys are the newest addition to the Dunn Rite line this year and we have enjoyed seeing all of the uses you all have shared with us as well. Here is a compilation of all of our best blogs on our  solar light up buoys.  Why Use Solar Light Up Buoys? There are situations in which established norms and guides should be followed, and the Aqua Lantern solar light up buoy is designed to fit in nicely when appropriate. At the same time, they’re versatile enough to easily be adapted to your circumstances, style, and goals. We’re pretty sure we haven’t even thought of all the potential uses yet. Check out our blog on why you should use a solar light up buoy. Solar Light Up Buoys For Your Lake Home The Aqua Lantern solar light up buoy won't replace proper safety and attention around the water. What it can do is make your decisions clear and easy to recognize in almost any situation, supplementing your efforts with an attractive twist. With a great shoreline comes great responsibility – why not shoulder it as colorfully and clearly as possible? If you have a lake home, then check out our blog on solar light up buoys for your lake home.  A History Of Buoys The history of buoys is an interesting topic to research, they date back to the end of the 13th century. In our blog on the history of buoys, we went back in time and then researched through to the current technology using solar power to light up buoys making them easier to see any time of day or night. Who Needs A Solar Light Up Buoy Who needs a solar light-up buoy? Well, if it’s up to us, the answer would be EVERYONE! Commercial fishing companies, marinas, private docks, neighborhood associations, watersports, parks and lakes management, boating enthusiasts, seafood restaurants, dentists, pre-school teachers, audiophiles – let’s get creative with it, shall we? In our minds, it’s hard to imagine a home anywhere in the world that wouldn’t benefit from a few Aqua Lanterns sitting around, no matter how far away the nearest water source might be! Basic Water Safety on Lakes & Rivers Look no further than our solar light-up buoys for optimum aquatic safety, from lakes and rivers to bays and beachfront nearshore waters! Check out our blog about  basic water safety and solar light up buoys.  Dunn-Rite Pool Products & Pool Accessories 3rd Generation Family Owned Company with a long history of developing innovative products of the highest quality. Pool Fountains - Combo Units - Pool Volleyball - Pool Basketball

Who needs a  solar light-up buoy? Well, if it’s up to us, the answer would be EVERYONE! Commercial fishing companies, marinas, private docks, neighborhood associations, watersports, parks and lakes management, boating enthusiasts, seafood restaurants, dentists, pre-school teachers, audiophiles – let’s get creative with it, shall we? In our minds, it’s hard to imagine a home anywhere in the world that wouldn’t benefit from a few Aqua Lanterns sitting around, no matter how far away the nearest water source might be! Of course, we may be a bit biased on this one. Maybe it would be best to focus on scenarios where it actually makes sense to use reliable solar light-up buoys – even for nice, sensible folks. That said, if you have a home you decorate for the holidays, the solar light-up buoys make incredible holiday decorations!Solar Light Up Buoys For Marinas, Docks, Piers, Slips, or Landings It’s always fun starting the next argument about whether something is a “wharf” or a “quay,” etc. What’s not fun is trying to figure out the best way to direct traffic in and out of any dock or mooring area, whether large or small, light or dim, calm or agitated. The right combination of solar light-up buoys can help guide vessels in and out of any number of mooring or landing areas. The varied colors, ample size and brightness, and reliable performance dramatically reduce potential problems and bring clarity and confidence to watercraft logistics.Solar Light Up Buoys For Public Lakes or Parks You can always tell a public space by the number of signs posted and the excessive text packed onto each one. Hey, we get it – you can’t safely assume anything when it comes to the general public, so you at least have to try to explain the rules and guidelines as clearly as possible. Imagine supporting those rules and guidelines with the unmistakable presence of color-coded Aqua Lantern solar light-up buoys. What’s that line of green lanterns there? Oh, that’s where it’s safe to swim during park hours. Hey, those orange lights really catch your attention! Yeah, that’s because it’s a bad idea to take your canoe or raft into that area. Is fishing allowed here? Look for the yellow solar lanterns – didn’t you read the sign? How can I get back to where I set up camp? Oh, that’s right – look for the bright white buoys with location info posted nearby. The specifics are up to you. The Aqua Lantern simply reinforces your messages and rules in aesthetically pleasing but unmistakably clear ways.Solar Light Up Buoys For Special Events If there’s a river or lake nearby, chances are, the water is used for special events throughout the year. Races, exhibitions, fireworks, concerts, crazy boat competitions, etc. These are times when people who aren’t always on the water or even in the area will gather in large numbers and try to figure out where they’re supposed to be and what’s allowed. A few simple color codes can reduce confusion and increase everyone’s comfort, enjoyment, and safety. Perhaps the yellow light-up buoys mark the race’s course, while the green buoys indicate where the wacky local boats will be showing off before the main action. You could use orange to tell visitors they’re close to concessions and restrooms, while red indicates dangerous waters and a no-go zone for the day. The Aqua Lantern can be easily anchored in place for the event’s duration, then stored or moved to the next location with minimal effort. Its 20” height and unique shape mean it stays clear and upright in almost any conditions, and it’s easily visible at a distance during the brightest part of the day or on the dimmest nights. They’re impossible to miss or ignore while at the same time complementing their surroundings.Solar Light Up Buoys For Homeowners On The Water Whether you're guiding a yacht or a paddleboat in and out of the dock or simply marking safe areas to swim or play at different times of the year, the Aqua Lantern solar light-up buoy gives you increased safety and flexibility while adding a pleasant visual touch to your property. The long-lasting LED lighting won’t intrude on neighbors or distract you from the scenery, but it’s impossible to miss them when it matters most. The Aqua Lantern provides just the right amount of illumination for a romantic late-night dip or to safely guide you home when you weren’t able to resist a few more casts before packing up and calling it a night. Choose the combination of colors and placements that work best for you – and if circumstances change, the Aqua Lantern can change with them.You Tell Us How You Use Your Solar Light Up Buoys Where do YOU use your Aqua Lantern solar light-up buoys? We’d love to hear what’s worked for you and see your pictures of the Aqua Lantern in action. That’s the whole point – we provide the creativity, reliability, and versatility, and you decide how it all works best for you. In the meantime, if you have any questions or comments, let us know – we’d love to help.Dunn-Rite Pool Products & Pool Accessories 3rd Generation Family Owned Company with a long history of developing innovative products of the highest quality. Pool Fountains - Combo Units - Pool Volleyball - Pool Basketball

Buoys are essential navigational aids in oceans, lakes, and rivers. We’re proud to offer the latest in buoy innovation, the durable Aqua Lantern: a solar-powered light-up buoy that represents quite the advance in buoy technology. To set this safety product in context, let’s dig into the backstory of buoys a bit!The History of Buoys Although the first recorded mention of buoys dates from the end of the 13th century, there’s no question these markers were in use well before that; we just don’t have solid documentation in one form or another. The 1295 La Compasso de Navigare, a mariner’s handbook detailing sea roads and approaches around the Iberian Peninsula, notes the use of buoys in Spain’s Guadalquivir River to direct vessels accessing Sevilla. A few decades later, we can find historical literature detailing the use of buoys in the Zuider Zee, a bay of the North Sea, routing ships to Amsterdam and other ports.Pieces of Rafts or Wood Very early buoys were likely simply pieces of rafts or wood secured to a hefty stone. By the 14th century, hollow wooden casks chained to stones were in use in the Netherlands and Germany; these “tonnen”-style cask buoys were soon employed in England. In 1514, acknowledging a petition by the Guild of Shipmen and Mariners, King Henry VIII created Trinity House by royal charter to manage navigational aids in English waters. According to the U.S. Lighthouse Society, the close of the 1500s saw more than 40 buoys placed in the Zuider Zee, close to 30 in North Germany’s rivers, and some 17 in England.Seetonnen Buoy Dutch and German technology later replaced the cask buoy with a more advanced model: the vertical “Seetonnen” buoy made of tapered wood. In England’s American colonies, early buoys were mainly of the cask or the spar variety, the latter being a timber pole—often made from juniper or arborvitae—driven into the riverbed or bay floor. The U.S. Coast Guard Historian’s Office notes that documentation from that era on buoys is scanty. However, cask buoys were mentioned in the Delaware River in the 1760s and spar buoys in Boston Harbor by 1780.19th Century Through the first half of the 19th century, the use of buoys wasn’t standardized in the U.S., which made for a confusing and often sub-par hodgepodge network of navigational aids. Many early American buoys were too small to be effectively seen and posed their own navigational hazard; designs and colors were all over the place, and buoys were often poorly sited and maintained.Late 1840s & Early 1850s This began to change in the late 1840s and early 1850s, when the Lateral System—with red “nun” buoys placed to the starboard side of mariners coming into harbor and black “can” buoys to the port side—was adopted, apparently (according to the U.S. Lighthouse Society) based on the setup used in the Port of Liverpool, heavily visited by American ships. This “right, red, return” system is still the standard, though can buoys these days are painted green instead of black for greater long-range visibility. Congress established the Lighthouse Board in 1852, which helped further standardize the nation’s buoyage systems—and inspired an explosion of technological refinement.Beyond Buoys as Mere Daymarks Early buoys were simply daymarks, providing a navigational service only during the daylight hours when they could be picked out by eye. In the 19th century, experiments with other ways of broadcasting a buoy’s location were extensively underway. By the mid-1800s, bell buoys that clanged as the objects moved in swells and waves were being developed. A significant innovation was John Courtenay’s “whistle buoy,” patented in 1876. Open at the submerged bottom end, Courtenay’s buoy had a hollow tube inside rising to a whistle; the buoy’s movement forced air up the tube and produced the whistling signal.Audible Buoys At about the same time that inventors were tinkering with the concept of audible buoys, others were experimenting with ways to light buoys so they could be visible at night. These included buoys fired using compressed gas and electrically powered versions, such as the lantern-hung spar buoys powered by a cable in New York harbor’s Gedney’s Channel in 1888. As the 20th century unfolded, the U.S. Lighthouse Board was replaced with the Lighthouse Service, which—under the direction of its first commissioner, George Putnam—innovated a slew of new buoy designs and technologies. These included the use of radio beacons that made buoys detectable from dozens of miles away, far beyond the range of sight and sound.U.S. Coast Guard In 1939, the Lighthouse Service was rolled into the U.S. Coast Guard. This was about when the League of Nations discussed adopting a unified international standard of buoy markings. World War II interrupted that effort, but 50 countries adopted such a protocol—the Maritime Buoyage System-in 1980, with the International Association of Lighthouse Authorities overseeing.Modern Solar Buoys One of the breakthroughs of modern buoys is the use of solar power to light them: the design behind our fabulous solar light up buoys, the Aqua Lantern. These large solar light up buoys, which come in a variety of colors, are powered by a rechargeable solar light engine that illuminates five blazing LED lights at night—just the ticket for squaring off your swimming area or displaying the location of your pier, dock, inflatable swim platform or trampoline. Our Aqua Lanterns’ bell-shaped design keeps them afloat even in choppy waters, and their LED glow makes them visible for up to a half nautical mile away!Almost all of the following info, by the way, comes from two excellent references we encourage you to check out if you find yourself hooked on buoy history after reading this: the U.S. Lighthouse Society and the U.S. Coast Guard Historian’s Office.Dunn-Rite Pool Products & Pool Accessories 3rd Generation Family Owned Company with a long history of developing innovative products of the highest quality. Pool Fountains - Combo Units - Pool Volleyball - Pool Basketball