Spot light recommendations

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First night with new to me this year coming back to harbor in the dark. Looking for recommendations on a spot light. I am thinking wireless and ability to rotate. I have a hard top and a pulpit to mount to.
Any suggestions are appreciated

thank you
Steve
 
Hi,

When you "say" wireless, do you power or remote?

ACR (model ACR RCL-95) makes an excellent spotlight wired for power and wireless remote for operation.
 
JJF said:
Hi,

When you "say" wireless, do you power or remote?

ACR (model ACR RCL-95) makes an excellent spotlight wired for power and wireless remote for operation.
Click to expand...
I was thinking with a remote so i did not have to run wires
 
I didn't look for battery powered, so I can't offer any suggestions on that aspect.
 
JJF said:
I didn't look for battery powered, so I can't offer any suggestions on that aspect.
Click to expand...
I am not looking for battery powered - just remote controls
 
ok; got it...

the ACR one I mentioned above is a good unit
 
Get a hand held rechargable battery one.
Its way easier to point your hand than to fiddle with that damn button.
No installation necessary.
Its a no-brainer.

something like this...Amazon spotlight

I've had a remote spot and it was just stupid......it did look cool though....
 
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I went with a single row LED lightbar mounted on my hard top far enough back so that no light spills on the bow or even the bow rail. Works great, and I only use it when I'm not interfering with other boaters' night vision.
 
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I went through two RCL-75's. Both died shortly after warranty. For the second light, parts were very hard to come by and no repair service was available. I was disappointed in ACR.

So now I've gone with the much cheaper LED light bar. If I have to replace it every year it will still cost far less that my ACR experience. I also carry a rechargeable handheld spotlight on boat trips as a backup.

I should say that I'm not looking to turn night into day. I just need something to reflect off the channel markers when I head out at oh-dark-thirty.
 
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wahoo33417 said:
I went through two RCL-75's. Both died shortly after warranty. For the second light, parts were very hard to come by and no repair service was available. I was disappointed in ACR.

So now I've gone with the much cheaper LED light bar. If I have to replace it every year it will still cost far less that my ACR experience. I also carry a rechargeable handheld spotlight on boat trips as a backup.

I should say that I'm not looking to turn night into day. I just need something to reflect off the channel markers when I head out at oh-dark-thirty.
Click to expand...
same here... my canal has some BS ligthts at the end but you can't see them till you are about 10 feet away. they are solar powered and prob cheap. I had a remote light on hardtop but took it off to put the radar there. thinking about relocating that to the pulpit
 
SkunkBoat said:
radar can't see cedar channel markers and logs floating in the channel and kayaks...and a man overboard...
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they can. i have seen radar pick up crap pot floats.

regardless, if i wanted to run when its dark, the first thing i would look at would be ultra low light cameras (sionx or black oak). no brainer
 
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I have been using a handheld for a while now. If its something that is only used infrequently and to mark channel markers it works fine. The Sionx stuff does look really nice though and maybe a future upgrade down the line.
 
Ekea said:
they can. i have seen radar pick up crap pot floats.

regardless, if i wanted to run when its dark, the first thing i would look at would be ultra low light cameras (sionx or black oak). no brainer
Click to expand...
Thats how I roll now... but still looking to mount my search light as a backup

Nightwave Install
 
You've got to run power wires so adding control wires to pull isn't any more difficult - just an FYI.

But, I agree with the others that while a spotlight looks cool sitting up there, it's not the best solution. Plus, also like said, they sit unused so much that when you go to use it may not work - too many moving parts that get corroded. Been down that road a few times over the years ;)

A light bar on the hard top - or even a wide angle spreader/flood light (or two) at the bow - might be a better/simpler/easier/cheaper choice.
 
I had a Marlin and wiring to the bow was a pain, so I got lazy and mounted a remote light on the hard top >>>> Too much glare off the bow...
My second Marlin I mounted a Marinco Wireless Remote spotlight on the Bow Pulpit .... I ran a short "circuit breakered" hot lead piggy backed from the Anchor windless hot lead, to the light ... The wireless remote only needed a low amp power circuit which I powered off the Nav light switch. .. Works well and no glare. ( so the remote doesn't get power unless the Nav lights are turned on .... just my preference.)
 
I am not in light bars on boats, but know some for cars.
As the glare on the bonnet is often a issue I would not like to have that on a hardtop on a boat.
The glare would blind me more than the advantage of seeing in front of me.

I use some times a hand held flashlight, but for frequent use and the problems you have in US I would use a pulpit (or bow mounted removable solution) to reduce glare as much as possible and if available, a dimmable solution would be my choice.

Chris
 
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