Lighting up the night in a boat

[B-man715]

Got an idea going here.

I like to night fish, or at least hang out an hour or two after the sun goes down. But I always have a fear about hitting something (floating log etc) or someone (w/ no nav lights on).

The best solution is to provide more light. I'm trying to figure out what would be best.

The easiest solution would be just hold or mount a spot light. I've done that before, but thinking it would be awesome to really light up the night. Problem is you need a lot of power.

I don't want modify the boat ( screw down lights everywhere, pull new wires everywhere etc ).

I have a Honda 2000 that doesn't get run enough in the summer anyways. I was thinking I could buy a couple off-road spot lights and flood lights then mount them on a portable tripod. Then I would run them off the 12 volt 8 amp battery charger on the generator (in case it rains to prevent sparks )

Has anybody ran stuff off of the charger before? Anybody ever try something similar? Is this idea dumb?

[DTro]

Are you trying to light up the area to see for driving, or to light up the area to fish or to be seen by other boats or all of the above?

There are some really good LED and HID options out there that will go for hours on a standard 12V Deep Cycle.

Most of my fishing is done after dark and I've seen some really good ideas for lighting.

[crappiegetter]

Since I run up and down the Mississippi and Rum a lot all I did was mount 4 halogen fog lights on the front of my boat. Works great for what I need it for. When I mounted them I kinda made a fan affect with the lights to have more visibility.

[Wish-I-Were-Fishn]

I don't think you would want a generator because of the noise.

[B-man715]

The lights would be used for navigation at night while using the big motor.

I think the alternator and starting battery could probably handle it, but why take a chance at getting stranded 2 miles downstream of the boat landing at midnight.....??? I would aslo have to run a wire all the way to the back (either permanently hidden, or temporary above deck for the night).

As mentioned before, I like to hang out after a full day of fishing, so there is no guarantee of what condition the trolling motor batteries will be in.

Noise won't be an issue. That little Honda is a hell of a lot quieter than that 75hp 2 stroke hanging of the back. It will take up a little more room, but it weighs less than a dedicated additional deep cycle battery and has "unlimited" run time.

Like I mentioned before, I'd rather not mount lights all over and drag wires everywhere. Permanent lights would have to fit and shine around the bow mount, and my cover is very snug on the bow. So they would have to be detachable or very low profile.

The more I think about the whole tripod deal the more I like it

Another option would be to run them to an existing battery and just have the generator with for peace of mind.

If you guys have any more suggestions please chime in! I'm still on the chicken scratch/bar napkin stage

[delcecchi]

A guy I know used to have a boat that had two headlight looking things mounted not too far above the waterline in the bow. Mounted in holes in the boat and sealed like the headlights on a car. That way they are out of the way.

Another thing would be to put several RAM mounts on the gunwale up in the bow, and you could store the lights until you need them.

One problem is the eu1000 only puts out 8 amps of 12 volts. What is available in 120V lights that would work?

[DTro]

I would skip the generator for sure. Get some ATV/Motorcycle waterproof LED driving lights. Halogen sucks way too much juice. LED technology has come a long way.

You could run something like this on an 9ah flasher battery for a little over 2 hours and the pair is under 80 bucks.

[B-man715]

I like the idea of a ram mount. That is probably a lot better than the tripod idea

Dtro I saw those lights on fleabay. Do you run something similar?

I see they have some kick silly-me light bars on there too. I think a guy could drill a piece of flat stock aluminum to mount the light(s) to and then drill out holes to mount the aluminum to the top of a tall ram mount.

Does anybody have any experience with an LED lightbar?

Keep the ideas rolling fellas!

[Alagnak]

I have a set of LED's and HID's mounted up front. I've played around with several different kinds of mounts/bars and keep coming back to what I have for a few reasons. I have 2 lights mounted on one base- so the foot print in the boat is less than if you put them on a bar- less to walk over/trip over etc. Also- the better 'base' you have and less material you are supporting you'll have less wobble. My 1197 is on a Ram mount the size of my forearm but it still wants to move and a light bar can get heavy in a hurry. Not to mention the cost of some of the larger ram mounts! You'd be spending more on that than the lights. The last thing you want to be doing is running up to re-aim your head lights every 5 minutes. Whether a permanent mount or detachable- you want it solid.

I think bringing a generator is ridiculous and just not needed. Even before I had the LED's I could run two off road spot lights on their own battery up front for long camping weekends and never run out. So if you really don't want to hard wire them in the boat I'd just have a dedicated smaller battery up there when you do have your lights mounted and you can take it all out when you don't want it. A couple things came to mind- AW Wolfram has a bar mounted to a bow mount trolling motor mount quick release bracket and it seems to work good. Usually if you're cattin at night you don't need the bow mount on there anyway. The other thing I was thinking about is possibly making/using a battery box and mount your lights right to the box. Set the box on the bow, strap it down for the evening and have your lights/battery/wires all in one unit you could easily remove. Just some thoughts.

If you REALLY don't want to mess around with any of this I can't imagine it getting much better than some of the super-duty head mount hunting lights that 4Wandering posted. I have a head lamp I can/have used in the dark for navigation that isn't half the lumens as some of those he posted and it works good and all- but I want the river to look like daytime when I'm driving around at night. ;-)

Obviously- if you use them/need them a lot just mount them permanently. I'd have to say the lights I have are not cheap, but they are one of the most important pc's of equipment I own and is also a huge safety factor.

[Scott K]

I am running a couple led light bars, and let me tell you, they will light up the night. Dont mess with a generator, it isnt needed. LED's will use a lot less amperage, the lights I am running only use 4 amps each, I put 2 on my boat, and I think I could have gotten by with just one, but I like over kill. I will take some pictures the next time I am out after dark, probably some time later this weak.

[Scott K]

This is the only picture I took, but between the 2 of them they are almost 11,000 Lumens. I know they freak out the neighbor when I show people from my driveway

[Borch]

Maybe I'm just a little off...

Well I probably am as I fish as much at night as I do during the day and I don't use any lights beyond my navigation lights unless I'm running the river or close to the shoreline/docking. Extra light robs you of your night vision and I find it to be more detrimental for seeing where I'm going under most circumstance after dark.

But those river guys sure have some really cool lights.

[DTro]

Scott, those lights look sweet!

Any more info on those bad boys? Brand, Price, etc?

[B-man715]

Maybe I'm just a little off...

Well I probably am as I fish as much at night as I do during the day and I don't use any lights beyond my navigation lights unless I'm running the river or close to the shoreline/docking. Extra light robs you of your night vision and I find it to be more detrimental for seeing where I'm going under most circumstance after dark.

But those river guys sure have some really cool lights.

That's kinda how I've been doing it. But I am scared to go much faster than SNW for fear of hitting something.

I've been in more than one boat with guys that run WOT when its pitch black out. Good lord does that scare the krap out outta me....... going 50 mph and not being able to see your hand in front of your face is not for the faint of heart......

The plan is to have enough light so I can get up on plane but still see far enough ahead to be safe. Whether it's on a river or lake.

I want the front of my boat to look like the sun travelling across the water

[Scott K]

Quote:

I want the front of my boat to look like the sun travelling across the lake

The lights I have will do that

[B-man715]

Thanks Scott.

Are they bright enough to go 20 mph and not out run them?

[Scott K]

I just put them on this spring, and I haven't been on the water much past dark. But I would say they are about 10 times brighter then my truck headlights. So yes 20, wouldn't be an issue. Although Led lights need an object to reflect off of.

[B-man715]

Scott, what size wire did you run? 16 ga ?

And another question. I see in the link you showed me that the lights you have are rated up to 24 volts.

Have you tried running them that high? I wonder if I could get one bar instead of two if running at the higher voltage. If you're running them at 12 volts and they are that bright 24 volts has to be CRAZY! (unless of course the voltage is regulated back down to 12.....)

[Scott K]

1 light would be more then enough really. I run a shallow section of the MN River, that has a lot of logs, and other obsticles in the way, and these 2 lights light up more then enough of the river.

I used 14ga wire, with a relay, but I am a mechanic, and wiring doesnt bother me at all. Being these only draw 4 amps each, 16ga would have been more then enough for both lights, as long as you dont go much more then 20 feet of wire. As for the 24 volts, I dont think they will get much brighter, I may be wrong, but I think they will just draw less amperage at 24 volts. If you were to be getting them lights I told you about, I would try 1 first, you can always buy another if you think you need another, but for your average lake dweller, and occasional Mississippi River runner, 1 would be more then adequate. Myself, I run the MN River 99.9% of the time, and I just like to make it look daylight when I am on it

[Scott K]

This is a general wiring diagram for a loaded circuit, if you run 1, you can get by with just a load baring switch, if you use 2, I would use a relay, less heat on the switch itself.

[B-man715]

Thanks a bunch Scott, you're a very helpful guy!

I recently had an epiphany as to mounting the light(s).

Instead a drilling holes, permanent mounts, ram mounts, working around the bow mount, etc.......... I am going to try to utilize my pedestal receiver on the front deck.

Why didn't I think of that before??????? LOL

I think it would be best to elevate the light somewhat high (6' ish) to avoid lighting up the bow and trolling motor (which would be distracting as hell).

Now I need to find a solid and clean looking way to extend a pedestal up high.....???????

Is a pedestal post the same diameter as a piece of common 2" pipe? I'd check myself but my boat is in the garage......which is 9,000 miles away I won't be home for another 3 weeks.

My boat has the posts with the little plastic tab to lock it in (swivel eze wedge type base).

Once again fellas....... can ya help a brother out Any ideas?

[Alagnak]

Even with a new base and extended mount fabricated I think it would flop around pretty bad. You'd have to have a strap on each side going down to a cleat or something to keep it from wobbling too much I think.

[TruthWalleyes]

Your killing me 4WE. What brand/model # are those lights? I need to replace my front flood lights this year.

[DTro]

Another option that would save you some work and holes in your boat is to get one of those Go Lights that plug right into your front Nav light.  They are even axially controlled by remote.  These are not as bright as some of the thing mentioned here but for large rivers and lakes would be a good option as well.

 

Lights are a weird thing though.  There is some strange inherent thing in our DNA that grabs hold of us and makes us want to go brighter and brighter and brighter.  Trust me no matter what you put on there you will constantly be thinking of what to put on there next.  LOL

[Scott K]

All right I will post it, I was trying to avoid posting the a link, but here they are.

Lights

[Scott K]

I never used my trolling motor, so I mounted mine to the trolling motor bracket, so I can remove them if I want too.