Mr Whippy
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| posted on 31/7/12 at 10:07 AM |
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OT Lights on a kayak
I’ve got a kind of strange query but I recon someone will know
I have been recently doing sea kayaking down the east coast which involves going into many very very dark caves and I mean dark, with the tide low as
last evening several of us went going very far only to be stopped by a walls of total blackness none of us were willing to go into any further. We
tried using some camera flashes but that was all but useless and just lit up lots of staring eyes! At that point I thought to myself how nice it would
be to have some good lights on the front to see where we were going or to avoid being mugged by the crowd of annoyed seals who obviously did not
appreciate the camera flashes! I also do filming while out but the caves are a waste of time as the camera can’t see anything in there.
I was thinking of a couple of high power LED mountain bike type headlights mounted either side of the bow running off an separate battery inside the
kayak and with a remote waterproof switch to the side of the spray deck or about 2.5 metres from the actual lights.
So far the ones I have seen have a button on the lamps which is no use to me as I can’t reach that far. Is there anything someone has used that would
do the trick, my budget is £100 for this project btw
Obviously they need to be well waterproof being soaked by the sea.
Thanks 
[Edited on 31/7/12 by Mr Whippy]
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jossey
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| posted on 31/7/12 at 10:13 AM |
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why not just buy a helmet light and strap just infront of the straydeck. the LED ones are very bright and you could turn it on no probs....
I saw a guy who had a rear light too on his which was a waterproof light with red lens I think.
underwater lights are cheap and they could be altered to have external switch i guess.
[Edited on 31/7/12 by jossey]
Thanks
David Johnson
Building my tiger avon slowly but surely.
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Mr Whippy
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| posted on 31/7/12 at 10:49 AM |
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cheers, I had thought of fitting the lights futher back but the bow of my kayak curves up very steeply which would put most of the view in front in
shadow, hence fitting the lights closer to the bow to reduce this problem. They can't be mounted to the side either or would be rubbed off on
rocks, same applies to mounting them on the helmet as I bang that a lot!
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Slater
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| posted on 31/7/12 at 10:54 AM |
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go to a scuba shop, they will sell plenty of underwater torches. Might be over kill but will certainly be waterproof.
Cave divers strap torches to their helmits, I guess you could do the same.
Why do they call Port Harcourt "The Garden City"?...... Becauase they can't spell Stramash.
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MikeR
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| posted on 31/7/12 at 11:04 AM |
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if you aren't on your own - why not get your friend to turn the lights on? Simple solution?
Keep a helmet light for you so you can turn your head and look about as needed.
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bi22le
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| posted on 31/7/12 at 11:26 AM |
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Helmet torch or strapped to your bouency aid
Track days ARE the best thing since sliced bread, until I get a supercharger that is!
Please read my ring story:
http://www.locostbuilders.co.uk/forum/13/viewthread.php?tid=139152&page=1
Me doing a sub 56sec lap around Brands Indy. I need a geo set up! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EHksfvIGB3I
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balidey
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| posted on 31/7/12 at 11:29 AM |
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I would steer clear of anything that gets hot......
because you can't have you kayak and heat it.
Back on topic, for switching you may want to look at gun lamps as they often have a lead out the rear for switching on and off
Dutch bears have terrible skin due to their clogged paws
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bbwales
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| posted on 31/7/12 at 11:33 AM |
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Hi,
You could use something along these lines.
3x CREE 2400Lm XM-L T6 LED +2x XPE R2 LED 8.4v Bike Bicycle Light Rechargeable | eBay
?????
Regards
Bob
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jossey
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| posted on 31/7/12 at 12:42 PM |
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Dive torches are pretty cheap. you could forward mount one of them on the front.
Can you get an auto light sensing one i wonder????
Thanks
David Johnson
Building my tiger avon slowly but surely.
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Slimy38
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| posted on 31/7/12 at 01:05 PM |
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Silly point, any light that has it's switch mounted on the lamp can also be run with an external switch. You just leave the lamp switch
permanently on, and control the power from a more convenient location...
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Mr Whippy
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| posted on 31/7/12 at 01:45 PM |
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quote:
Originally posted by bbwales
Hi,
You could use something along these lines.
3x CREE 2400Lm XM-L T6 LED +2x XPE R2 LED 8.4v Bike Bicycle Light Rechargeable | eBay
?????
Regards
Bob
That's very close to the system I'd be looking at. Really wanting to build this into the kayak rather than have more wires or things to
carry on me, I have enough already plus I heve large watertight compartments to put the batterys etc in
Thanks
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Mr Whippy
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| posted on 31/7/12 at 01:46 PM |
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quote:
Originally posted by jossey
Dive torches are pretty cheap. you could forward mount one of them on the front.
Can you get an auto light sensing one i wonder????
Had thought of using an sensor to switch the lights on and off as I'm usually busy with the paddle
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hughpinder
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| posted on 31/7/12 at 03:42 PM |
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Use rechargeable batteries and LED torches - just switch them on before you get in - in my experience the LED torches will last as long as you can
paddle for anyway! I have one of those 3.0AH/ 18V hitachi battery drill jobbies which came with a torch head (halogen bulb) and that goes for over 4
hours on one charge. If you went into maplins and set up some LEDs instead I'm sure you'd get a very long time out of one of them (Of
course you'd have to waterproof it all). Screwfix list quite a range of torches/fluorescents for makitadewalt/bosch etc to choose from in the
£30 -£60 range (if you already have suitable battery drill to provide the battery) . Some of the bosch and DEWALT 14.4/18v ones are already an LED
type, so if you have a Bosch/DEwalt 14.4 or 18V cordless drill you just need to sort the waterproofing and attachment to the boat)
Regards
Hugh
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owelly
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| posted on 31/7/12 at 05:31 PM |
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My embilical diving torch has the battery pack and switch with a lead to the lamp. It has three brightness settings and can last for an hour or all
day depending on the brightness. I dont have the details handy at the moment.
http://www.ppcmag.co.uk
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JoelP
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| posted on 31/7/12 at 06:09 PM |
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last time i encountered this problem i just concluded the best approach was a single car headlight and a 12v car battery. I would expect that even a
bright torch might be a bit poor when it comes to lighting up a whole cave. It was a canal tunnel i was trying to light.
Beware! Bourettes is binfectious.
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russbost
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| posted on 31/7/12 at 06:24 PM |
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Here you go
Click me!
Whats more I can offer a 4Ah Lithium motorcycle battery, yes, that's right, lithium, weighs next to nothing & can be recharged by any normal
low amp trickle charger (not the super intelligent chargers, they don't understand lithium & may be inclined to blow it to bits!!! ), for
£67.95, so with a bit of wire & a switch you can have a brilliant headlight that will last for most of an hour & be only just outside your
budget.
I no longer run Furore Products or Furore Cars Ltd, but would still highly recommend them for Acewell dashes, projector headlights, dominator
headlights, indicators, mirrors etc, best prices in the UK! Take a look at http://www.furoreproducts.co.uk/ or find more parts on Ebay, user names
furoreltd & furoreproducts, discounts available for LCB users.
Don't forget Stainless Steel Braided brake hoses, made to your exact requirements in any of around 16 colours.
http://shop.ebay.co.uk/furoreproducts/m.html?_dmd=1&_ipg=50&_sop=12&_rdc=1
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NOTE:This user is registered as a LocostBuilders trader and may offer commercial services to other users
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mad4x4
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| posted on 31/7/12 at 07:32 PM |
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Is lithium not very dangerous, when near water
Scot's do it better in Kilts.
MK INDY's Don't Self Centre Regardless of MK Setting !
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russbost
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| posted on 1/8/12 at 07:31 AM |
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Well, pure lithium certainly would be, but I would assume if the manufacturers are confident enough to sell theses batteries for use on motorbikes
(particularly in the UK!!!) the cases are pretty well sealed!
I no longer run Furore Products or Furore Cars Ltd, but would still highly recommend them for Acewell dashes, projector headlights, dominator
headlights, indicators, mirrors etc, best prices in the UK! Take a look at http://www.furoreproducts.co.uk/ or find more parts on Ebay, user names
furoreltd & furoreproducts, discounts available for LCB users.
Don't forget Stainless Steel Braided brake hoses, made to your exact requirements in any of around 16 colours.
http://shop.ebay.co.uk/furoreproducts/m.html?_dmd=1&_ipg=50&_sop=12&_rdc=1
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NOTE:This user is registered as a LocostBuilders trader and may offer commercial services to other users
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