You might want to ask squirtin thunder I know he has them. Iwas thinking about doin the same thing let us know how they work out!
Later BK
My boat was never rigged with lights, and we'll be on the water for the 4th. I couldn't bear to cut the hull for permanent lights, so I wimped out and got the removable lights. Suction cup mount on the bow, and a clamp on for the stern. For me the advantage is not permanently mounting lights, but what are the disadvantages? Has anyone used these before?
You might want to ask squirtin thunder I know he has them. Iwas thinking about doin the same thing let us know how they work out!
Later BK
Suction cups lights are the easy way out to be safe and legal. But they have there draw backs. One of the problems is that they tend to F@#k up at the worst time. In rough water they flicker, they loose suction and the batteries end up leaking after they get wet. What I do is this, For the rear I use a safety line (string) on the ski tow. For the front one I place it on the bubble real close to the dash, this way I can grab it if I have to. They are very nice to have to help keep your boat looking clean. Remember after each outing take the batteries out and dry them off.
Good Luck
Jim
Squirtcha? has the cats eye type on his Kachina. They look cool. I just ordered a pair for my Kachina. Got tired of loosing those sucktion ones. The suction ones work great for crusing but once you get going and the water gets rough it sucks. I'de worry to much about loosing the light than smackin a lake lice who dosnt care about lights.
Oh yea a spot light is nice too. one of those 100k candel power ones.
This might be a little off topic, but it could save a life.
If you are boating in the dark, anywhere, your running lights are very visable to anybody in front of your boat. A boat approaching from behind can only see a small white dot. If you are on inland waters, the small white dot will blend nicely with many other small white dots on boats or on shore. There is no useful depth perception. The dot may be a bright light a mile away, or a dim stern light 100 feet away.
The speed limit around here is 55 mph. It doesn't matter if it's pitch black dark out there. It's common to see boats running in the dark (with proper lights, of course) at speeds in the 40 - 60 mph range.
Of course we all know that a few beers will sharpen our night vision. If you're gonna be out there in the dark, do yourself a favor and have a passenger sitting next to you looking for boats approaching from the rear. Even better, give them a spotlight to shine at the approaching boat so as to wake him up.
I've had a couple of real close one's in the dark. Been on both sides of this one.
old
Originally posted by cave
Squirtcha? has the cats eye type on his Kachina. They look cool. I just ordered a pair for my Kachina. Got tired of loosing those sucktion ones. The suction ones work great for crusing but once you get going and the water gets rough it sucks. I'de worry to much about loosing the light than smackin a lake lice who dosnt care about lights.
Oh yea a spot light is nice too. one of those 100k candel power ones.
I have the cat eyes on my Carrera, they look cool, now if I could only get them to work, I have power at the switch, but no illumination, the bulbs look good, any suggestions???
gjb
Originally posted by gottajetboat
I have the cat eyes on my Carrera, they look cool, now if I could only get them to work, I have power at the switch, but no illumination, the bulbs look good, any suggestions???
gjb
Are they the correct voltage? If they are I would supect a bad ground (fiberglass is not a conductor). To verify the bulb is good check the resistance of the bulb with an Ohm meter. Should be less than 2000 ohms for LEDs one direction and high in the other. LEDS lights need to be wired with the correct polarity. Incandecent bulbs should be less than 20 ohms.
I'm with Chris. Check your grounds. Pick up one of those 12 volt automotive circuit tester lights. They're very helpful for quick, down n dirty automotive/boat troubleshooting. If you've got 12 volts at the light, it's gonna be a grounding problem.
http://www.homestead.com/jetboat/files/img_0333e.jpg
Never mind the waterspots. I hadn't cleaned it up from the last lake trip.
From a distance you can hardly tell they're on the boat.
http://www.homestead.com/jetboat/almost_done.jpg
Thanks Chris J and Squirtcha, I will check the bulbs and verify proper grounding...
gjb
I have always liked those cat eye type lights, but on my Sanger it is nearly impossible to get to the front of the bow, way too much foam. I do like the big flood lights that those Formulas have on the front. I installed a 12v accesury plug that has three holes to accomedate the flood light and a blender and a ice box or TV, or just about anything that has a 12v plug.
Jim