Who has them? Do you use them? We're hauling the boat in April and unstepping the mast. If we add spreader lights, this would be the time to do it. It's a question of will we ever use them?
Thanks.
Thanks.
Spreader lights?
- Thread starter McZube
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Ya don't use 'em often but a good deck light helps sometimes.. I wouldn't put the extra weight and windage of spreader lights up there .. I have one of these and it works well.. I didn't change out to LED because the amount of time that it is in use is minimal..
http://shop.hunterowners.com/prod.php?5807
http://shop.hunterowners.com/prod.php?5807
Yeah, under way at night, they'll kill you. I'll just take a small, under powered flashlight to look up and check the trim. I guess they would be handy on the hook, but I still don't use them, spreader or fordeck. I think it's that old military in my brain, that makes me feel "vulnerable". If that makes sense..
If you're on a fishing boat they might be practical... but with today's led technology a $10 strap on headlight would serve you just as well.... and many of those come with red night lights. You can also carry a battery powered led camp lantern, as I do, and hang it from the boom or wherever you need the deck lit up.
If I absolutely felt the need for an overhead foredeck light.... I would opt for the mast mounted steaming/deck light combo.
If I absolutely felt the need for an overhead foredeck light.... I would opt for the mast mounted steaming/deck light combo.
Useless under way, but at anchor or at the dock I LOVE my led spreader lights! 2 illuminate the boat enough to read by, and i have done so. Great for after dark BBQ, and countless other times.
http://sailingit.com/blog/boat-projects/spreader-lights
http://sailingit.com/blog/boat-projects/spreader-lights
My new-2-me boat has what looks like a automotive fog light attached to the spreader. I've found a nice set of LED flood lights at Tractor Supply that are designed to go on the house of a Tractor. Price is right, they seem sturdy and water tight and the foot candle power was crazy. I can see some night swimming on the hook with one or two of these on the spreaders. Since the wiring is already run. I'm going to keep mine but upgrade to LED flood lights.
Yep use mine a fair amount. Go the LED route.
Uses:
Loading the boat at night in the dark from a dock
Checking the anchor or other stuff on deck at night
Rafting up at night when we are in closer quarters.
If someone is traveling at us at night and I cant hail them they dont see us and we are on a collision course. ( you have to be carefull as you can blind them- usually I just shine a flashlight at the sails)
Uses:
Loading the boat at night in the dark from a dock
Checking the anchor or other stuff on deck at night
Rafting up at night when we are in closer quarters.
If someone is traveling at us at night and I cant hail them they dont see us and we are on a collision course. ( you have to be carefull as you can blind them- usually I just shine a flashlight at the sails)
I use the old fashioned sealed beam 'tractor headlight lamps' - 4411. One under each spreader, one pointed slightly forward to illuminate the foredceck; one pointed aft to illuminate the aft deck. I dont care about 'amps' draw as I dont use them continually and when I want light I want the brightest light possible.
Uses:
1. highlighting the boat when in or crossing busy 'shipping lanes' or when speaking with ships who cant visually see me or I dont appear on their radar screens. Nav lights only are good for ~2+ mi; my spreader mounted deck lights can be seen for about 4-5 mi.
2. Working the foredeck at night (with only one eye 'open', the other eye closed to preserve night vision)
3. Loading/unloading the boat in 'dark' situations.
4. Bulbs are economical, available (auto supply) and easily changed when they burn out.
Uses:
1. highlighting the boat when in or crossing busy 'shipping lanes' or when speaking with ships who cant visually see me or I dont appear on their radar screens. Nav lights only are good for ~2+ mi; my spreader mounted deck lights can be seen for about 4-5 mi.
2. Working the foredeck at night (with only one eye 'open', the other eye closed to preserve night vision)
3. Loading/unloading the boat in 'dark' situations.
4. Bulbs are economical, available (auto supply) and easily changed when they burn out.
Saw on one of the other forums that a guy installed auto LED fog lights on his spreaders. Seems like a good solution--small, low current, bright.
Hmmm
Got me thinking... what about using LED red trailer lights? They also sell LED backup white lights for trailers. And as I think about it more... don't we use yellow "pourch lights" to keep the bugs from being attracted to the light? Seems like a yellow LED trailer side light might make a good spreader light at anchor for the same reason. Maybe one of each? That way if you want white light you can have it... but if you want red for night vision or ....yellow and red?
I might have to play around with that and see what works best.
The latest thinking on night light colors is it really doesnt matter what color; rather and more importantly, the 'intensity' or brightness of the light whatever the color .... and you can easily control such intensity (on non-LED lights) with a simple rheostat.
BTW - Since I mentioned 4411 'tractor headlight' bulbs, they're now available in LED format. http://www.grote.com/prodcat/attachments/Trilliant36InfoSheet.pdf but dont know the cutoff voltage if you do apply a rheostat to control the 'brightness'. ..... 'spensive !!
BTW - Since I mentioned 4411 'tractor headlight' bulbs, they're now available in LED format. http://www.grote.com/prodcat/attachments/Trilliant36InfoSheet.pdf but dont know the cutoff voltage if you do apply a rheostat to control the 'brightness'. ..... 'spensive !!
I'm pretty sure the latest science on the subject indicates that night vision is best preserved by keeping your artificial light near the edges of the visible spectrum (either red or the upper end of blue), and while limiting the intensity in the edge spectrums is still important, it's the "shades of yellow" that will most quickly destroy your night vision, even with just a little exposure.
Evidence of this can be seen in the fact that the military uses a blue-green light on the bridges of ships at night, and car dashboards are nearly always lit in either red, or blue green.
Intensity is certainly a large factor in night vision. The military went from red to blue in cockpits because red didn't work with night vision goggles. In so doing I guess they discovered that red really didn't make that big of a difference. When I used to go up to the bridge on night watches, even though all the interior lights were on red, I still couldn't see well when I got up there. I started closing one eye for a while prior to getting up there and that was what allowed me to see once I got up there. We kept the bridge so dark that you could put your hand in front of your face and accidentally poke yourself in the eye on cloudy nights. That was on the mighty Kearsarge (LHD-3).
It's been speculated that pirates wore an eye patch for this reason, not because they had an eye put out. That way, when going to lower decks at day time, they were not lit well, if at all, and in the "heat of the battle", they could just slip the patch up out of the way while down below.
(I know this very relevant to spreader lights).
(I know this very relevant to spreader lights).
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