# Has anyone ever installed prow lights on their johnboat?



## PSG-1 (Feb 13, 2012)

I've been thinking about installing a set of prow lights on my jetboat.




I was curious if anyone else had ever done this?


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## THEABEXPERTS (Feb 14, 2012)

I have seen the in person, high quality and bigger than they look online. They come with gaskets and a temp-let. Its a good solid light built to withstand the occasional bump on the dock.
I put a set of smaller waterproof LEDs on my 14ft and WOW!!!!!
These are Bright!!! Easily replaced two 55watt driving lights! I have the flood and will be ordering a few more (flood and spot)for the new project. They will run all night and draw next to nothing. You will not be sorry! AND SO CHEAP!

https://www.oznium.com/marine-led-light


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## fool4fish1226 (Feb 15, 2012)

Those look to be some really good lights I may have to order some.


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## PSG-1 (Feb 15, 2012)

I often use a handheld Q-beam to run at night, but that doesn't leave both my hands free to manage the throttle and the steering wheel, so, running some of the creeks at low tide in the middle of the night can be tricky. I'm thinking these lights might help me out in situations like that. 

I'll probably never use them in main channels, due to the possibility of blinding other boaters, but like I said, running some of the shallow back creeks at low tide, they will be very useful. The main things I worry about hitting at night are crab trap buoys and lines, unlighted channel marker pilings, or knot-head boaters who don't have enough sense to use running lights at night (and there are quite a few of those out here)

These lights might also come in handy for gigging, too. I think they'll also add a finishing touch to my jetboat. I found a set for 160 dollars, and they're on the way.

My main concern is getting the holes correctly cut, and having the lights properly aligned, so they're not cross-eyed. That, and trying to run a new set of wires, especially inside the confines of the hull.


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## fool4fish1226 (Feb 15, 2012)

Let us know how they turn out and how well they work


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## PSG-1 (Feb 16, 2012)

I ordered the lights Tuesday morning from Black Bear Sporting Goods. Imagine my surprise when they showed up the very next day! Talk about fast service!

Anyhow, after unpacking the lights, and going through some thought process, I delved into the project. Here we go:


Light assemblies, covers, and gaskets:










First reference lines laid out:






using the template and a soapstone to mark the cut-out:










OK, no turning back now. Drilling the first guide hole for the sawzall:













Making the cut:






Definitely no turning back now! This is a big hole:




As you may have noticed, I had to remove my DNR registration sticker, it was right where I wanted to put the lights. Got a new one on the way.







Checking the fit:






Port side light installed (test fit)












At this point, I had to run a new set of wires from the console. Going through conduit, I find that using a length of steel cable, with the end melted to a taper, is more effective than a fish tape, as it can bend in any direction. 

Using the fish tape to pull some wires from starboard to port:






Tools scattered on the deck:


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## PSG-1 (Feb 16, 2012)

Here they are, installed in the boat, and wired up:












They are 55W Halogen bulbs, and they draw about 4.5 amps each.




Definitely seem bright enough, I just hope the rectifier/charging system on my engine can keep up with this plus the nav lights (although, I am running LED's in my nav lights as well as in my gauges, to minimize power draw)





I installed the same type of switch I used for everything else on the dash. I also made a set of tags from bronze, to match the tags for the other switches.






From L to R: Nav lights (On/Off/Anc), Bilge Pump (Auto/On), Blower (On/Off) Prow Lights (on/Off) and on the far right, is the no-wake switch that is wired to the ECM. Press and hold this switch for 3-5 seconds with the throttle at dead idle, and it brings the engine up to 2400 RPM and holds it there, like a cruise control.



Also, I added a couple of small graphics on each side of the boat, near the stern. This is the same decal that's on the plastic intake cover of the engine, but they also look good on the boat:


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## jojo (Feb 16, 2012)

Those are really slick. I like it.


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## John Wasmuth (Feb 16, 2012)

Wow! Those really look sharp! Good job.


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## fool4fish1226 (Feb 17, 2012)

Thanks for the step by step pics - They look great. Have you tried them out???


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## PSG-1 (Feb 17, 2012)

Haven't tried them out yet, at least not on the water.

I tried them out with the boat sitting on the trailer in the yard last night, the beams seem to be level and aligned with each other. I'm sure they will work good out on the water.

As far as my concern about amp draw on the rectifier/generator, I looked at the specs in the manual, and it says the output is 14-16 amps at 6,000 RPM.

The prow lights draw a little under 5 amps each. And as I said before, I'm using LED bulbs in all my gauges, and in my nav lights. That's 5 gauges with a .1 amp draw, a nav light with a .1 amp draw, and a stern light with a .1 amp draw, so, all the gauges and nav lights add up to around 1 amp.

In other words, the charging system of my engine should be adequate to run all my lights, so, I'm good to go!


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## PSG-1 (Mar 2, 2012)

Well, I tried them out last week on the North Santee River. 

I was wrong about power consumption, the boat's charging system won't keep up with the amp draw. Even running at 6 grand, when I hit the switch to turn on the prow lights, there was an instant drop at the voltage gauge. 

The factory lights are 50W halogen MR-16's. So, I found replacement LED bulbs that equal the output of these, with the same 24 degree angle light beam as the halogens. They are 250 lumens each. I got them in 'warm white' because I can't stand the sickly bluish color of 'cool white' LED's, even though the cool white had a higher lumen rating than the warm white.

Supposedly, 12 lumens is equal to 1 candlepower. Well, these lights sure seem more powerful than 20 C.P. Here's some pictures while sitting on the trailer in the yard......








From March 1 to November 30, it is legal to gig spot tail bass and trout in SC. I plan to go gigging very soon, and I'm sure these lights will make a nice supplement to my gigging lights.






They should work nicely for scouting areas and checking conditions, while moving along slowly, and they'll probably also give some added light while gigging.

But more importantly, the amp draw on the battery is now practically nothing while running the navigation lights, gauge lights, as well as the prow lights, as ALL the lighting on the boat is now LED technology.


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## Bob Landry (Mar 3, 2012)

PSG-1 said:


> I ordered the lights Tuesday morning from Black Bear Sporting Goods. Imagine my surprise when they showed up the very next day! Talk about fast service!
> 
> Anyhow, after unpacking the lights, and going through some thought process, I delved into the project. Here we go:
> 
> ...




Interesting that they came from Black Bear. I had never heard of them and found them on a Google search looking for a trolling motor. They had the best price so I odered one and received it, no muss, no fuss. They seem like a very good company to do business with. it's reall refreshing to find a reliable Internet company that won't break the bank. I'll probably order more stuff from them.


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## PSG-1 (Mar 3, 2012)

Yeah, when I did the search for the Aqua Signal docking lights, Black Bear Sporting Goods had the lowest price, like 50 dollars cheaper than West Marine, so that was a major factor.

And as I said, their shipping was extremely fast, I was really impressed with that. I have never received an order the very next day from any vendor or company. I wish they had included a catalog with my order, so I could see what other merchandise they carry.


Anyhow, with my lights installed, and gigging season here, it won't be long now. The water temp has increased from 55 to 59 degrees. If this wind will ever lay down, I'm going to get out here and do some gigging. I'll be sure to get some pictures and/or video when I do, especially to show how well the prow lights work.


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## whistler (Mar 4, 2012)

PSG-1 said:


> As you may have noticed, I had to remove my DNR registration sticker, it was right where I wanted to put the lights. Got a new one on the way.
> 
> 
> View attachment 6







If I am looking at this right from the residue left on your boat you had the old DNR stickers in the wrong place from where they want them. They should go to the rear of the boat from the numbers. On the Port side this will be at the end of the number as it is read and on the starboard side it would be at the beginning of the Registration number as it is read but still at the rear of the boat from the number. Not meaning this to sound like I'm harping on ya or anything but you'd be surprised how many put them on wrong. It looks like that will work better for your application also. I have followed your build and your craftsmanship is remarkable. Good Job!


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## gouran01 (Mar 4, 2012)

those look great and far better than the ones I was planning on mounting on my bow, IE another thing to trip on! glad I haven't purchased them yet!


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## PSG-1 (Mar 4, 2012)

whistler said:


> PSG-1 said:
> 
> 
> > As you may have noticed, I had to remove my DNR registration sticker, it was right where I wanted to put the lights. Got a new one on the way.
> ...




Thanks for the compliments. As far as the DNR registration stickers, the officers don't really seem to mind whether it's positioned to the front of the numbers, or to the rear, just as long as there's a sticker on the boat, and it's current. 

Compared to some of the stuff I've seen, the sticker placement is minor. I've seen folks put their numbers on one side to read correctly, and on the other side of the boat, they're dyslexic, i.e. on the starboard side, it might read "_SC 1234 BD_" but on the port side, it reads "_DB 4321 CS_"....seriously, I have seen it done like this!! LOL (Then again, this _IS_ South Carolina, nearly dead last in education, so, it doesn't surprise me!)

Besides that, I don't think DNR officers are going to worry too much about me, at least not here locally. I know all of them, and they know that I try to go above and beyond to be legal, as well as my track record of reporting violations to them, and assisting them in apprehending violators, conducting searches, etc. Well over 500 cases made against violators over the past 6 or 7 years due to my efforts alone.
At one point, I had 2 DNR Sergeants recommend me for the position of a deputy wildlife officer, but, with budget cuts, etc, positions like that are being eliminated, not created, unfortunately.


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## PSG-1 (Mar 4, 2012)

gouran01 said:


> those look great and far better than the ones I was planning on mounting on my bow, IE another thing to trip on! glad I haven't purchased them yet!



Overall, I'm pleased with these lights. The only issue I had was with the massive current draw from the halogen bulbs that were supplied with the lights. I read some threads on the net saying not to change to LED's because they weren't bright enough....well, that might be the case with regular LED's, but not with these super bright LED's I bought. 

Be forewarned, though, they are proud of them, at about 35 dollars per bulb, but it says the average life of one of these LED's is about 20,000 hours. And from what I've seen just from running them in the driveway, they will be plenty bright for my purposes. Got them from a website called 'superbrightleds.com' It's also where I got my LED festoon bulbs for my nav lights. Like I said, they should make a nice supplement to my deck-mount gigging lights. And unlike deck-mount lights, nothing to trip over, hit on the dock, or bust a lens.

At one time, I even thought about the Perko underwater lights for gigging, but to begin with, they cost too much! That, and once they're mounted into the hull, you cannot adjust the angle of the light, like you can with deck-mounted gigging lights. So, I'll stick with my conventional deck lights for gigging.


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## whistler (Mar 4, 2012)

PSG-1 said:


> whistler said:
> 
> 
> > PSG-1 said:
> ...



Thanks for not taking my comment wrong. There are a few members on these boards that seems impossible to offer a little constructive critique without them jumping down your throat. I know most officers are not too picky about sticker placement but ........It is one of those things that give an officer a reason to pull you over and begin inspections if they want to take a look. Don't misunderstand me I don't care if I'm stopped but I see people who give out so many Red Flags to officers and then complain because they get stopped!


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