Anyone install a spotlight?

[Buckeye Boater]

I'm considering trying to install a small spotlight or LED lightbar on my 212x. We live in a dark channel off of a lake and it would be a nice thing to have. Does anyone have any experience with this?

 

[Andy S]

I have been on boats with a semi-fixed 6" light bar on the tower that produced a tremendous amount of light. If you only tighten the mounting hardware enough to keep the light bar in place but still be able to with hand pressure move the light bar, you can have a light setup for less than $75.

 

[zipper]

I have not fixed a spot light to the boat, but I have been using this Coleman 1 million candle pwr. hand held for 25 years on different boats at night when necessary. I like the versatility of a hand held that can be used in multiple tasks. Great for use on the boat, on my farm when I want to see where the cows are and probably the best use is illuminating deer spotters/jackers as they shine their lights across my fields. Its funny how they drive soooo slowly with their spotlight, until I light their truck up from a few hundred yards away, then you hear "Oh Shit" and then tires burning out. There are much more powerful lights out there now, but this one works well for me.

Try this link:http://www.larsonelectronics.com/c-118-new-boat-lights.aspx
Appologies...had the wrong link b4.

 

[Julian]

I looked at remote bow mounted spot lights for a long time, and never pulled the trigger as they aren't cheap, and get in the way. If you mount something ideally you want to be able to position it so it doesn't reflect off the boat and blind you....for this reason, I did as zipper did and stuck with a high power hand held - I have a battery powered one, and a corded one....both very cheap.

Not sure I'd find a tower light bar helpful....it would be good for docking and narrow channels, but not so good for larger channel navigation.

 

[haknslash]

Light bar would need to fit within the holes in the tower for the Bimini poles or be mounted beneath under the tower bar. If mounted underneath I would imagine you'd need to watch your head if the LED bar sticks below a few inches. Just something to keep in mind. You would need a light bar that uses different patterns for the outside (wide fresnal lens) and center section should be narrow focused beam. Just like the quality truck light bars do. That being said I'd love a light bar if I boated a lot at night. I think it's illegal on the lakes I boat on to ride with them on because they can take away from the nav lights as they are real bright. They would be great for docking or pulling into coves. A hand held would give you the most flexibility. I'd go LED or HID.

 

[Sbrown]

I agree that you want to avoid anything that may reflect off the bow of the boat; you won't be able to see past the bow. I did a remote control spotlight on a 30ft Scarab I had and it worked really nice. I do know it is illegal in most states to run with any extra lighting turned on. You can hit it to spot something, but you can't run with it on.

 

[Jgorm]

I bought a 52" light bar for my side by side for $45. It spits out tons of light. Roll bar clamps were another 15 bucks.

 

[Dave burke]

Where did you buy this light bar Jgorm? Thx

 

[Jgorm]

LED Light Bar Nilight 52 Inch LED Work Light Spot Flood Combo LED Lights Led Bar Driving Off Road Lights,2 Years Warranty https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01KT0BF04?ref=yo_pop_ma_swf

 

[robert843]

I bought a 52" light bar for my side by side for $45. It spits out tons of light. Roll bar clamps were another 15 bucks.

You think the roll bar clamps would fit the tower you got a link to the ones you used as well? I have been wanting to do this but really didn't want to drill into the tower if I didn't need to.

 

[Jgorm]

Probably. They come with lots of adapters. Mine were a could inches too short for my you'll bar mommy's so I needed some short unistrut adapters.

LAMPHUS Cruizer LED Off-Road Light Horizontal Bar Clamp Mounting Kit 1"/ 1.5"/ 1.75"/ 2" [2 Clamps] [Includes Allen Hex Key] [User-friendly] - For Light Bar Bull Bar Tube Clamp Roof Roll Cage Holder https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01FETT3FO?ref=yo_pop_ma_swf

 

[Buckeye Boater]

I thought of something like this mounted aft of the nav light to the anchor cover. Not sure how bad it would stick out though or annoy me from the helm. I also considered a 12 inch led light bar for the tower that would fit between the bimini mount holes, but the whole idea of snaking wires through the tower scares me.

 

[Sbrown]

I thought of something like this mounted aft of the nav light to the anchor cover. Not sure how bad it would stick out though or annoy me from the helm. I also considered a 12 inch led light bar for the tower that would fit between the bimini mount holes, but the whole idea of snaking wires through the tower scares me.

That's exactly what I used. It worked well and on the larger boat it didn't bother me from the helm. We run a lot of channels at night that are only equipped with daymarkers, so I was thinking of doing the same thing to this boat, but I'm wondering the same thing you are; Is it going to annoy me from the helm?

 

[Julian]

I thought of something like this mounted aft of the nav light to the anchor cover. Not sure how bad it would stick out though or annoy me from the helm. I also considered a 12 inch led light bar for the tower that would fit between the bimini mount holes, but the whole idea of snaking wires through the tower scares me.

That is one of the ones I looked at for my SX230 when considering adding a spot light. The problem I had with that one was it would mess with my cover. So I ended up looking more at this one because I could remove it for the times (most of the time) I wouldn't need it.

https://www.westmarine.com/buy/goli...search-navigation-light--14157804?recordNum=8

Never did pull the trigger on it as we began boating less at night when we moved to NC (our 2 week trips to Sioux Narrows every year became too far to go).

 

[RadioWaves]

We are in a similar situation and use a handheld spotlight. When we get close our slip we use this with some rope lights, really helps docking and you don't have to leave lights on the dock to attract bugs all night.

https://www.amazon.com/Woods-32555W...sr=8-3&keywords=remote+control+lights+outdoor

 

[Addicted]

I had a 12" LED bar mounted to the tower for a couple seasons. It put so much light down onto the boat that it did not help my distance vision at all. In fact, I could see better without the LED turned on. I went back to a hand held spotlight. In my opinion a spotlight on the bow would be great, but I would not install a light bar on the tower again.

 

[GoVols01]

Just use a handheld spotlight. They're cheaper and easier to use. We had one on our houseboat and I still used my handheld most of the time anyway. I simply flicked on the handheld to spot the channel markers at night. It would take me a second or 2 using the handheld vs 5 - 10 seconds with the radar arch mounted mechanical light.

 

[Sbrown]

Just use a handheld spotlight. They're cheaper and easier to use. We had one on our houseboat and I still used my handheld most of the time anyway. I simply flicked on the handheld to spot the channel markers at night. It would take me a second or 2 using the handheld vs 5 - 10 seconds with the radar arch mounted mechanical light.

Plus if you get one that flashes "S.O.S.", it counts as a nighttime signaling device.

 

[Jane305]

I am using RAYOVAC LED Spotlights. A friend recommended this lamp after using one for some months as bright and rugged. In terms of the quality of the light, I can say that this product is one of the best. It can produce up to 750 lumens and up to 430 meters of beam distance. As a boat owner, that is a huge light output that can help when navigating in darkness. I also like the trigger switch which gives you the ability to choose between three energy-saving modes. It can help save up to 40 hours of performance if used properly using 6 pcs. AA batteries.

 

[BigT51]

I went with this setup and it works pretty well. I mounted it to the tower and leave the mounts attached and remove the light when not in use. I put a 12v cigarette lighter plug on the end of the light cord and plug it into the receptacle on my 230's dash. If I were doing it again, I might go with a higher powered light with a more directed beam but for what I paid I'm happy with the setup.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B077XZKN2R/?coliid=I3LY6YEGVSBQGK&colid=LKSWP6AE2IKQ&psc=1&ref_=lv_ov_lig_dp_it

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00WE47FVM/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1