So iv been fishing out of a old town 106 pdl for 1 full season. And it's pretty much perfect. I put a garmin 93sv on there, upgraded to a black pak, will soon be adding a short stack, and a few other little things. But it doesn't quite feel complete. Like it's missing somthing. No real issues or things that need to be addressed. 

 

After much thought, I know what my final touches needs to be. Lights and usb charging ability. I keep things fairly simple. But those two things would really make it so I can almost live on the kayak. 

 

Iv done some looking around, but would really like some suggestions. And also have some questions. 

 

First of all, what I'm looking for in lights. I don't fish waters where gas boats are allowed. I don't need nav lights. But in the summer I will go out before sunrise and I need help seeing. Some nice strip style lights for inside the kayak would be great, as well as maybe a small light at the front to illuminate what's in front of me, being able to see my line, that sort of thing. But also a way of turning them off/on only when needed. I saw a sort of 3 channel switch (I belive by yak attack) to control these accessories. Somthing clean to install. Ability to switch between red and white light would be really nice. 

 

Secondly, I'd love to be able to charge my phone. I do HVAC, and although I'm not the owner, I run the company. It's very common for me to be on the phone alot taking service calls, then calling the on call mechanic, checking history, or invoices on the spot. You wouldn't think it is, but it's a thing. And my phone can drain fast. Especially in summer. Somthing like a thru hull wiring kit, except it's a USB port would be great. A nice clean but functional addition. 

 

Then my final question would be battery power. I use a nocqua 10ah for the 93sv. Works great. Better to get a separate power source or could I run it all off the nocqua (even if I have to possibly upgrade to the 20ah)?

 

Any suggestions on brands or products, experiences had with certain products, any input at all, would be greatly appreciated. I found lights and USB chargers. But nothing really jumped out at me and gave me that "that's what I'm looking for" feeling. I'm very comfortable with electric (like I said HVAC guy) but battery power isn't my wheel house. It's there anything I should know before jumping in to this? 

13 minutes ago, JayMac89 said:

I don't fish waters where gas boats are allowed. I don't need nav lights.

That likely has nothing to do with it. I don’t know what state you’re in but I can assure you that there is no exception written in there based on if you think gas powered boats are present. If you are out there in the dark, you need safety lights. You most likely need an elevated white stern light. An LEO isn’t going to exempt you from something like this. I just ran into one a couple weeks ago.

In my state(NC) non powered vessels are required to have a 360 nav light on the back of their vessel from sunset to sunrise. 

Yeah you have to have port/starboard and a minimum height stern light if you’re out between sundown and sun up. Mandatory. The button lights are really nice, unobtrusive and provide great light.

 

The Yak-Power system is great and has everything you need but go for the five connector unit at least. That way you can add “legal” lighting, footwell and accessory lights/charger port as well.

The Nocqua battery is fine but wouldn’t use it for both lights/accessories and the depth finder. I’d suggest either upgrade to a single 20/30 ah battery or add another 10 Nocqua just for the lights.

 

Red/Green navigation lights are not required on a kayak.  Note a kayak with a motor (electric or gas) legally isn't a kayak anymore, it becomes a power boat.

 

For non-powered craft, the U.S. Coast Guard requires specific lighting rules to ensure visibility and safety on the water. Here are some key points:

• Rowboats, kayaks, and canoes: If underway between sunset and sunrise, they must display a white light visible in all directions (such as a lantern or flashlight).

• Sailing vessels under 7 meters (23 feet): If practical, they should display standard navigation lights (red and green sidelights and a white sternlight). If not, they must have a white light ready to prevent collisions.

• Sailing vessels over 7 meters: Must display proper navigation lights, including sidelights and a sternlight.

• Anchored vessels: Must show an all-around white light unless in a designated anchorage area.

 

I use this YakAttack® VISIPole II™, GearTrac™ Ready, Includes Flag - Kayak Fishing Essentials to meet that requirement.

I went through this a couple years back so I’ll tell you where I settled and what I did.  I had an autopilot so red and green lights up front were mandatory as was the white rear light which you’ll need.

 

I used one battery.  That powered my helix 9 and mega live and front and rear lights.  I didn’t put lights on the interior (more on that later).  I went straight to a 30 ah and that was enough.  You’re not going to have the lights on that much and LEDs draw minimal power.

 

I’m a cheapo and a DIYer.  I considered the yak power setup.  It is slick for sure.  But I wasn’t spending that much money on it.  I bought a pair of waterproof surface mount rocker switches from Amazon- one for the front and one for the back lights.  On the front I used LED strip lights.  You’ll probably run into a whole lot of “are they USCG approved”.  You won’t get a definitive answer and on a kayak the way you mount things affects the angle of visibility.  So with the USCG regs in mind for angle of visibility and how far you can see them from, I got a set of 18” strip lights and mounted them appropriately.  On the autopilot that means below the line where the front hull changes from angled out to angled in.  I think your PDL has the same mold shape so you’ll get it.  If you mount them above the line they will blind you.  Similarly, the strips almost touched each other on the bow of the boat so that you could see them from the front (a kayak doesn’t have much front facing faces of the plastic).

 

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07SGWXB3P?ref_=ppx_hzsearch_conn_dt_b_fed_asin_title_3&th=1

 

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07YNX9FTL?ref_=ppx_hzsearch_conn_dt_b_fed_asin_title_2&th=1

 

On the back, I got a folding nav light.  I didn’t want it up most of the time and you can’t reach where it needed to mount from the seat.  So i went with a folder and fabbed up a plate from an old cutting board I had (you could use starboard) to mount it to.  I used the existing power pole screw holes that were already in the autopilot.  If I needed to put the light up after dark, I could use my net to push it up.  Was it higher than the highest part of the boat?  Not if you include me as part of the boat but otherwise yes.  It was bright as anything and there was no way you weren’t going to see it from a mile away.

 

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07H9JF1FJ?ref_=ppx_hzsearch_conn_dt_b_fed_asin_title_1&th=1

 

I considered interior lights.  When I fish at night, I actually don’t turn on the nav lights most of the time.  I was fishing smaller waters on electric only lakes that had no one else out.  They are bug magnets and messed with my night vision.  So when I was going down the bank fishing they were off.  If i was crossing the lake, navigating around obstacles, or anywhere around another boat I’d turn them on.  For interior lights though, I almost put in red button lights in the footwell.  They would have been nice for tying on lures and handling fish.  In the end I went with a headlamp with red and white options since it was easier than wiring up more lights.

 

I have a similar logic on USB charging.  I mean if you need it then you need it.  It’s just easier to have a USB power bank with you instead.  An integrated plug is clean and only charging one battery is nice, but is it worth the extra cost and time to put it in?  For me the logic was/is no.  

 

12V is simple.  get a fuse panel and run everything to it.  Every ‘thing’ gets two wires from the panel to the thing.  I used 12V wire I had leftover from my pool lights (which are a wet system) and ran all of the wiring inside the hull.

I run Yak Power components on my AP120:

 

1. Red and green nav lights because I am a powered vessel.

 

2. Two red button lights that face the deck from under the seat.

 

3. USB port in the tank well to my back and left. It has dual ports for both my phone and my Go Pro.

 

These all connect to an 8 port Yak Power hub as does my UHD93, black box for FFS, GT56 transducer, Helix 7 for mapping and navigation, and my heading sensor. I power this with a second 100Ah battery.

 

I could power all of this with a 36Ah battery, but I use the 100Ah in case my 100Ah motor battery fails or if I drain it.

 

You will be fine with a 30Ah battery.

I installed button style led nav lights.. For my flag pole I wrapped a waterproof usb led strip from Amazon and installed a USB port to power them off a 18ah dakota... I didn't like the options that were for sale and wanted a really bright 360 white light... So did some research and built my own for less than 50 bucks... Everything is wired to automotive toggle switches near my seat.. 

I went really really simple.,

 

I bought lights from that company Guardian Angels.  the lights are bright!!  I love them for my kayak.  they work when I am rigging up in the dark or need to go into the outhouse for some...deposits in the dark.  I have magneted it to the side of my truck when I was changing a tire in pitch black.  I clipped one light to my dog when I jogged in foggy weather.  

 

what I am trying to say is that they are total multitaskers.  if I slept in the back of my truck I could use one to read with.    they have a myriad of attachment methods.  my red/green I simply clip to the front of my kayak with an alligator type clip.  I leash them with the leash-kit since I have dropped on into a lake.

 

buy the bigger lights if you go this route.  way brighter.

1 hour ago, Darth-Baiter said:

I went really really simple.,

 

I bought lights from that company Guardian Angels.  the lights are bright!!  I love them for my kayak.  they work when I am rigging up in the dark or need to go into the outhouse for some...deposits in the dark.  I have magneted it to the side of my truck when I was changing a tire in pitch black.  I clipped one light to my dog when I jogged in foggy weather.  

 

what I am trying to say is that they are total multitaskers.  if I slept in the back of my truck I could use one to read with.    they have a myriad of attachment methods.  my red/green I simply clip to the front of my kayak with an alligator type clip.  I leash them with the leash-kit since I have dropped on into a lake.

 

buy the bigger lights if you go this route.  way brighter.

These don't last very long... I have a set that I don't use any more... I think they may have lasted one hr before the battery died... I have the larger elite ones.. For what they cost I was disappointed... My setup now was a fraction of the price I paid to get a set of guardian angel lights shipped to Canada.. 

Mine go for hours. 

Thanks guys. I think i will go the yak power route. Clean install from how it looks. 

 

I'm not really seeing any multi colored lights. White, green, red. But honestly I think that's on. I currently use a head lamp and the white light messes with my vision. Red or green works fine. So the interior lights being red or green only would be fine. 

 

Since I'll have extra "slots" on the yak power, I may just put multiple pairs of button lights in. 

 

Thanks again to all. Iv seen the yak power but never actually did any research on it. Quickly realized that's exactly what I'm looking for.