Clamp on battery operated bow/stern lights from Cabelas

They look pretty cool. LED is awesome......lasts real long and uses very low amperage.
If they're as waterproof as they sound, they seem pretty simple and reasonably priced.
 
Mine have worked fine for one summer season. We'll see how they stand up to the salt and cold. Price is right, and I couldn't find a lot of other options unless I wanted to wire the boat and add a battery.

Mounting is kind of clumsy, but I've been able to make it work. Not sure what I'll do with the stern light in my sculler--no deck to clamp to back there.
 
My sneakbox isn't wired so I went with the LED version of bow and stern light. I'm not gentle with them and they've lasted 2 seasons so far. Before I posted this reply, I went out and tried them both.........they work. Fresh batteries and some WD40 and they'll be ready for another season.
 
That's the direction I'm going with my sneakbox. I have had a permanently mounted old style battery light mounted on my 14-ft for years but the two D cell batteries kept crushing the springs and wearing the bulb contact over the years of travel. Getting the batteries out was difficult. So I wired the boat for lights when I put the motor starter on thee outboard ad had a battery anyway. But with the new sneakbox I didn't want to wire it up since I want to keep it as light as possible. So I did go with the battery operated lights but asked John Kuhn to build in light mounts. Good thing because imagine my surprise when I got the lights and the packaging said for use up to 9 miles per hour. Maybe the camo ones say something different I haven't checked. I strongly suspect the speed restriction is based on the mounting clamps. The stern light mount on my sneakbox is a piece of tubing the shaft slides down into with a stop at the bottom and holes for a thumb screw and wing nut. But mounted with the stock pole the light is too short to get it above my outboard. I've got a 36" piece of aluminum tubing to extend the pole.

I got fancy with the bow light. I asked John to add a piece of tubing at the same height as the rails to the bow and make me a mount to fit over it. This is what we got for a very solid quick removal mount:

The light:

View attachment bowlightr.jpg

The bow mount:

View attachment bowsneak.JPG

The unmounted view:

View attachment lightUM.JPG

And mounted:

View attachment lightMT.JPG

Have I said how I enjoyed the fact John was willing to put up with me?

Scott

PS:please ignore the shag rug on the bow, that's another post ;^)
 
I had the non LED version and had nothing but troubles with them. When it gets cold up here the battteries do not last at all. That and the clamping system just never worked right with the boat and I was constantly making compromises with the lights that I wasn't comfortable with. Last year I wired the boat and used LED lights all around. Used a small motorcylce type battery and charged it once for the whole season and it ran the nav lights just fine.

I have not looked at the LED lights so I have no experience with them. The clamping system loks tobe the same and I wasn't impressed with it.

For what it is worth.

Mark W
 
I have used the LED version of this type of light(though not from Cabela's) for several years in my fishing boat(20' Robalo). LED's draw so little power that even in very cold temps you will be hard pressed to run your batteries down in less than 2 or 3 years. I know that sounds dumb, but it is true. I think you are going to find LED's in all types of applications in the next 10 years, and besides the fact that they use little power, the bulbs will last upwards of 10-20,000 hours. I have never used lights on my duck boat(AA wigeon), but I am in back creeks and ditches just use a powerful flashlight(LED, of course:) for navigation.
 
Thanks for all the opinions guys... I had purchased a bow & stern light from West Marine along with marine grade wiring and a switch. Together it totalled well over $120! I think I am going to bring them back and purchase the camo, LED battery operated bow & stern light from Cabelas, then improve the mounting system like Scott did.
 
I have the standard boat manufacturer's lights on mine (since my duckboat was build from a Glastron), and I would prefer if the bulbs were LED's, but unfortunately, the LED-type conversion bulbs are still quite pricey.
I hope the price of LED's continue to drop, as they are better in every category (weight, volume, life, amps, temp, vibration, etc.etc.)
 
Brent, if your boat is already wired 12V, you can replace the current lights for similar money to the LED portables. I installed LED front and rear for around $70. If you already have the socket in the rear, then even cheaper.

http://boatingsavings.sportsmansguide.com/net/cb/cb.aspx?a=621952

http://boatingsavings.sportsmansguide.com/net/cb/cb.aspx?a=621919

the portable units are:

http://boatingsavings.sportsmansguide.com/net/cb/cb.aspx?a=622283

Dave


Though I see Cabela's are on sale and cheaper now, so the portables are a little further away from the fixed lights....
 
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Thanks for the info.....they look reasonable, but I don't want to replace the rear mast and front fixture.....i would like to simply replace the bulbs in them, with the newer style LED replacement bulbs.
Some of these replacement bulbs are still a little pricey......(i.e. $20-ish)......I think I'll wait a bit, as I expect the prices will continue to fall.
 
William,

For the stern light: A piece of square tubing to fit the post. Unfortunately as noted above the stock 18" pole is too short to get the light above the engine so I purchased a 36" aluminum tube to extend the pole. The extension doesn't fit the tube so either I did up a section that will or cut the stock one in two. John added a rivet stop to the tube which I will probably replace with a solid rod and slot the bottom of the pole to fit over it, lining up the thumb screw (push pin) holes.

View attachment sternlight.JPG

Scott
 
I used them for a couple years before my boat was hard wired. They worked well and I still keep them on board just in case a bulb burns out on the permanent lights.
 
They're inexpensive ($15 bow, $19 stern right now on sale from Cabelas), last long since they are LED's and you can remove them and store in a dry box when not in use. I will take an inexpensive item that has a high degree of functionality any day... even if it looks tacky. Like he said, you cant see tacky in the dark. To hard wire the same setup was going to cost me over $120 from West Marine in wire, switches, wire mounting hardward & lights, not to mention the time & aggrevation. For less than $50 (even when you include some custom mounting brackets I will build) these lights fit the job...
 
Chris,
I wired my boat a few weeks ago for navigation lighting..when I went to West Marine, they wanted $18.99 for a 25 foot roll of 16 gauge marine wire...I needed a roll of black and a roll of red...would have been $38.00 plus tax for two rolls of wire..I didn't buy the wire, I only went there because the local Parker Dealer/Marine supply store was closed....I took a day off from work and went during the week to the local marine store and the same wire in the same package was $9.99...I will never buy anything from West Marine...Dave
 
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