portable Led Nav Lights

il corvo · 20 July 2015, 16:07

Ive been looking for some small portable battery powered nav lights for my avon supersport s3.45.

i have no battery on board as is a recoil start engine however my safety gremlin keeps wittering away in my ear.

has anyone tried/ used these?

Attwood Portable LED Navigation Light Kit

they look ideal for my needs, small, LED powered so battery will last, easy to stow plus not overly expensive and bright.

any thoughts?

jyasaki · 20 July 2015, 16:28

I had the incandescent version of those for a while. They work OK, but don't really seem to be all that robust (at least not the ones I had about 10 years ago.) Lots of water ingress and resulting corrosion (and battery replacements due to moisture.) If you store them in a dry box or other protected area, you probably won't have too much trouble. I didn't.

Don't know how your laws read, but in California, those are only good for boats traveling 6 mph or less. Not sure why (don't know the exact regulation), but the ads here specifically state that.

jky

il corvo · 20 July 2015, 16:39

as far as im concerned the legality of 7kts or wotnot is kinda irelivant. my thoughts being that these would be much better than nothing.

its just about visabilty on a small rib. im aware that they wont be the best made considering the price but nothing a good smear of silicon sealer or gaffer tape cant help with and a proper dry out after each use.

not really planning night time excursions but i know that sometimes i will be heading back to shore in low light conditions in a grey. that rib don't always make for being seen too well. lol

hadd · 09 August 2015, 08:50

Quote:

Originally Posted by il corvo

Ive been looking for some small portable battery powered nav lights for my avon supersport s3.45.

i have no battery on board as is a recoil start engine however my safety gremlin keeps wittering away in my ear.

has anyone tried/ used these?

Attwood Portable LED Navigation Light Kit

they look ideal for my needs, small, LED powered so battery will last, easy to stow plus not overly expensive and bright.

any thoughts?

Take a look at these navisafe led lights great for small boats http://www.navisafe.com/

Sent from my iPhone using RIB Net

treerat · 09 August 2015, 09:10

If these are for emergency use only have you considered using snap lights. Not great for regular use but for the occasional late run they'll be fine and as you say above - better then nothing.

Poly · 09 August 2015, 09:50

Quote:

Originally Posted by treerat

If these are for emergency use only have you considered using snap lights. Not great for regular use but for the occasional late run they'll be fine and as you say above - better then nothing.

Do you mean glow sticks? No way they will be visible at the same range as even a battery powered led.

treerat · 09 August 2015, 10:15

Yep - seen them is use in Portsmouth Harbour, the rib had three down each side.

Emergency use to get back if running late. Not out and out nav lights.

I used these on my sib when required - Force 4 Emergency Battery Navigation Lights

ShinyShoe · 09 August 2015, 11:36

Travelling at 2 or 3 mph, expecting to avoid anyone else you see, a glow stick may well be fine for an emergency. Travelling at even 7kts means you are doing 1 kt every 8 minutes. A glow stick at best in good visibility will be visible at 1kt. But the colour will be washed out looking and its probably only when it gets about 200m away that you would instinctively realise you were looking at a red/green 'light' - that may still be well before your boat is actually visible although a white torch would be far before that.

200m travelling at 7kts is less than a minute of reaction time for another boat to avoid you. So you need to avoid them - provided you see them!

Poly · 09 August 2015, 11:40

Quote:

Originally Posted by treerat

Yep - seen them is use in Portsmouth Harbour, the rib had three down each side.

I'm surprised that in those busy waters that the HM isn't more proactive in enforcement. But then I'm also amazed that in an area like that with loads of wafi's, super tankers, fast ferries, Cruise ships, war ships and ribs zipping around that anyone would think sticking glow sticks on (probably the wrong colour, certainly not bright enough, and presumably not limited to the right segments) is suitable. It's not like the time of darkness is hard to predict either, if it is a likely occurance fit proper lights - you wouldn't drive a car on the road with just a glow stick on it, and I'd guess most people here are scathing about cyclists without lights at night! If it's a genuine emergency option (like an electrical failure mid passage) then probably a really bright torch is better.