Ramma Jamma Yellow Hamma Give em Hell Alabama

first off welcome to the forum!  as far as which is the best light...well thats all up to personal preferance.  i used to run underwater 12v lights but recently switched to halogens.  they both have pros and cons...but for me the pro of not having to worry about charging a bunch of batteries for the 12v lights by going with the generator/halogens was the biggest plus for me.  i run 4/300w halogens on my boat and im very happy with them!  i have a very good view all the way around the bow of the boat where with the underwater setup i was running the light was more centralized straight off the bow...i can see just as far off either side of the boat as i can off the bow which is a plus for me.  when i first set up my boat i was using a colmen powermate 1550 just like you have and it worked very well...now i have a 2000w honda knock off that is a good bit quieter.  like i said in the beginning when it comes to what type of light to put its all up to your personal prefrence.  hope this helps!!!

Jonathan Jones

2005 Triton 173sport

1984 SeaRay 210

Ramma Jamma Yellow Hamma Give em Hell Alabama

It is a personal preference, as said above. I like the 12V's for the lack of glare and the QUIET! With an onboard charger it is no hassle at all.

My last boat was a Carolina Skiff 198DLX. I took off the bow rails, and using the existing holes, bolted on (with wing nuts and washers) a 1"X4" cedar board. I mounted the lites to the board so that they could swing up onto the deck for cruising and trailering. The board was also a good place to rest the gig without chewing up the gelcoat!

Send us some

Ramma Jamma Yellow Hamma Give em Hell Alabama

you will get a much broder scope using 4 lights instead of 3.  but 3 would still give you a good bit of light.  like i said i like the 4/300w lights myself.  i am thinking about changing my outside 2 lights to 500w though to see if it makes a difference. 

Jonathan Jones

2005 Triton 173sport

1984 SeaRay 210

10-4. I wasn't trying to tell you what to do, just throwing out an option. If I understand correctly, you'll have to unbolt U-bolts, and remove the light system to run? Sounds a little cumbersome, but not sure exactly what you have in mind. We always end up tweaking anyway!

I went to Homedepot and bought some of the plastic synthetic wood used for building porches and decks.  It is kinda heavy but totally water proof and quite strong when used properly.  It is really easy to work with and not too expensive.  Sometimes if you are looking through their wood rack you can find a piece with the end broken off and they will sell it to you for next to nothing, I got two 6' pieces for about a buck fitty.  

As far as gig poles go, and I was told this by another member,  go to home depot, and back in the trim section they have 14 foot long, one and a quarter inch diameter poles, you can trim them to any length and only buy what you need, cost is $1.36 per foot.  I just bought mine this evening.

Hope this helps, everyone here has certainly been very helpful to me.

Zack

roger that...im gonna have to give that a try the next time i go.  Thanks!

Jonathan Jones

2005 Triton 173sport

1984 SeaRay 210

As for your lights...Halos, 12V or HPS's all have their pro's and con's. I personally have killed fish with all. Only thing I know for sure from past years floundering is...I used to poll instead of using trolling motor until I went with one of my friends that had one on his rig and thought the next day..."damn, my shoulders isn't sore and I don't feel like I've been beat up"...LOL So I would definitely invest in a TM. Some people would say that TM's spook the flatties and I'm sure it does some (very rarely)...but you can cover WAY more ground. Anyway...here's the pic of my skiff.

"Three-fourths of the Earth's surface is water, and one-fourth is land.  It is quite clear that the good Lord intended us to spend triple the amount of time fishing as taking care of the lawn." 

2006 25' Hydra Sports Vector Twin 150 Yamaha's
16" Carolina Skiff 40 hp Yamaha

Ramma Jamma Yellow Hamma Give em Hell Alabama

I started off with 3 500 watt halos and then went to 5 300 watt and 1 100 watt. I was able to see alot better with more lower wattage lights. The 3 light set-up semms to shadow bad.

A buddy of mine runs the 12 volt under water light and I do not think it even compares to the halos above the water.

I'm in the process of making the Flounder Pontoon and will be tring several diffrent lighting set up. I have 10 halos And 2 of the big square parking lights I'm going to try.

Jonathan Jones

2005 Triton 173sport

1984 SeaRay 210

Ramma Jamma Yellow Hamma Give em Hell Alabama

thank you very much

Welcome to the forum! An onboard charger is permanently mounted on your boat (for example under the console, on the transom, etc., and are wired to the batt(s) you want charged. All you have to do is run an extention cord to it (pretty simple!).  They are made for marine applications, and unlike some auto chargers, will not overcharge (boil) the batts, if you forget to unplug it! They "sense" the charge, and shut off when fully recharged.

Minn Kota makes good ones, as do other companies. they come in 1, 2, or 3 bank models, depending on how many batts you need to recharge. For example, one 12V batt. for trolling motor, and another for lights, you'd want a 2 bank charger. Hope this helps!