Spotty on the bow

[Glenndarryl]

G`day,

I have been out night fishing lately on the logan and have had 2 bad encounters. A runabout in the middle of the river with no lights just stopped, and a couple of pots I have nearly ran over. I have got a Dolphin torch but that only goes a certain way. Is there any Legalites to have a spotty on the bow? Occasionaly turning it on to see whats in front then turning it off? And How would I go about setting one up? I want to be safe, Dont want to run into people and lose people crab pots. But I don`t want to blind people with the spotty.

Cheers,

[Noelm]

probably best option would be a good hand held light, that way you can turn it anyway you like.

[leonp88]

Have a bit more of a search on here mate, some guys have mounted remote search light type spotties under the bow roller mount (upside down) so you don't get any glare off the inside of your boat... Do a bit moe digging. I came across this when I was looking for information on deck/work/floodlights.

[Glenndarryl]

probably best option would be a good hand held light, that way you can turn it anyway you like.

Thats what I got, Don`t shine far. Not when idiots anchor with no lights.

[Noelm]

no, not just a hand held torch, I mean a LIGHT! there is dozens of hand held spot lights available, and some of them are powerful.

[Glenndarryl]

no, not just a hand held torch, I mean a LIGHT! there is dozens of hand held spot lights available, and some of them are powerful.

Ohh right. Any reccomendations?

[astro66]

mate i use a hand held i think its 2 million candle power rechargeable spotty...works a treat...gets about 40 mins off a charge...
nav signs light up miles away :P

[Noelm]

yep, thats the sort of thing I meant, most have some sort of plug to connect to the battery, but for occasional use, a rechargable one will do just fine, try some of the auto and camping stores as a starting point, try to sift through the cheap rubbish untill you find something that looks half decent.

[wayno60]

one of these will do the job
https://www.whitworths.com.au/main_itemdetail.asp?item=81192&search123=spot+lights&intAbsolutePage=1

[Lancair]

Ive got one of these Coleman LED (http://www.snowys.com.au/Lighting/Spotlights/LED-Rechargeable-Spotlight.aspx?c=9&sc=63&id=1898) spotlights. I find it awesome for night spotting animals etc with my kids whilst camping etc. Very bright and very long range, but its on the heavy side to hold for long periods. Id prefer to have a light weight spotlight that runs direct of the boats battery to use in the boat.

[WalrusLike]

I thought about getting a hand held but I thought that the glare off the cabin deck in front of the windshield would ruin the built up night vision.

An alternative I was considering was a Led spotlight mounted on the overhead rod holder that had a lightweight base under it to stop any light hitting the boat.

Anyone tried anything like that?

[Fishbait]

Handheld Lightforce 170 or 240 blitz, both with 12v cig plug.
Starts at $127.
These are awesome light.
http://www.forbesbatteries.com/category_s/336.htm

[johncar]

It's a difficult situation sometimes on the water at night and when fixed or portable lights work best or rely on your night vision. It would seem to make good sense though to have a good quality torch, even just the old Dolphin and then a good hand held spotlight that should be able to be plugged in near the helm and then possibly a small fixed spot light shining ahead mounted in a way that it doesn't spill any light on the boat visible surfaces so either below the gunnel or on top of a roof with a base plate to shadow any spill onto the boat.

Please bare in mind and I am sure everyone knows this but please use any lights very sparingly when on the water because although it might help your vision it can be blinding everyone else and I have had the case where a boat coming from miles away towards me across the bay with a spotty blaring permamently on and I couldn't see a thing other than that blasted spottie. I had to stop and wait 10 mins for him to pass as it just wasn't safe to proceed so I don't believe it is good practice to use them like that.

[Jakers 69]

Lightforce marine, with removable blue filter.