HELLO AGAIN MICHAEL ! ! ! Hope you had a great day! ? ! well,to start to answer your question[s],I am not a "purist",neither am I a marine electrician[this will become CLEAR].as I say,I am NEW to seakayaking;and was ,just "outfitting",my own kayak!!I am using a[northern tool]"shed lite-panel wght 1 lb-cost$34.99 item #336614.the "lite"part I have ,cut-off[might use it later],I bought [2]of these-they work great[have one on shed in yard[for testing].I am using a "sealed -marine power battery[from -old power supply -12-v]and a marine power-inverter[the hard part is -WHERE do you place a "fan cooled item"in/on a kayak,or canoe[still working on that]I have NOT tried "rolling"to see what happens[go figure why].the liting [bow& stern]are both =removeable&adjustable-white marine bow/stern lites,with the base's screwed&siliconed in place.both can be installed/removed from the cockpit[without straining].the wiring ,has all connections terminating,INSIDE each socket[makes it waterproof]the "harness" is wrapped[after final trials],in clear tubing&siliconed to the underside of the DECK,and arround the cockpit.so far I have [4]pig-tails,in this harness,and [1] each;lead-in&power-out,pig-tail. [1]to the bow, [1]to the stern,[1]to the strobe-behind the cockpit,and not but not least the left-over one for electronics.I have to confess that I might have to increase my inverter size,so as to manage enough power[as surplus/emergency power].THESE are my system so-farand at present it works[just damn lucky I guess].the "waterproof inverter box,has been a puzzlement- -for sure[I can thimk of things ,however not ALL of them,-reside in the too damn smart-or-really damn STUPID group],the choice is someone else's to make!!!!!also for a larger boat I was looking at a45watt panel[from harbor freight.com]part#90599-1VGA,the panel weighs 9.7lbs and is a WHOPPING12.40"x36.42"x0.75"thick - - -and would NOT fit a 14'kayak gracefully.I hope that this might if not help,at least start you THIMKING about , un conventional ways toenable your projects. LATER gumby/zenkayaker pps:a couple of wks ago,I mentioned a "solar idea"to a prominent,SEAKAYAKING figure[very well known]and the reply was almost ,like he was repling to a [slightly-mentally-hamperred]child, so be carefull to WHO you spend your Idea's on[I hope he still will win]