Headlights

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RiverBottomOutdoors

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Halifax, Virginia
Would like some advice on installing headlights on my boat. I fish a lot at night and run rivers at night. I'm tired of using a hand held spotlight.

Brands....type....mounting tips...wiring tips.....anything that can help buying, installing and overall satisfaction, please chime in. Post pics of yours if you can.

Thanks Tinboaters!

Jonah
 
Solid mounted lights on a boat are pretty limited, as they only show whats in front of you, not what's off to the side where you're about to turn. They also have to be adjusted to the attitude of your boat (bow high or low). I run on the Mississippi at night and spend a lot of time looking for drift (whole trees) especially during high water events. Like you I get sick of the hand held spotlight, but it's the one thing that always shines where I'm looking. I use one on a ram mount attached to my grab rail, so it has full movement but I'm free to let it go at any time.
 
T man came up with a nice solution looks good
https://www.tinboats.net/forum/viewtopic.php?f=21&t=28142&p=299740&hilit=shower+bar#p299740
 
Consider LED lights for the low power and amperage draw. On our boat we have a 60* LED headlight from the best manufacturer period, they are called Vision X. You can get them in narrow beam like a 10* or 20* or wide patern like a 60*. Have a look at their stuff on youtube you'll be sold !
=D>
Dan
 
Altho' its a bit pricey (but not as bad as other GoLights) you might want to look at the Golight Gobee Stanchion Light.

Like Lowe2070 said, the problem I always had with fixed lights is that when I was running slow, versus on plane, the light was never where I wanted it to shine. This one puts out decent light, and allows you to swivel it in virtually any direction side to side and up and down on the fly.

Installation is simple, just put in a standard 2 or 3 prong Perko base and you're done. The remote is designed for a lanyard, but I just mounted it next to my throttle.
 
I'm getting ready to mount some on my boat for running jug lines. I thought I had everything I needed until I found out there is not enough room to access the bolts. I went and bought some brackets to mount them with. Hopefully the weather will cooperate this weekend so I can get them mounted. I will take some pics.

Lights https://www.academy.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/Product_10151_10051_13445_-1__?N=547047757&Ntt=docking+lights&Ntk=All You can't see in the pic, but they have a bolt coming out of the bottom for mounting.

Brackets I bought to mount them with https://www.walmart.com/ip/Stanley-Hardware-755690-2-Count-2-1-2-inch-X-1-1-2-inch-Double-Wide-Corner-Braces/19865010 I plan to cut them in half because I only need a flat peice. I will use the two holes to mount on the front of my boat, and the single hole to mount the light.

For wire, I went with 14 ga triplex. One wire for the docking lights, one for my future running light, and one will be a shared ground. If you are just running wire to these lights, I would suggest duplex. Size of wire will depend on how many amps you will be drawing and length of the wire. In my case, I am running (2) 55 watt lights (2x55)/12=9.17 amps. Plus less than an amp for my running light. So I figured 10 amps and used this calculator to figure wire size https://www.powerstream.com/Wire_Size.htm you want your voltage drop to be less than 1.

My lights came with a fuse and a switch, but I decided not to use them. I bought a water proof in-line fuse. For the switch, I decided to go with an outdoor 2-gang electrical box with water proof cover and switches. I have no other switches in my boat and no need for a switch panel much less a place to mount one. I am mounting it on my transom right above my battery.
https://www.homedepot.com/Electrical-Electrical-Boxes-Conduit-Fittings-Boxes-Brackets/h_d1/N-5yc1vZbohn/h_d2/Navigation?catalogId=10053&Nu=P_PARENT_ID&langId=-1&storeId=10051&searchNav=true#/?1z11epf=1z11epf&c=1&1z140y6=1z140y6
https://www.homedepot.com/p/t/100156652?catalogId=10053&langId=-1&storeId=10051&N=5yc1vZbohmZ1z11epfZ1z140y6&R=100156652

View attachment Switch Panel Model (1)[1].pdf
 
MOE said:
I'm getting ready to mount some on my boat for running jug lines. I thought I had everything I needed until I found out there is not enough room to access the bolts. I went and bought some brackets to mount them with. Hopefully the weather will cooperate this weekend so I can get them mounted. I will take some pics.

Lights https://www.academy.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/Product_10151_10051_13445_-1__?N=547047757&Ntt=docking+lights&Ntk=All You can't see in the pic, but they have a bolt coming out of the bottom for mounting.

Brackets I bought to mount them with https://www.walmart.com/ip/Stanley-Hardware-755690-2-Count-2-1-2-inch-X-1-1-2-inch-Double-Wide-Corner-Braces/19865010 I plan to cut them in half because I only need a flat peice. I will use the two holes to mount on the front of my boat, and the single hole to mount the light.

For wire, I went with 14 ga triplex. One wire for the docking lights, one for my future running light, and one will be a shared ground. If you are just running wire to these lights, I would suggest duplex. Size of wire will depend on how many amps you will be drawing and length of the wire. In my case, I am running (2) 55 watt lights (2x55)/12=9.17 amps. Plus less than an amp for my running light. So I figured 10 amps and used this calculator to figure wire size https://www.powerstream.com/Wire_Size.htm you want your voltage drop to be less than 1.

My lights came with a fuse and a switch, but I decided not to use them. I bought a water proof in-line fuse. For the switch, I decided to go with an outdoor 2-gang electrical box with water proof cover and switches. I have no other switches in my boat and no need for a switch panel much less a place to mount one. I am mounting it on my transom right above my battery.
https://www.homedepot.com/Electrical-Electrical-Boxes-Conduit-Fittings-Boxes-Brackets/h_d1/N-5yc1vZbohn/h_d2/Navigation?catalogId=10053&Nu=P_PARENT_ID&langId=-1&storeId=10051&searchNav=true#/?1z11epf=1z11epf&c=1&1z140y6=1z140y6
https://www.homedepot.com/p/t/100156652?catalogId=10053&langId=-1&storeId=10051&N=5yc1vZbohmZ1z11epfZ1z140y6&R=100156652


MOE,
Now were cooking with peanut oil!!! I would be in your debt if you post some pics!

Thanks!!!

Jonah
 

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