LED Lightbars

[khound22]

I've got a remote controll go-light spotlight right now that works pretty good. I duck hunt the MS River alot and would like some more light. Im looking to mount a LED light bar on the top of the grab bar of my center console. This will be above the windshield. The bar is 19" long going across the top of windshield.

What light bar do I need to get? Or do I need to get two of the 4x4 LED's? I want something that is goin to put out some pretty bright light so I can dodge anything that needs dodg'in. Any opinions or experiences would be appreciated....

[DeltaCotton12]

Mount that bar as far forward as possible. If the bar lights up the any part of the front of the boat, the resulting glare will make seeing anything very difficult.

[teul2]

Check these guys out. Get as big a bar / as many cubes on there as you can put and still keep it protected.
http://www.xtremeledlights.com/

[rjohnson]

Ask dukbum he has one on his Ranger that is really bright

[Trip]

I've got one from these guys…didn't have to touch a spotlight all year.

http://seelite.myshopify.com

[Anatidae]

Ditto on mounting as far forward as possible to eliminate glare off any part of your boat.

Watch this video of what that 8" glare surface looks like from the driver's perspective......

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BJaJio1 ... e=youtu.be

I put a rubber skirt from the bottom of the light bar to the deck so I can't see the 8" of bow/deck in front of the lights - makes a huge difference.

I like the Gator Trax 18" light bar - it's compact and removeable. We got the 2 40-watt (4" square) LED's but they make one with 2 60-watts (6" round). Lights-up in front of boat's path for spotting debris and boils, and frees a hand up for a handheld.

http://www.gatortraxboats.com/p-199-led ... t-kit.aspx

[Tedl10]

www.seelite.myshopify.com
www.maxlumensinc.com

[deltadukman]

Can you really run without a spotlight with a light bar?

[music_man]

Have you guys run these lights in fog?
If so, how do they do?

[Anatidae]

Can you really run without a spotlight with a light bar?

In certain conditions (like straight stretches and open water) - yes. Otherwise, my wife and I each use a handheld spot, also.

Have you guys run these lights in fog?
If so, how do they do?

I'm sure answers will vary, but in a light fog we found the 40-watt LED's worked SUPRISINGLY well! 'Unbelieveably better than any halogen-type lights we've used over the last 25 years.

Nothing really works in a dense fog, though - in my experience...........(except the old reliable stars).

We ordered the first light bar with halogens. The intent was to illuminate right in front of the boat - primarily for floaters and trash...or boils (submerged obstacles) in 'high-water' events. I thought the halogens would be better in a fog - less reflection - less glare. We thought the LED's would be too bright and blind us with the reflectivity off ANY fog.

Turned-out the halogens didn't really light-up much of anything, but did free-up one hand to pan with a handheld spot for channel markers, and navigation landmarks instead of having to check dead ahead every so often, too.

At the risk of being a bit obnoxious to other boats, the LED's allow you to see WAY much better - even in a light/patchy fog situation. You just cut'em when the glare gets too blinding or to orient yourself off creek banks and such using the skyline. They cut 'through' the voids in a light fog better than regular halogens.......without blinding you in the process. I was amazed.

I prefer not to have to use lights (except CG required) at all, but when visibility is low and things get 'tight' and the channel is not well defined - it's better to have what you need to keep out of trouble.

So, we ended-up with 2 light bars for different situations that can be swapped from the outboard rig to the mud rig. They lift-out of or drop-in to receiver posts in the hull and can easily be directed 360 degrees if needed. They plug into a twist-lok recep next to the trolling motor plug - both receps are switched at the driver's box.

[QUACKERS]

Ask dukbum he has one on his Ranger that is really bright

He looks like a UFO coming down the levee

[MSDawg870]

I've got one from these guys…didn't have to touch a spotlight all year.

http://seelite.myshopify.com

Well damn now I got a project to do. Been lookin for some rope lighting to go under my gunwale. Was looking for my plug in the bottom of the boat the other morning and couldn't see sheeit. This place seems to have everything.

[teul2]

Ask dukbum he has one on his Ranger that is really bright

He looks like a UFO coming down the levee

Who is this person yall keep talking about?

[jdbuckshot]

you can get some on ebay for 1/4 of the cost.

my guess is that they are not as good - and probably made in china. but I've been thinking of trying one.

[Anatidae]

Here's another option if you want to keep your Go-Light and add a light bracket with LED's........

http://www.gatortraxboats.com/p-44-go-l ... acket.aspx



This is the bracket with halogens, but they make one that's tall enough to accomodate bigger LED's, too.