Canoe Bow Light....DESIGN HELP REQUEST

Howdy CPF Gurus.

I am in need of building a light for the bow of my canoe for night racing on rivers here in Texas. I've got a Maglite mod I've done in the past that works well, but it's big and it's heavy. I want to cut weight and size. I'm a cnc guy that can make just about anything. What I'm not good with is electronics.

Here is where you come in should you choose to help me with recommendations.

I would like to build something that is an inch or less in diameter. I'd like around 400 lumens. I'll run wiring out of the back to a separate battery pack that will be mounted under the bow deck plate. The battery pack will hold 8AA lithium batteries (so 12V), and will need to be regulated. I've been out of the mod game for far too long so I'm not sure where to start. I've seen some Luxeon star setups with 3 leds on them and I'm sure there is some sort of lens that would work with something like that, though I'm not sure if that is what I should be considering.

I welcome any and all suggestions. I'll end up doing a build thread on the project once I know what I should be using.

Thanks for you time and your help.

Jeff

Check out this thread. It's just about what you want.

http://www.candlepowerforums.com/vb/showthread.php?384594-Help-building-a-LED-flashlight

At 400 lm, I'd stick with a single-emitter design, especially if you want to keep the size down.