Temporary sailboat headlight

[Hayden Watson]

On a recent cruise I needed to return to my home port after dark due to big adverse currents (6 knts +) in Deception Pass until dusk. The commercial crabbing season was open and there were probably 1000 crab pots out in Skagit Bay. My wife spent 2 hours on the bow hanging onto the forestay with a big flashlight scanning the water ahead so that we could dodge them. (Yes I KNOW I have a very good wife and NO I will not give her up!)
This has happened to us twice now and I need to come up with a way to strap a couple of LED Maglites to the bow pulpit so that they shine out over the water with the light not hitting any part of the boat or rigging.

Any idea?

 

[kloudie1]

Strong Velcro strips plus Maglight.. on pulpit
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01K3JO3QO?aaxitk=YDCgUJ6ngVE1r6IoScDL1g

 

[jssailem]

Hayden, Know the issue on Skagit Bay. Only way to safely transit is during the daylight, in the wake of a big cabin cruiser, or with lights and dodging. I bought a couple of these light packets from Costco (https://www.costco.com/Feit-LED-Flashlight-Kit-1000-Lumens,-3-pack-with-case.product.100134566.html). They are in constant use on my boat. I strap them to the anchor roller with duct tape. Remove them when I get to safe harbor.

The challenge in that stretch of the water is the way they set the pots. I've tried several headings and never have been able to keep a straight course between the rows, even in the deep channel. Always one appears to be out of line and once you dodge it your again in the middle of another string. Makes one think about putting line cutters on the prop.

 

[Hayden Watson]

Hayden, Know the issue on Skagit Bay. Only way to safely transit is during the daylight, in the wake of a big cabin cruiser, or with lights and dodging. I bought a couple of these light packets from Costco (https://www.costco.com/Feit-LED-Flashlight-Kit-1000-Lumens,-3-pack-with-case.product.100134566.html). They are in constant use on my boat. I strap them to the anchor roller with duct tape. Remove them when I get to safe harbor.

The challenge in that stretch of the water is the way they set the pots. I've tried several headings and never have been able to keep a straight course between the rows, even in the deep channel. Always one appears to be out of line and once you dodge it your again in the middle of another string. Makes one think about putting line cutters on the prop.

We only needed to go to Oak Harbor but in that distance we needed to dodge 20-30 times. I run on AP and release clutch to dodge. If the buoys are more than a boat-width to either side I don't dodge. That is a lot of dodging.
I have the Costco 2-pack of 1300 lumen LEDs on board. What I am thinking of is a piece of plywood with cleats that nest over the pulpit and attach with Velcro to create a platform. I am hoping to find some clips that can be attached to this to hold the flashlights so they can be quickly attached or removed. We had 5 pots in the main channel to Oak Harbor between he R2 and R8 buoys. This year has been the worst I have seen for commercial pot placement. They were even out in force during the recreational season buoy bombing the shallows being used by the rec boaters.

 

[jssailem]

Having watched some of the power cruisers jam through these waters I can only imagine that the pots are cheaper to recover and repair then to miss the crab in the deep waters. I think the boats head back to La Conner after dusk. Did you see any boats lurking near the end of their strings?
I ran up the west coast of Whidbey just after Labor Day. There were a number of pot strings about 3-5 nm south of the Passage entrance. They were all being watched by the fishing boats. They were all in line and following a depth contour of about 100 ft.

 

[Hayden Watson]

We did not see any of the LA Conner boats out with the pots but we had a half dozen blow past us at speed heading for home with two running dark. I wished that I had my million CP spot light out when they went past. I could only see them coming due to the efflorescence off their bow wake and the sound of their engine.

 

[jssailem]

It is a scary event. Understand your concern.

 

[JRacer]

www.Marinebeam.com for the best LED flashlight IMO. Not inexpensive but provide a concentrated beam that will reach way out there in the dark. You might look at Rammounts (www.rammount.com) to see if you can put together a bracket or two that you can clamp to the bow pulpit and to the flashlight. Bet you can.