$15 Red Beacon Mounted On FT For Night Fishing

I don't really night fish but rather early morning fish ... I will usually get my feet wet in the suds a couple of hours before gray lite.
Even though I wear a head lamp, I still hope and pray that the boats that are moving about in the harbor waters can see me!

My lady recently received a trained "Hearing Assist" dog, and on Ranger's collar is a red beacon for when he is walked at night or in the dark hours. I thought that that was really cool!

It can be found on Amazon and or on eBay from $13 - $25 w/ free shipping, it's called: "Adventure Lights Guardian Dog".

So I read about it and found out that it is water proof to 300-ft, military grade and used in the military, shock and cold temperature resistant, it will give a continuous-on beacon or; by flipping the battery over, a continuous flashing beacon and it comes in five colors (green, amber, clear, blue and red) and will "Flash" for approx 250 hours.

So I thought to my self .... Hmmmmmm how could I implement this on my float for dark hours fishing so that the boats will see me while I'm out there floating in the dark ?!?

I also thought that red was the color that could be seen by most and is the color that I purchased.
I used Gorilla glue and Velcro to attach it to my tube.

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And because of an article in the last edition of the FTFF Magazine on float tube safety ... I once again carry my safety whistle on me.
I used Gorilla glue and Velcro to attach it to my PFD.

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I hope that someone out there may like what I did and try it out for them selves!

Happy and safe Holidays to all!

SP Dan     <"))><

Nice job Dan I've got to get me one of those lights and that was a good idea on the whistle thanks for posting it

Great idea and thanks for sharing.
Did you use the glue to stick one side of the velcro to the tube?

Good idea Dan. Looks like it came out good!

Jerdon wrote:Great idea and thanks for sharing.
Did you use the glue to stick one side of the velcro to the tube?

Yes.
I wiped the surface area clean first with acetone.
Then I glued 1/2 of the velcro directly to the tube and the other 1/2 of the velcro directly to the bottom side of the beacon light.
This way it is removable and I can store the small beacon light away when not in use.

With the whistle I only glued 1/2 of the velcro directly to my PFD.

Thanks for your interest and for asking the question,

SP Dan     <"))><

That is so cool Dan thanks so much for sharing I will be looking into adding one to my tube at some point in the future.

Daniel a.k.a. singletrack recommended trying a silicon sealant or a hot glue because you can always re-heat the glue with a hot air gun (hair blower) to soften the glue to take it apart if needed.

We also discussed Aqua-Seal and agreed that it would be very good at attaching it to the tube in a wet environment but would be irreversible. The same goes for rubber cement.

If any of you have any other ideas out there, please jump in and share your thoughts.

What about just sewing the velcro to the tube. I know that would be a lot of work getting the tubes out and back in again, but it can be done. I use to attach patches to my other tubes all the time. Maybe you could attach it to the back side of the pocket one on either side easy to sew into the pockets they in to the main haul of the tube. That is just my 2 cents.

That's an excellent idea Jeff!

To expand .... one may want to also consider one beacon per pocket so that your body wont block the light, depending on the angle that the boat(s) will be approaching you from.

This is turning out to be a safety worthy topic for discussion after all.
Thank you for your (10 cents) feedback Sir!

SP Dan <"))><

Red and Green is Port @ Starboard just need a white for the rear it's going to Be a good night

Thank you lightfoot,

I will be exchanging my red light beacon on my float tube's bow to the clear white beacon and
I will be attaching velcro and a red beacon on my port side (right), along with velcro and a green beacon on my starboard side (left).

FYI .... I've encountered way too many vessels in the early morning dark hours and I wish to have a safe; fun, experience while I'm out there in the salt. A few boats have gotten way too close at times which had me seriously concerned to say the least. So this should remedy my unsafe; dark hours, tubing sessions.

Note: The lights can be easily turned off at day light, they are small and weigh practically nothing.

Always better to be safe than sorry,

Happy Holidays and a "Merry Fishmas"!!

SP Dan     <"))><

Well Dano, I bought the 3, red, green, white. Question, do yours flash or constant light? I made the mistake of not checking, mine flash. Do u think that would be a problem?............GT

GT wrote:Well Dano, I bought  the 3, red, green, white. Question, do yours flash or constant light? I made the mistake of not checking, mine flash. Do u think that would be a problem?............GT

Hi ya Robert,

Can you flip the batteries over?
With mine, I can flip the battery's.
One way they flash and the other way they are constantly on.
Give it a try and let me know.

Dan

U da man Dan.............just a flip, wala......thank u ........GT


Just to let u know, I have D rings at both ends of my storage compartments, that's where I will attach mine

I glad that I could finally help a friend out in need!
That's the great thing about these beacons .... they can flash or stay constantly on.

Have safe float sessions my friend ......

Dan

I plan to Velcro attach mine to the outside faces of my storage pockets, centered as much as possible.
I may need to think this placement thru ... due to my rod rack.

I could Velcro it to the out side face of the rod rack on that particular side. Hmmmmm.
Decisions .... decisions ..