lighting the boat

[dan z]

I am looking for some info on HID lights that are on some of the riverpro's that I have seen. I am looking to upgrade the lighting on the front of the boat. I have Halogen 55w off road lights just looking for more distance and brightness.

[fishinJohn]

I don't know a lot about boat lights but a little about HIDs. HPS will generally give more lumens per watt than metal halide or mercury vapor. I would guess the Xenon lights on nice cars would be more money than most would want to spend.

[DTro]

Well you have 2 options. You can get a kit to transform your existing lights, or you can pick up some new HID's. Either one will probably shake about $200 out of you pocket.

hidfoglight has some decent pricing. I think they get about $100 each for 9"ers.

[Loose]

I would stay around the 4000k to 5000k range if you go hid too.

Might be just me but I lose/ can't see stuff as well with the higher temps.

Not sure if you remember what my boat lights looked like going down the river but mine are either 4200 or 4500k

[dan z]

I would stay around the 4000k to 5000k range if you go hid too.

Might be just me but I lose/ can't see stuff as well with the higher temps.

Not sure if you remember what my boat lights looked like going down the river but mine are either 4200 or 4500k

I do remember what it looked like and liked it. I have seen some 6000k for the amount I am willing to spend. How big are your lenses ryan?

[Loose]

Mine are 6"

[Ed Carlson]

Heads up: New tech toys in the lighting game guys...check out the new "Taco" Light Emitting Diode Deck and Flood lights once. Overton's has them. Low amp draw...Boo-Koo light..long life..good price.

"Taco Deck Light"

F38-3500

TACO introduces the "LUMA" LED Deck Light. LED lighting is highly efficient and unlike other light bulbs, LED’s are vibration and shock-resistant. The LUMA Deck Light draws less than 1/4 Amps and operates on a standard 12V marine battery, The sleek low profile design features a high-impact, UV-resistant white plastic housing, polycarbonate lens and 30 LEDs for 100,000-hour operating life. Stainless Steel bracket with all stainless mounting hardware mounts easily and adjusts to the desired angle.

Taco Flood Light.

F38-5500

TACO’s Marine LED Spot Light will light up waters ahead with three, high-powered 3-watt LEDs providing 1,000,000 candlepower output or 4,474 lumens of bright white light. Highly efficient, these low draw (<1 amp) hard-wired lights offer 100,000 hours of operation and won’t drain batteries. 12-28V DC power makes it ideal for boats of all sizes.

Designed for marine use, TACO’s marine LED lights are waterproof to withstand salt spray and wash-downs, and vibration- and shock-resistant to stand-up to pounding wakes. The sleek design features a high-impact, UV-resistant white plastic housing with polycarbonate lens. Mounting is easy, choose from stainless steel mounting bracket model with adjustable angle, or clamp-on model that fits standard 3/4" & 1" I.P.S. pipe T-top rings (1-1/16" & 1-5/16" OD pipe).

[DTro]

Those are pretty darn cool Ed

[Ed Carlson]

They are some very sweet new tech lighting systems. Perfect options for boats, ATV's, and in some case's maybe even ice shacks.

My old spotlights had the fun habit of draining my batteries when I least needed it. I Really hate that sick Click-click-click sound when the starter will not roll over. These are many times over less likely to do that.

I'm swapping out mine this spring for the Taco's.

[Scott K]

Nice, I may need to get me some!

[Gordie]

My old spotlights had the fun habit of draining my batteries when I least needed it.

I'm swapping out mine this spring for the Taco's.

I know what you mean Ed

I also will be checking these out

[Scott M]

Thanks for posting Ed. Might be giving this a try.

[Ed Carlson]

A nifty feature is this particular spotlight is it can run on 12-28V DC...so...wiring it into a 24V DC system up front would make it highly bullet proof for any long term battery drainage. If your running a 36V system up front, just pick off the power at the 24 V level on the battery bank and also get max power and minimal voltage drop and draw. This wide range voltage option is very nice to work with on a marine application.

I think a guy could run 3 - 4 and not see the needle move much for amp draw.

I'm think'n... we just may hear of an sudden uptick of UFO Sightings on Minnesota River's this summer.

[Scott K]

Ed, have you seen these in action yet? If so, how to they compare to HID lights? As in distance, and brightness?

[DTro]

LED lights are amazing.

I've seen some flashlights the size of a magic marker that throw enough light to drive down the river with. Great for emergency purposes.

[Ed Carlson]

I'm basing my recommendations on comparisons of the lumens and also the user reports from Saltwater Guides whom have already switched over to them. They pump out lots of light at low draw. The Saltwater crews are busily refitting there rigs with these. Reports are they are top notch and durable and produce excellent lighting. The low amp draw is a big deal to lessen the burden on charging systems and batteries.

I do not have them in use yet. I'm putting in an order for 2 of each.

They caught my eye last fall when a client from Florida told me about them and I started looking into them. User ratings are very high as is the rate of user recommendations to buy again. I see riggers recommending them on marine tech forums, that gave me a very strong hint they are the real deal. I personally suspect these systems will soon be standard equipment on rigged boats and pontoons.

The spotlight version the F38-5500 has high-powered 3-watt LEDs providing 1,000,000 candlepower output or 4,474 lumens of bright white light...so times 2..knot-knot that would be.....2,000,000 candlepower at 8,948 Lumen's. I'm think'n that should wake up a few rosters?

[pureinsanity]

LED lights are amazing.

I've seen some flashlights the size of a magic marker that throw enough light to drive down the river with. Great for emergency purposes.

This is true! A friend of mine has a LED flash light similar to this. He can be on the horse trailer parking lot and shine me at the next point and practically blind me.

[Scott K]

I am just concerned that the 1 million candle power isnt enough. I currently use a 10 million candle power hand held spot light, which works good, I just want something mounted in the front that I dont have to hold. My concern is, if it is 1/10 the brightness of my handheld, will these be bright enough? Although battery draw, is a concern, I will sacrifice the extra draw, for the better light.

I guess, If I buy a couple and try them, I will know forsure.

dachise, when are you ordering? Maybe we can save a few bucks by ordering together, and having them shipped together.

[pureinsanity]

This is pretty clever way of saving some battery life when out in the water at night.

[Loose]

I have never been a big fan of led flashlights myself, I think its the color of the light and it doesn't seem to go as far.

[pureinsanity]

Ryan its getting there. It might not go as far, but it spreads out and creates more ambient light essentially while conserving power.

I think in the dark of night you would be able to get around with LED just fine. If you are worried about distance it might not be a bad idea to have 1 HID light mounted dead center on the bow for projection and some LED's for more ambient light.

Ideally, LED will surpass the HID lights, its only a matter of time. They are almost just as bright, its just a matter of reflection and the right lens to get it to do the same thing.

For those of you considering LED lighting for your boats. Be sure to use google first. Before you go and buy marine specific lights, check out the LED stuff for off road vehicles. There are some pretty awesome LED lights that really light up the road for motorcyclists and even buggies and trucks. They are not to expensive either. I found a couple really small LED 10watters that really light up the road and was pretty cheap.

if you have some electrical knowledge you can make your own lights pretty easily! You can get most components to make a bright LED light right at radio shack. I am thinking about tearing apart my head lamps and updating them with newer brighter LED's

[Loose]

Pitch black they might put out enough light, I'm willing to bet on a full moon they won't be enough.

I'm not anti led I just think they have there place and driving lights aren't it (yet) for driving down a woody river. But I like driving fast and ambient light don't work for that.

[Scott K]

I just talked to a company the sells them. They told me they take some time to get used to. They said the light needs to bounce off something, in order for it to be bright. So if you are shining it straight out, and the beam doesnt hit any thing, such as a log, branch, bank, it will look black. If the light hits/bounces off a object, it lights up the object very well. I asked about the distance of the spot, he said if there is an object out there for the light to hit, 2 miles. He said the flood light will shine bright about 150 degrees. And he also said for fog, they have one that you can dim, so it doesnt glow so much in the fog.

The guy told me, once you get used to it being very black when the light isnt shinning on anything, and trust it will light up any object, you will like it. I may buy a spot, and a flood just to try them.

[pureinsanity]

I found a universal flood one online for 60 bucks.

[Loose]

I just talked to a company the sells them. They told me they take some time to get used to. They said the light needs to bounce off something, in order for it to be bright. So if you are shining it straight out, and the beam doesnt hit any thing, such as a log, branch, bank, it will look black. If the light hits/bounces off a object, it lights up the object very well. I asked about the distance of the spot, he said if there is an object out there for the light to hit, 2 miles. He said the flood light will shine bright about 150 degrees. And he also said for fog, they have one that you can dim, so it doesnt glow so much in the fog.

The guy told me, once you get used to it being very black when the light isnt shinning on anything, and trust it will light up any object, you will like it. I may buy a spot, and a flood just to try them.

Makes sense, order one up!!