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I`m thinking of installing a light, a 3X5, under the hardtop pointing out, past the bow.
For the purpose of reflecting buoys and to keep me from running over da#m lobster pots.
Should I install a "beam" type light, or would a regular flood work ?
If a beam, does anyone know or have a link where I can get one ? Boating stores only sell flood types.
Been there, done that. If you mount the light under the hard top it will light up the fore deck, ruining your night vision. Also, the intensity will overpower the visibility of your nav lights, effectively making you illegal. If you put the light above and aft of the leading edge of the top you can shade the fore deck. You should only run the light momentarily to light suspected obstacles and not potentially blind others coming from the opposite direction (if there is any other traffic).
A 55 watt halogen spreader light will light up reflective markers a long way off, I don't know about lobster or crab trap type buoys.
OReely is right, think long and hard about where you instal a spot light. Personally I choose to mount mine on the pulpit in front of the achor roller. Remember stainless steel bow rails are tube shaped mirrors that will ruin your night vision. Kind of like sunlight reflecting of a chrome bumper. Spot is the only way to go, IMO.
How about mounting a spot on the underside of the bow pulpit? The glare will be at a minimum and it will also keep the light low to the water. Stainless and sealed I would figure would be best . Wadda ya think????
John1 - 12/23/2007 4:59 PM Displaying lights like this are hazards to navigation period.
I hope you don't mean using a spot to pick out nav aids at night is hazzardous. A spotlight, when used properly, is an important piece of safety equipment that should be present on any boat that is used for nighttime navigation.
What's hazzardous is:
1) Not using a spot and running into something or running aground
2) Keeping the spot on for long periods (i.e. using it like car headlights) vs. turing it on briefly to light up the next marker
3) Mounting thelight in a manner that causes lots of light to be reflected back at the captain, therebykilling the captain's night vision
About "under the pulpit," that's ok for glare, but normally the closer to the water you get the light, the less distance you are going to be able to get, and it's worse if the sea gets up, etc. With a spot, generally, you want as high as you can mount it for greater distance (keeping in mind the glare/reflection problem.)
Heading out of harbor early in the morning, it's pitch black out, there are vacant moorings and trying to site buoys. I am not looking to light the world, just light up obstacles that I can't locate on the radar. I 'd prefer not using something so bright that it blinds either myself or someone else.(I'll see them on radar) Holding a hand held spot light is as bad as mounting one on the bow. The thought of mounting it under the bow pulpit was to light the water directly in my path and not ruin my night vision. Once in the open water, I count on radar and site but not as worried about hitting as many obstacles. I use red LED lighting in the cockpit when under way in the dark as it does not blind me and I can use the lighting directionally within my boat. I am careful that it does not reflect out to other boats but it does help from loosing decent vision. Why would this be a hazard to navigation?
Last time out some fella took of ahead of me with NO nav lights and occasionally I would see his cabin light come on.
While he zigzagged out, he had several boats hanging back waiting till they could get around his dumb a$$ !
That's unsafe navigation!
I put a remote control spot/flood light on my old boat. I bought some starboard lumber and built a little platform and mounted the light on the front, right on top of the bow rail, right in the front peak. Nothing in front of it to light up from the boat. It worked really sweet. The flood was worthless. The spot worked great to light up docks, navigational buoys, etc. I used it at night in the San Juans to get my way through the marina in the dark.
I just bought a really nice ACR double light for my new boat and nixed the flood. It is not on yet, but will mount it on the front of the bow pulpit. Go spot all of the way.
John1 - 12/23/2007 4:59 PM Displaying lights like this are hazards to navigation period.
Could you please elaborate on that?
It is very rarely completely and totally pitch black at night unless there is no moon at all and heavy cloud cover. On average it takes a good 15-30 minutes to have fully adjusted night vision. If you are careful to keep the lighting down at your helm and use red lights that don't affect your night vision, in my experience you can see most aids to navigation and mooring buoys in plenty of time. Often just the illumination from your navigation lights will make them show.
Nothing pisses me off under those conditions more than some idiot who is running with a spot light, bright deck lights, or something else that immediately blinds me and ruins my night vision for several minutes. It is very dangerous for everyone else -- now everyone is equally blinded, the guy with the light and the guys without them.
I am sure there are some circumstances in which a spotlight would be critical, for example recovering a person who fell overboard. I have a handheld for those times. Spotlights become a crutch that get overused when they are big fixed mount units. If you have the discipline, fine, but not many people seem to have the patience to let their night vision adapt so they don't even realize they coulod see pretty well if they did.
John1 - 12/23/2007 4:59 PM Displaying lights like this are hazards to navigation period.
Could you please elaborate on that?
Nothing pisses me off under those conditions more than some idiot who is running with a spot light, .................................................. ........is very dangerous for everyone else -- now everyone is equally blinded, the guy with the light and the guys without them.
I am sure there are some circumstances in which a spotlight would be critical, for example recovering a person who fell overboard.
Ditto
I have one of the Surefire flashlights mounted just like this one under my wheel out of the way. Plenty of light for spotting bouys and pot markers. It's right there where you need it, when you need it. Photo stolen from Glen e
I used mine strictly as a tool. It lights up the buoys from a mile a way and also to see the opening in the breakwater for the marina. Huge storms break navigational buoys loose and they get put back as close as they can get them, but they are not in the same exact place. This is mainly in the ocean and not as much in harbors.
We have a lot of dead heads coming out of our rivers as we live in the Rocky Mountain region. Lots of trees and debris get washed down frequently in heavy rains. I don't think we have the heavy boat traffic here in Washington like you probably do on the east coast.
I have been out fishing in the deep southern Puget Sound where there is still a pretty good king salmon run. I was out at 3:30 in the morning with my son years ago. I had my handheld spotlight and shined it out (blinding myself) there were lots of small 12-14' open aluminum boats with no lights on them at all. Big boats were flying in between them with no clue that they were even there. Scared me to death. I bought the spot light after this for that reason.
They really don't light up the water while underway like the headlights on a car do for the road. If you have really muddy water it will light it up really well. Dead heads at speed really don't light up well in normal water conditions.
I bought another light for this new boat and will enjoy it. I don't shine it into others eyes. If I light it up while traveling out of our few mile long jetty, I shine it straight down so as not to blind others.
By the way, a bright handheld almost always blinds you temporarly. Just hit the bowrail, side of the boat, or anything and you can't see anything for a minute or two.
Anyone that lacks the brain cells to comprehend being out in a dinghy with no lights in the dark, well if they get run down.... it won't be "tragic" it would just be "moronic".
I use my remote spot all the time. When I am on the hook I use it to keep tabs on shoreline to make sure that I haven't moved on the hook. Again also used to spot buoys or anything my eyes deem suspisious. I do not shine it at other boats and I do not blind other boats.. It's NOT a headlight it is a spot light for temporary use. It's mounted at the very tip of my bow rail, the light actually hangs out past the bow rail, no glare at all.
By the way, I don't use mine as a headlight but click it on and off at times to see anything big. Normally anymore I don't like to even go out at night and run as we just have just too much debris in our waters. But occasionally we do really early mornings.
Beam, never flood, and use only intermittantly to spot navigation aids and known hazards. Nothing screams rookie more than some pinhead blasting along at night with their spotlight blazing, ruining their night vision and everyone elses.
Guy's ,
I don't want to take away from this thread but is there a link ? where I could get one of those surefire lights , that is just too handy ! I carry a maglite but I have to get it out .
Merry Christmas
Butch
Bow light- flood or beam ? 
