Dinghy Light

[Ken Juul]

I've been pondering how to attach a bow light to my inflatable.  I've considered the glue on available at BUS etc. but since I store my dinghy upside down on the bow, either the mount, the deck or both would get banged up.  I thought about making a wooden bracket, but keeping it small was for easy storage was also important. I finally arrived at a solution made from PVC.  The tube I had in the garage, the fittings and fasteners came from ACE for less than $3.  All pieces are friction fit, after a few test runs the head may get glued to the pole if I have light rotation problems.  Sorry the pictures came out so small.  I can email if anyone wants personal copies.

[Joe Kern]

Ken - I like the idea and have been struggling with what to do as well.  I assume you have a wood floor and have attached the pole to the floor?  I have a HP floor so that is not an option so was thinking about just buying one of those clamp on lamps.  Gluing anything permanent won't work for the same reasons of storage.

Do you have a stern light too?

[Ron Hill]

Ken : I use the suction cup for the bow lights.  I've attached a string to that light (tied in side) so it can't completely "get away".

For the stern light I took a 1/2" dia. 8 inch long piece of copper tubing and soldered an end cap(with a small hole drilled in the end cap) and a "hold up" bracket on to it.  It's screwed into the dink transom.  Then I take a 3 foot oak dowel and put it in the tube, then slide  the stern light into the top of the dowel.  It gets the stern light about 5 feet off the water so it's not shining in your eyes!!   

[Ken Juul]

I just have the standard c-clamp stern light from BUS.  It does shine in my eyes, may borrow Ron's idea to raisie it a bit. 

I do have a plywood floor.  The lower end cap is through bolted to the floor with a stainless nut & bolt.  The other idea I was toying with was a squared off "Z" made from 1x4.  Mount the light on the top leg, the middle leg is long enough for the bottom leg to rest on the floor.  Pile life jackets, coolers, or a well placed passenger's foot on the lower leg to keep the unit in place.  Velcro could also be used to hold it in place.  Might work for your HP floor. 

I haven't had much luck with suction cups, experimented with a couple of them.  They seemed to stay stuck for a few minutes, then the first wave that flexed the boat caused them to pop off.  That was the basis for coming up with a different idea.  Even with the sting so you don't loose it, dunking the light in salt water can't be good for it.

[Ron Hill]

Guys : Ken is correct that a suction cup won't stick if the inflatable surface is "knobby" and not smooth. 
In that case you could take a new style SMOOTH mouse pad and attach some small lines to keep it in place so the suction cup will stick.
A thought.