Best place to install spotlight?

[rhodyboater]

My 280da doesn't have a spotlight and I found a nice one with wireless remote control and turntable rotation but it is for deck mount only.
I'm thinking it might get in the way when I'm working the anchor, and could see it more practical mounted on top of the bow guard rail.
But, to my knowledge, I couldn't get the same features in that style, not to mention having to snake the wires along the rail somehow.
Any suggestions?

 

[Lazy Daze]

SR mounts them next to the anchor roller - on the port side. You can see some pics on the SR website. Look around at various years for better pics. Shouldn't really be in the way as it's pretty far forward.

 

[sbw1]

As an alternative to wireless, look into welding a stainless pad at the front of your bowrail. Place the light on the pad and you can run the wires up the inside of your rail stanchion close to the pad. After you wire things up, make sure all the holes are sealed with 4200. Makes for a very neat installation and you keep the light high and dry. If you go wireless, the stainless pad still makes sense.

 

[Stray Cat]

Depending on how big the spotlight you are considering is....becareful not to create a blind spot while while up on plane. I'm not a fan of fender brackets and such that create blind spots. Mine is just forward of the windlass foot switches and it doesn't get in the way at all.

 

[Fishnut]

Whatever you do, mount it far enough forward so that the light doesn't reflect off of the rail.

 

[berth control]

There's a writeup on this topic in Boating mag, the one with the fountain on the cover running tripple 300 verados and a super hot chick in white shorts. They always get the hottest chicks to just stand there and look pretty on the cover of that magazine. Like a kind of high class hot, not your average hot chicks.........anyway, they said not to mount it to the top of the bow rail, too shaky. I disagree with them and agree with sbw1 - weld a little stainless plate on there (or bold it like mine is from the factory - see the pic below) and mount it to that. That is how all the 80's sea rays did it, i've had two of them, and they aren't shakey at all. It may be tough to route that wire through the bow rail, but it makes for a really clean and out of the way mount. As far as creating a blind spot, I don't see one, the light's not that big. The bow pulpit is more of a blind spot.

 

[rhodyboater]

Thanks for the suggestions. This is the one I'm considering
www.golight.com

 

[Tail Chaser 661]

A spotlight is on my things to do list.


Like fishnut said,
The farther forward the better.
Getting glare off the deck may make you more blind then no spotlight at all.

Never thought of a fountain shaking so bad.
That you shouldnt mount a spotlight up on the bow :lol:

Ive noticed at the So Calif boat shows.
A lot of the high maintenance young hot chicks hang out around the go fast boats.
Maybe there paid to be there :smt009

I avoid that type of woman like water in my fuel.

berth control
I was meaning to ask you if your spotlights wires went thru the bow rail. Now I know :smt001

 

[Sea Gull]

I have a completely different take on this, having owned boats with and without mounted lights. Basically, in open boats, mounted search lights are not worth it. You will get much more value out of a good hand held light.

Think about how the searchlight should be used: Having dimmed all dash lights and instruments, extinguished all other lighting aboard except your running lights and having allowed your eyes time (up to 30 minutes or more) to adjust to ambient light, you proceed on your voyage. You run slow, as conditions allow. Where possible you have plotted a course using lighted and/or sound producing ATONs. When you get close to a buoy's location you flash your searchlight quickly in the direction the buoy should be - in doing this you start by aiming the light low on the water (but not the white deck) and then sweep up toward the horizon and then quickly left and right until you see the flash of red or green of the buoy's reflective tape. You immediately shut off the light and proceed to the buoy. You simply cannot achieve these quick movements with a deck mounted light. While you can become well practiced in maneuvering a mounted light, you will never match the intuitive movement of you hand held.

On larger vessels there is utility to mounted lights, but I use mine infrequently and still keep my hand held at the ready anytime we are out at night.

 

[sbw1]

There is no substitute for a good mounted light when docking at night. We live in an area with almost not ambient light on many evenings. We need a mounted light to see our dock. It is also useful helping guests see the side walk that goes up the hill to our house. I can run it from the cockpit while buttoning up the boat for the night. When picking up cans in the channel at night I rely on radar, gps and looking out the windows. Occasionally, I'll use a light but don't need it very often. It can be useful if you are picking up what may be a deadhead on the radar.