The invention herein is a boat lantern holder which will hold a propane type lantern or a pump up flammable liquid type lantern by inserting the device into a boat seat socket which is commonly found on the decks of both small and large boats and especially bass boats where it has the advantage of being mounted on the centerline of the boat making it especially useful by providing a mounting above the boat deck where the light of the lantern held radiates to all points of the area surrounding the boat providing excellent visibility for the user of the device and to other boaters in the nearby vicinity preventing collision on the water at night.