South Bay Lighting Ideas

B

Blake Heller

Member
Does anyone have a system for lights on their South Bay?

I am trying to figure out a decent spotlight system that doesnt require me to keep a heavy battery in the boat.
 
Blake~


I have used these battery (4 AAs) navigation lights made for inflatables. I keep them in my tool kit and install them only when I will be running in the dark. I used to rely on a handheld lantern but everybody on LI tells me that bay constables are more finicky these days.


Here's the bow light. It fits into a socket on the central thatch rail up forward.



View attachment N - Bow light installed.jpg



I mount the stern light in a socket edto the outboard cowling (don't trust suction cups alone - esp. not in freezing weather). The law says the stern light is supposed to be above the head of the helmsman, etc - but I first saw such an installation on a law enforcement vessel. They are out-of-the-way - a big consideration when handling decoys and such.



View attachment N - Stern light installed.jpg



I will look up the brand and source after my nap (been up since 2:00 AM). I do not recommend the cheaper, D-cell clamp-on nav lights I have seen.


All the best,


SJS

 
For a hand held spot light is hard to beat "Streamlight" Stinger. A bit pricey but when I go out into the dark on the bay I like having the beam it throws. Rechargeable out tough.


Joe
 
Steve, I wouldn't worry about the bay constables, they haven't finished their coffee yet before your already in... [cool]
 
Steve,

I believe the lights that you're referring to are made by "Innovative Lighting." I have seen them available on amazon before.

Although I definitely should add the legal navigation lights, I was moreso thinking about some sort of spotlight (permanent or handheld) so I can see where I'm going. Not currently having a light has left me waiting at the dock until its bright enough to see, which tends to be right at legal shooting light.

I'm sure there are plenty of gunners out there that are grateful for this as I push the birds off the water on the way to my spots.
 
Joe,

Thanks for the recommendation. Im going to look into those. There are so many options out there it's hard to know which ones will hold up to the salt and bouncing around in the boat.
 
Cyclops Revo 1100 hand held spotlight has been my go to for last 5 years. Light weight and real tough. Its been dropped overboard, fell onto boat ramp several times and just keeps on ticking. Charge lasts a long time as some of my runs are 1/2 hr. in the dark but charge lasts much longer. Love the beam it casts and much better than a cheaper, supposedly more powerful chinese replacement I picked up at a much cheaper price. I charge it after each use and its never let me down. Battery is actually replaceable in it when time comes for that.
 
Yup - Innovative Lighting.


Like the others, I always kept a large handheld handy - on the starboard shelf - so I could grab it when needed. Whenever possible, I preferred to navigate without lights - because I could the bay and marsh more clearly. Of course, if there are any other vessels around, it's best to let them know where you are.


All the best,


SJS

 
I have a spotlight by Stanley and it is the best I have ever owned and I am light freak. Rechargeable and last a very long time on one charge. The thing I really liked about the Stanley was the color of the light it put out. The color was towards the warmer end of the spectrum (3500 deg K or so) which should be of primary concern to hunters on water with shoreline around. The warmer colors do not get washed out against blues or greens. The spotlights that are 5500 deg K or higher in color temperature tend to get washed out making it harder to see shorelines and stuff in the water.

I also have a headlamp by Fenix that is in the 2800-3500 deg K color temperature range. That headlamp I would recommend to anyone. Rechargeable, runs on 1 18650 battery, 5 brightness modes, red mode and comfortable. I have owned this for many years. Don't have it in front of me but I think it was the ??60HR or something like that. Nice thing about Fenix, they do not inflate their lumen output (I tested it in our illumination lab) like most other manufacturers.

Another tip - stay away from anyone who lists output in foot candles or lux.

Mark W
 
Mark~


As you evidently know LOTS more about lighting technology than do I....


I just bought another headlamp. I have had a Petzl for many (~20?) years. It still works fine - but the elastic has stretched out. From an abundance of caution, I just bought another (actually 2: one for me and one for my son). My concern is the output. I love the low output on my original - but do not know what it is. The ones I am buying (Tikka, I think) are from 6 to 300 lumens. Petzl says this is good for camping and other local area illumination. I have not yet received them so have not tried them. In deference to my gunning partners, I do not want to illuminate the entire duck marsh - just the trail in front of me - and maybe the decoys when I'm rigging.


BTW: Now that I have single-eye vision, I usually carry a small flashlight when walking trails in the dark. The second light seems to help with my lack of depth perception.



Do you have a sense of what a useful low end is?


Thanks!


SJS

 
Thank you Mark,

I didnt realize that you really want a warmer color as opposed to a bright white.

How long have you had the stanley and are you in a saltwater environment? I owned a fatmax handheld but it gave out on me rather quickly.
 
Mark W said:
I have a spotlight by Stanley and it is the best I have ever owned and I am light freak. Rechargeable and last a very long time on one charge. The thing I really liked about the Stanley was the color of the light it put out. The color was towards the warmer end of the spectrum (3500 deg K or so) which should be of primary concern to hunters on water with shoreline around. The warmer colors do not get washed out against blues or greens. The spotlights that are 5500 deg K or higher in color temperature tend to get washed out making it harder to see shorelines and stuff in the water.

I also have a headlamp by Fenix that is in the 2800-3500 deg K color temperature range. That headlamp I would recommend to anyone. Rechargeable, runs on 1 18650 battery, 5 brightness modes, red mode and comfortable. I have owned this for many years. Don't have it in front of me but I think it was the ??60HR or something like that. Nice thing about Fenix, they do not inflate their lumen output (I tested it in our illumination lab) like most other manufacturers.

Another tip - stay away from anyone who lists output in foot candles or lux.

Mark W
Click to expand...

Hi Steve -

Lights are a very personal item. Here is the one I have. I like it for the reasons described above because of the Cree neutral LED it utilizes. It is also rechargeable and it has 5. a rightness levels. I initially bought it for the small streams I would float down before shooting time. On the brightest level it would illuminate everything In front of me and to the sides. On the lower settings it was bright enough to see what I was doing without bothering everyone around me.

https://www.fenixlighting.com/product/fenix-hl60r-rechargeable-headlamp/?attribute_pa_color=black&gclid=Cj0KCQiA5bz-BRD-ARIsABjT4nicjzgRHLgMNU1iYs0BHP_kBX3x3RZmbHnxB4ptibscowYCZs-9_9saAqvnEALw_wcB

I see Fenix has a newer model out the HL65R. It combines both a spotlight lamp and a flood lamp. It also puts out 1400 lumen which is 50% more than the headlamp I own. Don?t know if this much light is.needed but what the heck.
 
Blake Heller said:
Thank you Mark,

I didnt realize that you really want a warmer color as opposed to a bright white.

How long have you had the stanley and are you in a saltwater environment? I owned a fatmax handheld but it gave out on me rather quickly.
Click to expand...

It is a very early version of the Fatmax family. I only hunt freshwater and have had no issues with corrosion. I have had it for many years.

What you really want in a spotlight that is more important than color temperature or lumen output is the CRI. Umber (color rendering index). The CRI number tells you how accurately the LED reproduces the color. Anything lower than 80% I would never purchase. I was fortunate to be in the LED business back some time and knew which LED?s had high CRI and which ones were crap. Any quality led lamp manufacturer will list the CRI of their LED on the package. If not, you can always call their tech support folks.
 
Hi Blake,
Good luck with the deliberations. Lots of good ideas here. I have a black brant II and wrestled with lights for a long time. When I built it, I ran chases for bow and stern lights and then, 20 years later, actually put them in. I ended up going with a modification of something that kayakers have used for lights: a plastic ammo can with batteries mounted in the can and switches & interior lights mounted on the can itself. It connects to the boat via a simple plug and I can take the entire can into the garage when it needs a charge. I also mounted two receptacles on the can for powering a search light and recharging phones, should that be required. Here's a youtube video I used as a reference and there are a lot of similar builds with different ideas: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cAErwLnsSIY&t=541s.

It also serves as a portable charging station for non-duck hunting related activities (camping) which I liked for wider use.

Good luck!

Jamus
 
Blake Heller said:
Joe,

Thanks for the recommendation. Im going to look into those. There are so many options out there it's hard to know which ones will hold up to the salt and bouncing around in the boat.
Click to expand...
LEDs, if sealed well, are bombproof, since they have no filament to damage.
 
RLLigman said:
Blake Heller said:
Joe,

Thanks for the recommendation. Im going to look into those. There are so many options out there it's hard to know which ones will hold up to the salt and bouncing around in the boat.
Click to expand...
LEDs, if sealed well, are bombproof, since they have no filament to damage.
Click to expand...

While the actual LED may be bombproof, there are a lot of electronics required to get an LED to work and these electronics can and do fail. Another killer of LED?s is overdriving them and not properly removing the heat away from the LED die. I?ve seen LED ?s fail in a few hours if not properly driven or poorly designed thermal management systems in place.
 
Last edited:
Mark W said:
Mark W said:
I have a spotlight by Stanley and it is the best I have ever owned and I am light freak. Rechargeable and last a very long time on one charge. The thing I really liked about the Stanley was the color of the light it put out. The color was towards the warmer end of the spectrum (3500 deg K or so) which should be of primary concern to hunters on water with shoreline around. The warmer colors do not get washed out against blues or greens. The spotlights that are 5500 deg K or higher in color temperature tend to get washed out making it harder to see shorelines and stuff in the water.

I also have a headlamp by Fenix that is in the 2800-3500 deg K color temperature range. That headlamp I would recommend to anyone. Rechargeable, runs on 1 18650 battery, 5 brightness modes, red mode and comfortable. I have owned this for many years. Don't have it in front of me but I think it was the ??60HR or something like that. Nice thing about Fenix, they do not inflate their lumen output (I tested it in our illumination lab) like most other manufacturers.

Another tip - stay away from anyone who lists output in foot candles or lux.

Mark W
Click to expand...

Hi Steve -

Lights are a very personal item. Here is the one I have. I like it for the reasons described above because of the Cree neutral LED it utilizes. It is also rechargeable and it has 5. a rightness levels. I initially bought it for the small streams I would float down before shooting time. On the brightest level it would illuminate everything In front of me and to the sides. On the lower settings it was bright enough to see what I was doing without bothering everyone around me.

https://www.fenixlighting.com/...Zs-9_9saAqvnEALw_wcB

I see Fenix has a newer model out the HL65R. It combines both a spotlight lamp and a flood lamp. It also puts out 1400 lumen which is 50% more than the headlamp I own. Don?t know if this much light is.needed but what the heck.
Click to expand...

Mark, on your advice I bought one. I only used it in my backyard, but it is nothing short of amazing. Not only does it light up the tree tops on bright, but the lowest setting seems just right for inside my dodger, very dim. The housing is aluminum, not plastic!
I made an offer and got it for $63. I'm having a hard time not buying another one as a backup.
Thanks Mike



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View attachment Screenshot_20201214-210154_eBay.jpg
 
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Hey Mike -

You will really appreciate that headlamp over time. Mine has been through some tough stuff, been out in nasty weather and dropped a few times. Keeps on working.

I bought an extra 18650 battery for mine thinking I may need it at some point. Didn?t really need an extra battery.

Couple of tips if you don?t mind. When the headlamp is on high, never place it face down on anything that can melt. The aluminum housing around the LED is part of the heat sink and gets VERY hot. Melted a. Ice round hole in our ski boat carpet

Last tip. On the side that unscrews, loosen that cap a turn or so when not using the headlamp.
 
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