anyone have any suggestions on a handheld spotlight? everyone i look at seems to be a piece of junk. i went out tuesday night and had 2 fully charged ones both die. with no moon, it was like driving in fog. does anyone make an led one? thanks, paul

I thought about a cordless spotlight for a while but none of them made are worth a damn. They start of real bright when new but use them for a while then charge them up and they just get worse and worse as time goes on and it doesn't take long for that. I would and only rely on a 12V spotlight. It is an Optronics, the one with the blue dot in the middle, I've had it now for at least 10 years and have not had one single issue with it, it works great. I got it back then for around $20 on sale at West Marine but have seen that the price is now up to $46 or so but if you ask me you can't pay enough for light when you are on the water at night so it would be worth it. Plug it into the 12V socket and light up the night.

This is the puppy right here;

BlueEye Beam® KB-4001 - 400,000 cp. Sealed Beam 12-volt Spotlight. Glare Free Saltwater/Marine version with corrosion-resistant hardware. 170-watt Par 46 BlueEye Beam sealed beam bulb. 10-ft white coil cord. Push button switch. Four-color box.

You'r much better off not using a white light at night, it ruins you night vision. Just get use to running slower and using your radar.

My favorite responses are always like this;

"I need a light."

Response: "You don't need a light, spend a couple thou on Radar and use the Force, Luke."

I know I need a light to light up buoys and cans that don't flash at night, I turn the spotlight on, hit my target, make my way, then light it up again when I need to check my progress. The light messes the vision up for a moment but not for long.

bassy, thanks for the info - i'll give that one a try. the new boat looks nice. mm - no radar on my ride.

i love flash lights and have used so many different kinds over the years..

lately i've grown real fond of the dewalt gooseneck flashlights because they are extremely bright,have an adjustable beam and the charge seems to last forever. With the purchase of an additional battery you'd be all set.

http://i25.photobucket.com/albums/c66/ravenob1/lite.jpg

I have one of those blue dot ones. Don't use it much but it is nice, was fairly short money at the time. I installed a 12V cig outlet.

You usually don't need a hell of alot to pick up the reflective tape on the bouys. Many times if taking it slow just the wattage of your running lights will do it if the tape is in good shape.

The one I have is the Blue Dot ones, if for some reason it went out, I'd get another one in a second.

I'll agree that Nav-Lights do an OK job of picking up the reflections from the buoys, if you are about 25 yards away from one! What about the bouys that are far off that you might want to know about?

I would and could never leave the dock at night without a spotlight and at least some sort of backup.

You'r much better off not using a white light at night, it ruins you night vision. Just get use to running slower and using your radar.

Couldn't agree more, white lights are a killer.