Thanks Tim. As I said previously, almost everything in this design I cribbed from someone else on here who came up with it first, maybe even you?
I use the atwood battery lights on my little tin can fishing boat, even though it's got a starter battery in it. They're cheaper than a 12v system and work really well. I love sailing at sunset though (
viewtopic.php?f=8&t=4810), and figure if I was already going to run the wiring for the trolling motor, may as well do the lights too.
The Powerfilm R13 is apparently akin to a factory second R14. Dimensions are similar and wattage is (perhaps) only slightly less. The first comment on the product from Amazon is enlightening:
"Simple put the R-13 at $125 dollars is a bargin when compared the the other versions such as the R-7, R-14, R-21 and the R-28. Do a search on the prices and you will agree. You basically get a R-14 for less than the price of the R-7. You could buy 2 and connect them together and have 26 watts, a little less than the R-28 , and you still save some money.
I attempted to find some info on the R-13 on the internet but I could not. I contacted the good folks at PowerFilm to find out is this a new product or a obsolete one, turns out it is neither. Basically when they have extra matterial left over from a production run they use it to make the R-13. So they make some, put them on Amazon, sell them. And then latter when they have some more they do it all over. So basically they are not available all the time!
15.4 operating voltage, 13 watts. When I tested it connected directly to a 18 ah battery I measured 823 milliamps current.
So if you want a good product and want to save some money, hurry while they still have them available."
I've been watching for a while and it seems like they put up a few 'factory second' R13s every couple of months or so. I think I'll wait until next summer to bite that bullet though.
The light pole does rake back slightly. In that last picture of the light in my post, showing the cover, I held the camera pretty well vertical, so the angle of the pole apparent there is real. There is probably no more than 2 inches of clearance- horizontally. The light is above the boom, but the boom is not long enough to hit it. I didn't know how that was going to work out- I kept the receipt when I bought the light. Just got lucky.
I'll try to remember to take a picture next time I have the mast up. But, fair warning, I will probably forget to do so. When the mast is up, the boom on, and topping lift tied, taking photos seems to be far from my mind...