Headlamps

[bizzard]

My first car was a 1936 Y type Ford 8 which was 6v, its headlights were all wobbly with yellow tarnished reflectors and shone a magnificent light of about 2 candle power and I could see the road all right at night at high speed, well 34 mpf (miles per fortnight).

Edited March 6, 2014 by bizzard

[David Mack]

My other concern is passing through bridge holes, or locks, without belting the boat against the sides in the dark - I need several boat lengths to line up in daylight

Why? Surely your boat is equipped with steering which allows you to adjust the boat's position in the last few lengths up to a bridge or lock. How else to do you cope with bridges on bends, or crossflows from bywash exits, or passing the boat coming the other way which gets to the bridgehole before you do or that sudden crosswind?

[Gunna Do]

I also went rallying in my miss-spent youth, early Volvo 122s with 6v lighting. There were comments to the effect that our quick selective times were down to NOT being able to see!

I'd like to add to this topic: In daylight, If you wear those reactolite type of specs, make sure you have a spare pair handy to pop on when entering the tunnel portal. Don't ask me how I know this but I had a bit of paintwork to touch up afterwards!

Ref post 22; I encountered a boat with a VERY bright headlight, coming the opposite direction in Netherton tunnel and on the wrong side of the cut. Very worrying until I discovered that it was a bike on the towpath!!

[Speedwheel]

I take great exception to that comment!

 

You obviously don't drive a car otherwise you would have known of the ability to turn the lights off if something is approaching from the other direction!

 

You take exception to being asked a question? That must make life really difficult for you.

 

No I suppose I don't do much driving, only about 65k miles in the last 12 months.

 

My other concern is passing through bridge holes, or locks, without belting the boat against the sides in the dark - I need several boat lengths to line up in daylight, so need lights that will allow me to do the same in the dark.

 

 

If you have that much of an issue lining up in day light, I would suggest that practice and not lights are what is required.

[Graham Davis]

Look, I'm a beginner, looking for help, not criticism. I can't help that my eyesight isn't what it was when I did my rallying - and am prepare to spend my hard-earned cash to avoid inconveniencing other boaters. I'm aware of (at least some of) the potential dangers, and that by Winter 2014/5 I'll have better boating skills, but I don't know how much better they'll be with months rather than weeks of experience. I do know that so far there have been days, and nights, when I'd have far rather have tied up, but in order to meet external deadlines I've felt I had no option but to press on...

 

Has anyone anything positive to suggest, or was I wrong to expect helpful guidance for a beginner, from the far more experienced boaters here?

 

Roger

 

Plenty of experienced people on here have said that all you need on the front of your boat is a standard car fog light type lamp, mounted so that it points up towards the tunnel roof about a boats length in front of you, plus all the internal lights on.

 

At the rear leaving the rear doors open with the interior lights on will provide more than adequate light for you to see, and be seen from from behind. If you want something a bit more "personal" for you to see a bit more what is approaching you, then a small torch headlight is more than adequate.

 

If you wish to boat at night then the front "tunnel" light dropped downwards to fairly close to the front of the boat will be more than adequate. Anything more than this is both over complicating the matter plus potentially making you a nuisance by blinding boats coming towards you.

 

Keeping a good torch close to hand in a tunnel is also useful if your main lights fail for some reason.

[steven wilkinson]

 

So you are the type of inconsiderate prat with lights that are far too powerful and dazzles anyone coming the opposite way are you?

 

 

Ah! I see what you did there! There is a question mark at the end!

 

So the answer to the actual question posed here is - No I'm not!

 

There now! That's cleared that up!

[MyLady]

...

Edited March 6, 2014 by MyLady

[Graham Davis]

...

 

I love to know what you said!

[Semitrad]

What fitting is the bulb? I'd almost certainly want to replace the tungsten filament with an LED so would need to know which base (H1, H3 etc,) to buy.

 

Thanks.

 

There doesn't seem much point replacing a perfectly good tungsten bulb with an LED in this situation.

 

The lamp will be supplied by the alternator while under way and therefore won't trouble the battery, the amount of use it will get means it will probably last longer than you will.

[FadeToScarlet]

The headlight I'm making a mounting for, being a repro vintage one can be dipped- and I've wired it to do that, which I quite like.

 

I'm unlikely to use it in tunnels, though, I prefer a floodlight on the back end to illuminate the cabin top and roof and not blind oncoming steerers.

[ditchcrawler]

I have not seen these light, but I do know if I meet someone on the towing path with one of those head band LED lights even if they are on the other side, if they look in my direction I am instantly blinded for a few seconds. I hate to think what 10w would do. They may be fine, but after I have met one I will let you know.

Since I posted this I have fitted a 10W LED replacement in my security flood light at home. Looking at it doesn't give the dazzle effect I expected, but then it doesn't have a lens just a plain glass. One of these may work as a tunnel light.

A friend of mine put an LED replacement bulb in his tunnel light and said it was crap.He changed back to a filament.

[Graham Davis]

The biggest problem with putting LED bulbs in lights designed for filament bulbs is the positioning of the filament in relationship to the reflector.

A filament bulb has a single light source at a (roughly) known distance, so can be focused by the reflector and possibly modified then by the design of the forward lens, whereas an LED often has several light emitters, or in CREE units one very bright forward facing unit. In the former they are not in the focal length, and in the latter not even pointing the right way! Result is poor performance and often much light scatter.

The few cars that are now coming with LED headlights seem to have an actual lens on each emitter.

[SamKingfisher]

I have a Francis with two LED clusters in it. Am I a bad un? It's a v diffused light as no reflector. I don't go in tunnels anyway.

[MyLady]

Just (day before yesterday) done the Standedge... the CaRT lads tried to be helpful but aimed the headlight (55W filament) so it was near useless. At the third addit I pointed it, as near as I could, straight ahead and slightly up... This worked well, assisted by a Ring spot-lamp, with 3W LED, aimed at the roof, mounted on the back hatch, so I didn't bang my head more than the hard-hat could absorb! For next winter, I plan to have a 10W Cree 'tunnel light', hand-held by the Mrs, so I can see well ahead, she did that with a 10W torch when the head-lamp was mis-aligned by the well meaning CaRT lads and it helped a lot, but as anticipated, the dry batteries didn't last too well for the 3 hour passage... Running that Bedazzled light from the boat batteries solves all problems: I'll be able to see, but she can easily avoid dazzling any oncoming boats, if any - and I always slow down if there's any issue passing other boats.

 

Thanks to all who tried to help, rather than just to critisise,

 

Roger

[Graham Davis]

Where did the CaRT people aim the light?

[bizzard]

A candle in a jam jar is cheap and gives a good light 'spread'. Hartley's jam jars have a rather attractive sort of gentle pear shape to them ideal for making magnificent homemade hanging light globes. I have made two of them that hang from pretty twisted flex with LED bulbs in em.

[MyLady]

Where did the CaRT people aim the light?

Way off to the right and down, then they pointed their own lights up and left, or at least, straight ahead. I'm not blaming the lads, the mounting is just a point-and-tilt one, not like the 'vernier' adjustment like car headlights used to be (and maybe still are) using screws to adjust the alignment.

Edited March 25, 2014 by MyLady