Night Paddle SUP'ing in the Dark

[Beasho]

I am taking the family to a small coral atoll and was looking into the possibilities of night SUP'ing.

Not for surf but for touring and animal watching.

Torch Paddles makes a great looking product but I am thinking I can Jerry Rig something and not have to buy/transport a specialized paddle.  I am planning to bring an inflatable board and a Kenalu which will breakdown and pack with fishing rods.

Thoughts? 

Two $10 waterproof LED flashlights duct taped to the shaft end of the blade might do the trick. 

Does anyone have experience touring over shallow reefs with an inflatable and LED's?

http://www.torchpaddles.com/treasure.html

[ninja tuna]

Hey Beaho,

Don't know how much value you are putting on the lights in order to see stuff.  The nocqua lights look really cool for that kind of stuff. Don't know if that is the kinda money you want to spend or not.

http://nocqua.com/

[J-Bird]

Go on the three or four days leading up to a full moon and you shouldn't need any lights. I do this in the surf with my sup and what a blast.

[OCsurf]

I have done a lot of kayak fishing at night. I would just wear a good water proof head light

[Glowmaster]

White messes up your night vision, blue penetrates water the furthest, but red is the best for keeping night vision.

It would be cool though to see under the water at night.


ed

[PonoBill]

13 bux, waterproof, and you can set any color. Cover the whole bottom of your board. And if the rent collector comes to call you can give him a confusing light show.
http://www.amazon.com/ADX-LED-STRIP-NA-Water-Resistant-Flexible-Controller/dp/B00K0W30UU

[Beasho]

The nocqua lights look really cool for that kind of stuff. Don't know if that is the kinda money you want to spend or not.

http://nocqua.com/

Super cool. $399 might be a bit steep on a whim for something I might use on a borrowed inflatable.  Then again if people suggest its the coolest thing ever then it may be worth more than paying for a dive or two.

Any other creative ideas?  Not like I am asking for an Aluminum SUP or anything 

[carvin carter]

Ive used my inflatable at night to go flounder gigging in the flats of Pamlico Sound and back in its creeks. It's perfect for it. If you just Google "underwater flounder gigging lights" you'll how simple they are and possibly get some ideas. They are just PVC, a battery, wires,  a bulb and plexiglass lens. My nepew loves getting on the front of my board with the light while I paddle and just check out the marine life.  Shrimp look very cool darting around under the light. You have me thinking about how to convert my spare paddle into a paddle/gigging light. I can only imagine the light show you guys are going to get on a coral reef.

[lucabrasi]

Something from here should let you mickey mouse something together. I use a battery pack holder with 8 AA batteries for my 12V fish finder and it runs multiple days for hours each day so a few hours with lights should work. Costs like 3.99 or something, about as big as....8 AA batteries. 

This?
http://www.basspro.com/Berkley-Premium-Floating-Light/product/1407151111/?cmCat=CROSSSELL_THUMBNAIL

This says it can go below the waterline.
http://www.basspro.com/Bass-Pro-Shops-Slim-LED-Utility-Strip-Light/product/13080906163718/?cmCat=CROSSSELL_THUMBNAIL

Something from this??
http://www.basspro.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/Navigation?storeId=10151&catalogId=10051&langId=-1&searchTerm=lights

Torch paddle looks cool tho......and treasure...look at that.....shhhhhh.
Post some pics of your trip.

[capobeachboy]

I've been using Nocqua from day one and rep them here in SoCal but it hasn't taken off like it has in the warm clear waters of Florida.  I see all kinds of stuff paddling around Dana Harbor and Headlands.  Hope to get out during a squid run sometime.  I'm not that great with night photography but will try to capture some cool images but here's one from a couple years ago with my late surf dog Magic (he LOVED seeing all the fishes).  These things come with a great travel case and are perfect to bring on a trip. You can put them on any kayak, canoe or SUP in a few minutes and the battery lasts for two hours.  There is some drag and a big center fin will help keep you on track but if you have lights hanging off your board you're obviously not racing and maybe a little resistance training will do you good! If you want to explore the white Nocqua 2000s are super bright.  The Nocqua Spectrum has the 7 color light bar so the white is not as bright but you can scroll through different colors, a disco strobe and an SOS.

[XLR8]

Great pic!  Magic sounds like he was a legend!

[stoneaxe]

The Nocqua's are crazy bright.....I think you could tan under them. My wife won a set in a raffle. Very cool to paddle along the shallows....all kinds of stuff comes out at night that you won't often see in the day.

Didn't realize Magic was your dog Capo. Loved the pics of him bracing to go over whitewater. Sorry to hear he's gone.

[Beasho]

Capo hooked me up with some Nocqua's.

THANK YOU!

I will give the report. 

I was tempted to Jerry rig the color changing LED's but didn't know if I would have enough time to build out the system.  Opted for buy vs. build.

Although my golf cart is rigged with the color changing LED's among other things like radio, SF Giants victory flag, black lights, disco balls and trick-or-treaters: