Tandem Kayak Night Fishing Lights

[BirdFoot17]

Got tired of wearing a headlamp so I decided to mount two sets of lights on my tandem Hobie Odyssey. Took about an hour with help from a friend. Hardest part was wiring because I am running both sets off of same battery and also using a rocker switch. Bought the lights from advanced auto and got the extra bright LED which was 32.99 and came with (2) 12 inch LED strips, switch from advanced auto 3.99, 12v battery from Academy was around $15, and wire and connections from Southland Hardware were $5 maybe. I used a dry bag to store the battery which I bought a while ago for $15.

Here's what I learned. Most guys use switches attached to a dry box, I tried to be innovative by mounting next to the hatch in the boat. It looks cool and I don't have to open the hatch to turn the lights on and off which is really cool cause sometimes you just don't want the lights on, however, the connections are not protected which will require replacement parts in the future and I put another hole in my boat to add the switch which isn't really fun. I used goop to seal the edges. I will probably replace with a waterproof switch when the time comes.
Also, be damn sure you know where you want the lights to sit and that there won't be any obstruction. I put mine in a spot which my legs rest in front of when i'm in the boat, granted it was the only smooth surface I had but it dims the lights quite a bit.
I went with green but amber would have been a better choice. The standard LEDs are plenty bright enough. The set I bought will leave you night blind once you turn them off.

I'm happy with the result but definitely learned a few lessons. Hopefully ya'll can learn from my advice.

let me know what ya'll think and if you have any questions.

[BirdFoot17]

More Photos

[YakAggie]

Looks good! I need to get some of those for my new Outback.

[mpg2yahoo]

You just described step 2 of my light project when talking about switches outside of the dry box. I have the switches that glow blue and amber from Autozone.

http://www.texaskayakfisherman.com/foru ... 3&t=196870" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

I agree you will eventually will have to replace, but you can extend the life by using liquid tape on the connection as well as ensuring no shorting out will occur.

The liquid tape comes in several colors like red, black, green, etc....

Cool project! My lights were cheap so I have to replace them soon.