LED Nav light opinions

[Stout]

Hey. On my last boat several years ago I went full Pardey removed all electric nav lights dewired the mast and went to kerosene. With the advent of LEDs I think they are more sustainable solution. My quandary is I have cabin mounted side lights and a stern light but also a tri color and anchor light on the mast. My first reaction was to was to pull the deck lights and just use the mast lights somewhat simplifying things, but then I hate wires in my mast and from what I understand they might be harder to see anyway. Or I could pull the mast lights except for the masthead, which the last owner disabled already, and I would have to rewire. My last idea was similar to what I did with the kerosene lights, the sidelights mounted on the shrouds and an anchor light, hanging from the boom gallows, that when motoring I left all round but under sail I put a screen on the forward section, making it a stern light.The added bonus was it was also an anchor light. I would buy a Bebi Owl and replace the sidelight bulbs with LEDs. That's what I think I'll go with, but you guys are smart and probably have some points that I have not taken into consideration. My boat is 22 feet so it fits under the 7 meter category. Thanks.

[marujo_sortudo]

If you're planning on doing overnight, offshore runs, a tricolor is nice to get the light up higher (over waves and more in the sight line of larger ships) and also consumes about 1/3 the energy of three lights which is nice for tight energy budgets.  If you don't plan on doing much of that, I think your plan sounds good.

[Stout]

Thanks for the input. I do plan to go off shore, but not for a couple years. I'll have to keep mulling this over. I want to reduce the amount of wiring and lights but in a way that is the most useful too.

[cap-couillon]

Just replaced all my nav lights with LEDs and am quite happy. Total draw with all lights onboard running is less than 1A @12V... 

Used these for port and stbd. Cheap, but construction is ok, and as for life, we will see.

Alas... Bebi-Electronics is no more, follow the link for the story. The s/v Hotwire (located in Florida) does however have a few Bebi "Owl" anchor lights still in stock, so you might want to get in touch with him before they are gone. My Owl is still going strong after 5 years of regular use.

Good luck.

[Jeremy]

Thanks for the heads up on where to find an Owl post-Bebi demise!  I just bought one from s/v Hotwire. 

I replaced my bulbs in the original old bronze fittings with LED (can't remember from where), and they seem great (yes - I'm aware of the issue over whether that could yield a dispute over whether they were USCG approved).  I realize, however, that the stern light's arc is interrupted by virtue of the backstay's chainplate.  If I find myself doing a lot of night sailing, I may have to go to a transom mounted alternative.

[cap-couillon]

(yes - I'm aware of the issue over whether that could yield a dispute over whether they were USCG approved)

Not to start a war and/or debate, but  you do not have to use "approved" nav lights.  To the best of my knowledge the USCG does not issue nav light approvals. They do however issue requirements, and most large manufactures have had their nav lights tested by outside labs and "Certified" to meet these USCG requirements.  However if you were to ever end up in a court of law where navigation lights were an issue, using lights that are "Certified" to meet the requirements of federal law for a particular use (ie: color, intensity, vertical and horizontal sectors) has its advantages. That being said I have never had a question from any enforcement agency as to the suitability of the owl while it was lit.

(I'm just sayin')

[Jeremy]

No war / debate needed, Cap.  I agree with you.  I have seen in other forums quite a lot of debate on these issues, however, and was just trying to head them off with my parenthetical.

[cap-couillon]

I still keep the old kero lamp with the fresnel onboard... Electramatricity is great if its working. But stuff happens, and the kero still burns.  ;D

[skylark]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1G4EQowfNAY

[Oscar]

I'm also in the process of getting LED navigation lights. I'm considering getting portable lights from Navisafe, one white to mount on the stern pulpit (showing 135? aft) and one tricolor for the bow pulpit (used in red/green mode). That way they also double as interior/work lighting and perhaps as navlights for the dinghy. And the white also triples as a man-overboard-strobe light, as it floats and is waterproof (up to 20 meters). One drawback I can think of is that the visibility isn't great in a bigger seaway, but I could always raise the white light/strobe up to the top of the mast with a spare halyard if in the need to get noticed.

You can find them at $60-70/pcs so they're considerably cheaper than a "normal" wired LED tricolor, which are often in the $2-300 range.

[s/v Faith]

I'm also in the process of getting LED navigation lights. I'm considering getting portable lights from Navisafe, one white to mount on the stern pulpit (showing 135? aft) and one tricolor for the bow pulpit (used in red/green mode). That way they also double as interior/work lighting and perhaps as navlights for the dinghy. And the white also triples as a man-overboard-strobe light, as it floats and is waterproof (up to 20 meters). One drawback I can think of is that the visibility isn't great in a bigger seaway, but I could always raise the white light/strobe up to the top of the mast with a spare halyard if in the need to get noticed.

You can find them at $60-70/pcs so they're considerably cheaper than a "normal" wired LED tricolor, which are often in the $2-300 range.

That looks like a workable solution.  I like the design, I have not been impressed with any dingy lights I have encountered....  But I got a warning ticket earlier this year in Florida on my way back from the Virgin Islands.... So I know I need to find something that I can use.

Please do post a through review once you get them.  Thanks,

[s/v Faith]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1G4EQowfNAY

Hard to argue with the price.  :)

The tough thing is that the life of led lights is very short outside of their voltage range.

O course solar input will likely not be generating when you are using lights, but other sources like the charge coil on an outboard can easily produce significantly higher voltages.  The charge coil on my 6hp Yamaha was able to raise my buss voltage to 16v once the battery was charged....  If I had motored at night with unregulated led Nav lights they likely would have expired quickly.

[Oscar]

Please do post a through review once you get them.  Thanks,

Will do.

The tough thing is that the life of led lights is very short outside of their voltage range.

O course solar input will likely not be generating when you are using lights, but other sources like the charge coil on an outboard can easily produce significantly higher voltages.  The charge coil on my 6hp Yamaha was able to raise my buss voltage to 16v once the battery was charged....  If I had motored at night with unregulated led Nav lights they likely would have expired quickly.

I'd think a zener diode should work as a simple solution for protection against overvoltage.

[CapnK]

Paul/skylark sent me a couple of his early experiments with the unregulated LED's and I've used them for cabin lighting with great success. They are not mounted right now, but are going back in down the road a bit after I get my interior 12V system installed.

[skylark]

I installed the homemade led series lights without a regulator in my proa.  The nav lights, anchor light and cabin lights are all homemade multiple series leds (4 5mm leds in series).  The only failures I have had have been solder connections or wire connections.  My power supply is sealed lead acid batteries charged by a solar panel with a charge controller.  I have not seen Voltage above 14V.

They are all still working although I have not used them much, cold weather arrived shortly after launching.

[Mario G]

All the lights on my boat have been LED's for over 2  years now , I think its the only way to go.  They are brighter, they also create no heat even the  brass cabin reading light that have cracked from the heat from original halogen bulbs.

[CharlieJ]

Yep- all interior lights aboard Tehani are LED.

Well, except for the kero lamp ;)

Anchor light is also.

Running lights are next.

[Tim]

Everything on the Ariel is LED, and the interior lights are minimal, one over sink, one over chart table and one in the Vberth area which is now storage and head. I also have a oil lamp in the cabin.