Courtesy lighting

[kcolney]

Re: Courtesy lighting

I would suggest that you buy a light kit with the amount of lights you want to put in the boat. This will usually match the fuse, wire gauge, and switch to the amount of current that you will use for the amount of lights you want for the boat. This takes a way alot of the guess work you are concerned about. Make sure you have an in-line fuse set up that you can get to easily and Id personally run it off the main fuse panel rather than the battery. this way when you turn off the boat it kills juice to everything and you cant run down your battery. Plus you will more than likely be able to get a more accurate battery level. running off the battery alone you wont know if your drawing too much juice to start the engine.

 

[NSBCraig]

Re: Courtesy lighting/ Rope Light attachment

Re: Courtesy lighting/ Rope Light attachment

Hey did you know you can get clear plastic track for rope light either at home depot or online (noveltylights.com I believe)

It's a u shape channel that you mount and then you press the rope light into it keeping it straight and tight.

I've used it a lot on plant shelves, over and under cabinets, under beds, in tray ceilings etc. Right now I have some running around under the "stage" that my TV and stereo speakers sit on in my living room.

Not sure about 12 volt but for 110 you can buy rope that you can cut every 18 inches to make it fit.

 

[tashasdaddy]

Re: Courtesy lighting/ Rope Light attachment

Re: Courtesy lighting/ Rope Light attachment

iwould run the leads with 16 guage, as leds draw very little power.

 

[bjcsc]

Re: Courtesy lighting

bjcsc... Wow...I appreciate your offer on selling me a small amount of the 3M tape. I wouldn't need more than a couple of feet. I may take you up on your offer if and when I finally decide what I'm going to do. By the way.... I'm convinced this tape will do the job...but now I'm worried that if I decide to remove the lights or if I break one and need to replace it, how am I gonna get them off? Can you cut that stuff with a razor blade and scrape off the excess?

No troubles, PM me if that's what you decide. You can cut it with a razor knife and scrape off the excess. It's foam tape. It can be forced apart...

 

[gnrboyd]

Re: Courtesy lighting

Ok.. thanks bjcsc. I ordered the lights a few days ago and have not received them yet. I thought I might look at the 3M tape at the hardware store to see if they have something maybe not quite as super duty but good enough to do the job in a wet environment. If not, I'll PM you to get some of the VHB.

tashasdaddy... 16 ga. is what I was thinking also. I generally have the opinion of "when in doubt go bigger" so sometimes I end up with overkill. Do you have any suggestions on the best way to connect the wires? I was thinking it might be nice to use male/female connectors at each connection point so I could remove/replace lights later if needed without soldering or using more butt connectors. (I'm still not sure I will like the blue lights so I'm trying to plan ahead in case I end up changing colors.) I may have an issue with trying to find those male/female connectors to fit the 20 or 22 ga wire leads that the lights come with.

NSBCraig.. I didn't go with rope lights but I will keep that track idea in mind if I ever do use them for anything. It sounds like a good idea.

If I ever get my other projects done, I will post photos of what the boat looks like with the lights. It may be a while.... fishing season is around the corner. Thanks everyone

 

[eastern27]

Re: Courtesy lighting

I installed three, 4 led white (actually blue) lights under the gunnel of my 27. Works like a charm, 460ma draw each. You might want to make up a harness and just twist up the connections to test the light level at night. 8 or 10 of them will light up your floor like the Vegas Strip. To much white or blue light will really effect your night vision. Solder and adhesive shrink tube is the way to go for installation, forget the butt conectors. If you don't like what you have you just unsolder the light and resolder the run. No wasted connectors or short wires. Just my opinion.

 

[gnrboyd]

Re: Courtesy lighting

My lights arrived in the mail today. I just finished hooking them up one at a time for a quick test. Bad news..... I ordered 12 thinking I'd probably use about 8 or 10 and then wanted a couple for spares. 4 of the 12 are bad! (not all of the 5 lights light up) I ordered them on eBay so I guess I'll have to contact the seller to see about replacing them. (The story of my life....nothing ever goes as planned.) Although they don't say it, I would guess they were made in China.

eastern27...Are your lights white or blue? The white lights look somewhat blue but by your post, I was not positive.

I installed three, 4 led white (actually blue) lights

I only tested one blue light in the dark and if they are certainly bright if allowed to broadcast the light beam. I planned to point them downward under my gunnel. In my case, I have a deck that is only from 3 to 5 inches from the light so most of the light will be "wasted" and it will only get a small amount of bounced light. That was planned so that it would not be blinding. As you suggested, I will set them up temporarily to test placement and just how many I actually need.

Solder and adhesive shrink tube is the way to go

Are you referring to the brush on type or are you meaning the plastic tube that you heat to shrink? I have some uncertainty as to how I'm going to run the wires. My gunnel (see photo in first post) is just an aluminum cap that is hollow. I thougth I'd fish the feed wires down the cap and then drill holes (around 1/4") in the bottom of the cap where the lights will be placed. (That might be tricky as I do not have an angle drill and my deck is pretty close.) I will then grab the feeder wires and pull them through the hole and somehow make the connection. Then shove them back in the hole out of sight. Do you think it would be best to try and leave the feeder wire in tact and just carefully strip the area where I make the connection ? (Like a T connection) Or should I just cut the feeder and solder them back together with the wire to the light. For my plan to work, I need to have a small connections so they will fit back into the hole.

My other option is to not drill holes and just run the wire along the underside of the gunnel and secure with some type of tape. (I may have to use the 3M stuff as described earlier in the thread.) It wouldn't look as good but it would be easier. (I seldom take the easy route.)

 

[eastern27]

Re: Courtesy lighting

I bought white led's but they do have a blue tint to them. I have 24" from the light to the floor, and a grey deck and they light it fine for walking around. Inovative Lighting @ Defender Marine, $10 each, they make white, amber, red. Sometimes E-Bay isn't the best source even if the price is great. A good marine supplier near salt water gets a lot of feedback from their customers for what works and dosn't and how it holds up on a boat.

 

[eastern27]

Re: Courtesy lighting

Sorry, I only read the first part of your reply. If you have a surface you can mount to under the gunnel, you could support the harness with cable ties. The kind with the screw attachment ends. The adhesive shrink tube you heat with a heat gun and it forms a good moisture seal and gives you mechanical strength along the run. Use the smallest shrink tube you can fit the wires into. I just clipped the power and ground wires, slid a piece of shrink tube on each of the wires before the light, soldered the three pos. wires together then the three neg. slid the shrink tube over the connections and heated them up. They are good to go for 10,000 hrs.

 

[gnrboyd]

Re: Courtesy lighting

You might want to make up a harness and just twist up the connections to test the light level at night. 8 or 10 of them will light up your floor like the Vegas Strip. To much white or blue light will really effect your night vision.

eastern27....looks like you are right. I hooked one up in the garage at night and moved it around at several locaitons. If I used 8 or 10 like I had planned, I might have a 747 try to land on the boat. It's difficult to tell exactly what it will look like with multiple lights without hooking them all up. I think I might try the hooking up 3 to the starboard side since that is fairly close to the power source and see what it looks like. It won't be balanced by having lights on both sides but it should be more than enough light.

Now....I've had another thought to add to the equation. When you are anchored at night, you are supposed to have the anchor light on anyway which kind of defeats the purpose of what I was trying to do. I hooked mine up while testing one of my new blue lights and it is much brighter than I'd like it to be even without the extra blue lights. I'm now questioning if I even need to mess with the courtesy lights.

If I'm not mistaken, the rule used to be that you could turn the anchor light off if you were within a certain distance from the bank. (100 ft ?). That doesn't seem to be the case in the current rule book. I guess too many accidents helped change that. This world would be a lot simpler if more common sense was used.

 

[eastern27]

Re: Courtesy lighting

I had a similar problem with my Sea Nymph GLS 195. I bought one of the stern mounted light poles that directs the light out to the sides, not 360 degrees, it was a great improvement for my night vision. The new boat has the an anchor light of the same type mounted on the wheel house roof. Hardly shines at all into the cockpit.

 

[amynbill]

Re: Courtesy lighting

THIS is lighting...

 

[gnrboyd]

Re: Courtesy lighting

That looks nice amynbill... Can you tell me how many and the type of lights you used?

Something tells me you don't fish much from that rig....