I guess I'm still confused. When I read:
"A vessel under oars may exhibit the lights prescribed in this rule for sailing vessels, but if she does not, she shall have ready at hand an electric torch or lighted lantern showing a white light which shall be exhibited in sufficient time to prevent collision."
I assumed (perhaps wrongly) that a "lighted lantern" may be a white light that had 360 degree visibility. I didn't read anything that said you should turn off the light until a vessel was bearing down on you. In fact a couple of the boater safety pages show a person in a small sailing boat shining an electric torch on the sail which I believe was meant to increase visibility all around instead of just a narrow beam. So what part of the rule says you shouldn't or can't have a 360 degree all around white light while underway on your kayak?
I do appreciate Murray pointing out that this is not what he and other commercial capitains understand or expect to see on the water. If that is the consensus understanding then I'll try to do what's leagal and proper. So who makes a red/green/white combination light that I can mount on a ball cap (mast-head?) 
-- Evan
: I've been operating with the understanding that all I needed was an all
: around white light but after reading most of this thread, I took the
: Capt's advice and read the rules at
: http://www.navcen.uscg.gov/mwv/navrules/Rules/Rule25.htm and found that
: the all around light only applies to powered vessels (Rule 23). Guess I'll
: be looking for new lighting system now.
