# Kayak Night Lights



## Garfish (Jun 2, 2006)

I'm interested to see what people have/use in terms of their lighting setup when yakking in the dark.

I use a head lamp, but obviously this doesn't cut it in terms of safety.

I was looking into getting one of the following for those warm summer nights out on the bay which are approaching soon:

http://www.kayakfishinggear.com/index.a ... &ProdID=28
http://www.kayakfishinggear.com/index.a ... &ProdID=29

Thoughts? Suggestions?


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## ArWeTherYet (Mar 25, 2007)

The first one looks great garfish.

I had a suction cap one, kept on falling off, even screwed a piece of stainless steel down and stuck it on that......it now resides at the bottom of the bay. 

I just use one those cheap ones you get in boat shops that have a tall pole with a G-clamp. I took the G-clamp off, screwed a piece of PVC tube to my crate/esky and just slide it in as needed. The 2 d cell batteries last ages and the anchor light it self cost about $16.

I also have an eveready headlamp with red and white lights.....also carry a flash light just in case.


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## JustinC (Aug 29, 2005)

Another place you can pick up that sort of thing is K-Mart (probably Big W as well). I haven't looked for a while but they definitely used to have a few options. Will be interested to see what you end up getting.


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## Donutslayer (Jun 9, 2007)

I was looking at something like this but decided to just keep a dolphin torch handy.(mainly cos i had one). the reason i didnt is i foundout Just how see through a plastic yak is with even the dimmest light in it. I left a mini maglight in the hull while i was mounting some fittings. I went into the shed that night and found my boat glowing. Was like Close Encounters of the third kind. VERY UNFISHY. Might be squidy though.
Anyways the light would be good on the move.
Vic regs say a bright beam waterproof torch is all thats required on our type of craft


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## craig450 (May 11, 2007)

ar-we-ther-yet said:


> I just use one those cheap ones you get in boat shops that have a tall pole with a G-clamp. I took the G-clamp off, screwed a piece of PVC tube to my crate/esky and just slide it in as needed. The 2 d cell batteries last ages and the anchor light it self cost about $16..


I have a very similar setup as well, with an allround white light, and i put a couple of rings of reflective tape around the pvc pipe as well


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## Guest (Sep 6, 2007)

ar-we-ther-yet said:


> The first one looks great garfish.
> 
> I just use one those cheap ones you get in boat shops that have a tall pole with a G-clamp. I took the G-clamp off, screwed a piece of PVC tube to my crate/esky and just slide it in as needed. The 2 d cell batteries last ages and the anchor light it self cost about $16.


Any chance you can take a pic of this one you talk of? Is the battery holder part of the deal when you buy it?

I was going to buy the first one there Garfish has proposed, I recently bought some gear from Hook One in the USA, it was so easy and cheap, I'd do it again.

Cheers


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## Dodge (Oct 12, 2005)

MacFish said:


> Any chance you can take a pic of this one you talk of? Is the battery holder part of the deal when you buy it?


Sel 
The Whitworth catalog hasn't a pic of the White riding light but its the same as this bi colour and batteries are in the body of the lamp, they have one same style without the G clamp and has a tube to insert a piece of PVC pipe to raise above your head level..simple and practical
http://tinyurl.com/2dtodt


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## ArWeTherYet (Mar 25, 2007)

Hi Sel
They are as dodge said, cant find an exact pic....and cant be bothered taking a photo and posting up, Sorry.  
They are at any BCF, BargainBoatbits, Whitworths and most boat shops. I see at BCF they are $20 now, I think Bargain Boat bits have them cheaper. I had mine for about 5 years, been knocked around and left in the rain, keep spraying it with lube and it keeps going. The main thing is it does the job and is relatively inexpensive.


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## Phoenix (Jan 12, 2006)

I'm getting the Ocean Kayaks Nav Light - ordered a few weeks back. They are not cheap, but are basically a Princeton Tec Eco flare on a pole that screws into the Prowler kayak, just behind the seat. These have their own power source (AAA batteries), so no holes in the yak and they can be seen from several kilometers away (in ideal conditions). Added to which they are waterproof - and require no maintenance.

Whereas boat style nav lights require a remote 12v power source, several holes in the yak, and a degree of maintenance (as in many cases salt water can get into the holes and corrode the wiring) - this is a major pain in the butt.

I will keep mine on the yak pretty much all the time the yak is on the water because I will also add a flag to the pole for safety in daylight reasons.


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## Tim (Nov 11, 2005)

That's my one, made from PVC bits and a $10 Dick Smith water resistant LED Torch/lamp.

Works well, legally you need the light higher than your head on the yak, for 360 visibility, as one of the mangoes can attest after a visit from the floating boys in blue.

It doesn't throw enough light to work on fiddly stuff, mainly because it's so high up, most of the light goes straight out rather than down, use a headlamp for knots/rigging, but it is very visible from a distance.


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## Garfish (Jun 2, 2006)

Cheers for the assistance everyone... in hindsight, I probably won't fish at night too often. I just need to get through those dark dawns and late evenings.

I'll be going to Whitworths soon to investigate. It looks like a pretty simple rig which will suit me fine...

I'll probably end up securing my milk crate, and installing a bracket at the rear in which I can put a PVC pipe. This of course will be the base for my night light.


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## sbd (Aug 18, 2006)

Tektite marker light


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## Alex (Aug 28, 2006)

Geez you guys those set ups are impessive, if you are doing night trips all the time fair enough, but for the few times I fish at night a $5.75 packet of cylume stcks is the way to go.
White headtorch forward, white cylume stick at the back attached to the headtorch strap, and a red one on one side and green on the other, easy, I have even used this method among power boats without incident.

Alex


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## ArWeTherYet (Mar 25, 2007)

Here's my rough and ready set up.


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## Garfish (Jun 2, 2006)

Nice one Paul - cheers for the pic.


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