Digital Switching for Small Craft.
narrow-beam ‘spotlight’ (it will project the light further but narrowly), or a wide-beam ‘floodlight’ which will light up a wide expanse. Both have their advantages – the floodlight is ideal for finding a mooring in a crowded marina with multiple hazards. On the other hand, a spotlight may be better for trying to navigate landmarks, such as when going through a channel at night.
Another variation on the fixed light theme is the lightbar, which can mix both types of LEDS into a long strip of intense illumination. Hella Marine has a range of lightbars, with its Sea Hawk 470 units providing options of either spot, flood or mixed LEDS producing up to 2,700 lumens per bar. And if that’s not bright enough, the bars can be stacked together for even more power.
At the top of the range are the permanentlymounted but remotely controlled searchlight-style lights. Most of these can both swivel from side-to-side and tilt up and down. Most modern options come with a wireless remote control unit, although wired helm controls are also available.
With the wireless option the light unit itself only needs a single cable running to it from a suitable power source, and the wireless remote means it can be operated from anywhere on board. Additional remotes can also be purchased, so a twin-helm boat can keep a unit on hand at each station.
These controllable lights may represent a considerable step up in price from the handheld and fixed units, and again both LED and halogen-bulb units are available. The halogen units, such as the $599 model from Marinco, generally have a brighter and
narrower beam of light, more akin to a spotlight.
The manufacturers claim a 300m beam range for this unit, and of course it is fully water-resistant to IP56 standard.
The nature of LED technology means these units usually illuminate a wider area. The Maxtek remote control LED spotlight from Absolute Marine, for example, has a beam projection range of about 75m but produces a much wider pool of light. The total light output from this unit is 1,600 lumens and it is IP67 waterproof rated.
One benefit of the mounted units is that most have an SOS button, where the light will flash the international distress signal (SOS in Morse Code) continuously if you are in trouble. Another useful feature when searching for something is the auto-sweep mode, where the searchlight will sweep automatically from left to right and back again without needing anyone to operate the remote. Again, useful if you are coming into an unfamiliar area and looking for any hazards.
And if this still isn’t enough for you, Hella Marine also has its Power Beam LED floodlights, which come in both closerange and long-range versions. These produce an insane 7,800 lumens, while consuming just 85 watts of power. To put this in perspective, the landing lights on a 747 airliner outputs around 8,000 lumens!
Just a reminder, though, that it is your responsibility to make sure your boat complies with the maritime rules regarding navigation lights. If your forward-facing white lights are bright enough to prevent someone seeing your red and green navigation lights, they should not be used where there are other boats moving about.
In general, any forward-facing white lights should be located at the masthead, or as high as possible on your boat, while the coloured sidelights are mounted lower down.
Stay safe out there!
The nature of LED technology means these units usually illuminate a wider area.