Back to the main site

Perimeter L.E.D lighting

lakebum said:
I really wanted to do this but at last years boat show, a vendor had them on an off-brand barge, turned on for display. A ranger of some sort came by and told them if he catches them on the water with them turned on that he would write them a ticket. He could be wrong and I have acquired the number of the person in charge of boating laws in Arkansas. Just need to follow up. Steve
Click to expand...
Lakebum - Just to clarify, based on prior posts I've read about outside (the boat) lights, that your comments is only for BLUE lights (because they are reserved for law enforcement use) right?

Obviously green and red have their navigation uses as well. Doesn't leave many colors left in the old color wheel... But, certainly something to ask the local law enforcement about how they would react if they saw it before you go through the work (and before they use it as a reason to stop and check you out).
 
Is the only "absolutely legal" solution to put red lights on the port side and green lights on starboard side? No one can see both sides at the same time anyway...
 
kaydano, seems like it would be REALLY safe to do red and green down the sides. No way to mistake which way a barge is going. Steve
 
Padre said:
Thanks Spinzone! This will be one of my first projects once spring hits. :)

Oh, PS: did you get all/most of your supplies from brightleds?
Click to expand...
Anytime! I

I did buy all of mine from superbrightleds. know some online vendors have lights cheaper but I've read horror stories about bulbs burning out after an hour of use and waterproof strips getting wet and shorting out completely. I have more than 50 hours on my lights and have been soaked on more than one occasion. They still work like brand new!

Btw... I consider Geewest to be an expert on the LED subject. He is a great wealth of knowledge on the subject and has some great YouTube videos on the soldering subject.
 
kaydano said:
Is the only "absolutely legal" solution to put red lights on the port side and green lights on starboard side? No one can see both sides at the same time anyway...
Click to expand...
USCG regulations show no stipulation AGAINST this, but you may want to contact the enforcement officers of your boating area, We have USCG and Fish & Game where we boat, so who knows who will enforce what. It's funny, the Park Ranger can not enforce "water" rules, but the "Fish & Game" can enforce "land" rules ie....fishing license violations and such .......
 
spinzone said:
Anytime! I

I did buy all of mine from superbrightleds. know some online vendors have lights cheaper but I've read horror stories about bulbs burning out after an hour of use and waterproof strips getting wet and shorting out completely. I have more than 50 hours on my lights and have been soaked on more than one occasion. They still work like brand new!

Btw... I consider Geewest to be an expert on the LED subject. He is a great wealth of knowledge on the subject and has some great YouTube videos on the soldering subject.
Click to expand...
Thank you again! If you use the waterproof strips, should you still put it in a waterproof tube?
 
I did not use any type of waterproof tubing for mine. Just the rubberized coating that is molded around the strips.
 
spinzone said:
Padre,

You'd need a total of 3 strands at 5 meters or 16.5' approx each.

You could run 2 full length and 2 cut to length but it becomes more complicated. You need to run 4 strand wire back to your controller for 2 strands on each side (4 total). This could become a big project running it underneath the boat and through waterproof tubing. That's why I'm a proponent of soldering the two strands together with a short "jumper".

Btw.... The stranded wire is difficult to find. Here is the type I'm referring to.

http://www.superbrig...product/45/288/
Click to expand...
I'm still confused. Why 3 strips? Do you cut/solder the 3rd strip to make the other two longer?
 
Sorry for the confusion. If I remember correctly you'll need 21.5' of lights to run from bow to stern under the decking. What you'll need to do is run 1 entire length (16.5') strand soldered to a 5' cut piece from strand #3. This is done on both port and starboard sides of the boat.

If you get strands with pigtails pre soldered on BOTH ends, you are in great shape! Put heat shrink tubing on the strand and splice in end pigtail from strand #1 to pigtail from cut end of #3 and you're good to go.

Feel free to pm me if you have questions when tackling this project. It'll make much more sense when you have the lights and wire in hand.
 
Here is a video i took of the lights in action. Cant wait for summer to come.



Alex...
 
Good luck with the project Alex. It sure is fun to light up the docks at night!
 
Is there much of a difference (other than price) between the 300, 160 and 30 LED strips? Which one should I use for my perimeter lighting?
 
Last edited by a moderator:
Just overall brightness and saturation. Most of the strips I've found are 60 LEDs / meter. One caveat I've found with the cheaper models such as the Taotronics 5m kits with remotes is that you need to buy repeaters to power more than a 5m section. Total pain in the butt.
 
Does any one have any pics of the factory installed sidelights ? Not the lit night photos, but actual closeups of how they look under the railing. I had the underwater lights factory installed, but thinking of having my dealer install sidelights this winter. Wish Bennington would prewire them at the factory for later install, but understand probably a small percentage of people get them.. Thanks Gerry
 
Royo, My boat came with sidelights and lighted bimini and they are on separate switches; not sure if there is an electrical reason
 
gerry said:
Does any one have any pics of the factory installed sidelights ? Not the lit night photos, but actual closeups of how they look under the railing. I had the underwater lights factory installed, but thinking of having my dealer install sidelights this winter. Wish Bennington would prewire them at the factory for later install, but understand probably a small percentage of people get them.. Thanks Gerry
Click to expand...
Gerry, sorry my boat is in storage no pix but I will tell you that of all the lights on my boat including the underwater the side lights are by far the most impressive
 
Link said:
Gerry, sorry my boat is in storage no pix but I will tell you that of all the lights on my boat including the underwater the side lights are by far the most impressive
Click to expand...
Thanks Link, I believe I saw you post that before, (or someone else did), and got me thinking. I called my dealer and he is ordering the factory kit and is sending a couple guys over to my place to install it. .He says it comes with the labeled switch to go beside my underwater switch. It will replace one of the unused accessory switches. I have a heated steel building for them to work in where I keep my boat so they say they will love that. Can't wait. Thanks Gerry
 
Last edited by a moderator:
I am also a long time fan of superbright leds. Several years ago I did an LED project on my bowrider, and I think this coming season will be the Bennington's turn. Obviously the bowrider does not have shiny toons to light up with perimeter LEDs, but for those that are considering lighted cupholders, here's some pics of the mod I did that should work for the Bennington as well.

superbrightbtm.jpg


corona.jpg


BOW.jpg


In person, the cupholders appear to be a much deeper red, not the white or orange shown in the pics.
 
Last edited by a moderator:
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top