Back to the main site

LED Lighting

bucktheplumber

bucktheplumber

Active Member
Messages
37
Reaction score
37
First off i am new to this sight as we just purchased our first Bennington pontoon "first pontoon in general" We ended up getting a 18 23ssbxp twin toon with a 150 Yamaha with a SS 15x15 prop, sea legs, tow bar, changing room, hydro steering, and Lily pad diving board. We are very excited as we have young family and we know the kids will enjoy it. There are a lot of amazing people here with great ideas, I am looking to install new LED lighting on our new Benny as it did not come with it from the factory, I would like to install the lights on the back of the tubes under water is there any one who could recommend a brand or style that work good
 
I picked up the RBG lights from Amazon and the underwater lights from Academy Sports. I wasn't spending $350/light for those wake lights that I saw from some vendors.

I am fixing to add two more lights for the wake, so they will be twice as lit. They would be much brighter than the pic, but the water we boat in is muddy. :)

Lit wake.jpg RBG Lights.jpg
 
Anyone run into law enforcement issues when running with LED lights on their boats at night? The Coast Guard rules are somewhat vague and were written before the advent of LED lighting. This article seems to indicate the acceptance of them varies around the country. I opted not to have them on the outside of my new Bennington because locals said they technically are illegal to use when running. However, they do help being able to see the boat at night so you would think authorities would welcome them.... I'm waiting to see how it plays out and how many folks get ticketed for using them. http://www.pdbmagazine.com/2014/01/are-you-legal
 
They do enforce that out here. It's fine if your beached or possibly even just floating but underway they have to be off. I'm friends with a retired lake cop and he told me the reason being is they drown out the nav lights.
 
From what I hear, at LOTO in MO, having them on under power will get u a 'safety check' in less than 15 minutes.
 
I’ve seen people pulled over a couple of times on our lake (Houghton Lake, Michigan) last year that were running them in the late evening. Not sure how common it is, or if it is a legal excuse to pull over someone and do a safety check/drinking check. We haven’t used our exterior lights much due to being concerned about getting a ticket. However, they are very cool looking when on at night. We’ve had them on when ankored at night or while in our lift dockside.
 
Underway, the ONLY lights that should be on are navigation. As stated, decorative lights can drown out nav lights. Boating regulations are made for a reason. Please follow them for safety sake. They do look awesome though.
 
In Texas. No docking lights while running. Rear white underwater fishing lights are fine. Side accent lights are good too. As long as nothing obstructs the nav lights.
 
62E6E855-F449-44AB-BD18-C1B3D30600B4.jpeg I have ran with mine on with no issue at night. Until I am told no I will use them. I don’t drink and my boat is a safety paradise. I am in Missouri. I had people follow me since they felt I was the safest boat on the lake at night with all the lights.
 
Last edited:
Alicedream said:
View attachment 22217 I have ran with mine on with no issue at night. Until I am told no I will use them. I don’t drink and my boat is a safety paradise. I am in Missouri. I had people follow me since they felt I was the safest boat on the lake at night with all the lights.
Click to expand...
Wow I really like the Green ! Is this from the factory or did you install it ?
 
bucktheplumber said:
Wow I really like the Green ! Is this from the factory or did you install it ?
Click to expand...

This was installed at factory. The green is one of 13 colors you can choose from with RGB lighting.
 
I have seen this debated ad nauseum on various boating forums the last few years. No problem using them while underway on Lake Murray in SC. Nearly every modern pontoon on my lake runs them at night. And I boat as much at night as during daylight. I even had the chief DNR officer on my lake look at my lights in person and he gave me the go-ahead. In SC, flashing blue lights are reserved, by law, for law enforcement. SC code of laws does not say anything about solid blue lights.

I'm nearly positive Coast Guard regulations that many people quote apply to navigable waters. An inland lake with no outlet to the sea is not considered "navigable water." Lake Murray near Columbia, SC is an inland lake so Coast Guard regs do not apply to my lake. (I realize local laws may be identical to the Coast Guard regs and would apply in those locations.)

I run 16 foot blue LED strips down the side of my 22 foot plus tubes and they stop a few feet from the nav lights so my nav lights are clearly visible. I don't believe my lights night blind someone because no part of the LED is visible. You only see a beautiful cobalt blue glow off the toons and water. I can see where they would night blind someone in close quarters, so I turn them off in those situations.

I decided to mount LED's after an experience watching fireworks on Independence Day several years ago. Our lake gets so crowded that night it is unbelievable. Out of a virtual sea of tiny red, green and white lights, l could clearly see a pontoon with blue LED side lights from literally 2 miles away. That sold me.

We had a pair of 2 fatality wrecks (4 fatalities total) within a mile of each other an hour apart 8 years ago and the root cause was the larger, faster boat in each case did not see the tiny nav lights of the boats they ran over. (The second wreck happened because that boat captain was fixated on the law enforcement lights from the first wreck and ran over a jon boat right in front of him, killing two more people.) You won't convince me that would happen on a boat with 16 feet of LED lights.

When people say they can't tell which way a boat is moving (towards or away from you), I respond by saying you can see me from at least two miles away. You'll have plenty of time to decide on your course.

IMG_1185.JPG
 
Blue is the most visible color at night. Hence the reason they line runways at airports. You can see them for miles and miles!!!
 
I've run at night with mine on since late summer of 2015. I've not been told not to, by law enforcement. They've surely had the chance to stop me if they thought I was violating the law. Some states are just a little more lax when it comes to recreation. With our first outdoor even coming up this Friday, I'll be running with them on again.
 
Last night.

To view this content we will need your consent to set third party cookies.
For more detailed information, see our cookies page.


To view this content we will need your consent to set third party cookies.
For more detailed information, see our cookies page.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top