Simple electrical advice needed.

[Alexander]

Your issue of being highly visible was my concern too. I ended up going on Ebay and buying a 16' led strip with a peel and stick backing on it. I built a box with 2 on off switches and mounted it at the roofline on the port side over the dinette. I drilled 1 hole thru the cabinside high enough to be under the eve of the pilothouse roof and ran the wires out to connect to the light strips. I stuck the light strips to the inside of the eve of the roof and ran 1 strip around the front and the other around the rear of the inside of the eves. The result is a fully illuminated boat but the lights don't shine directly inside. The lights illuminate the house sides and decks very well and still use almost no juice. I can use the rear one as cockpit lighting as well. It's one of my favorite mods. Next time I'm near the boat at night I'll take some pics and put them in our album.

[Wandering Sagebrush]

[capt. meares]

Thank you constant craving. Your diagram looks simple enough, I like it. I appreciate your help.

[thataway]

One item to remember is that you want to use cable the same size as the engine battery starting cable for the new battery, and connecting to the switch. Be sure that the switch is "Make before break"--to protect the diodes on the engine charging system.

Get a 2 bank 3 stage battery charger and hook it directly to each of the batteries.

As for "making the boat more visible"--it actually causes confusion and is illegal to leave the running lights on when you are not actually running the boat.

The "LED" strip lighten is OK--and probably a good safety feature, assuming that the lights are low intensity, indirect and white. Direct Blue, red or green would be illegal, and cause confusion.

On some of my large boats, where the "anchor light" was 60 to 70 feet in the air on top of a mast, I would put secondary riding lights at the extreme bow and stern at about 10 feet off the water, or leave "spreader" lights to illuminate the deck, since many boaters are not looking up 70 feet to see an anchor light.

Generally the 2 mile visibility anchor light is more than adequate for visibility.

[Wandering Sagebrush]

And what Dr. Bob said!

[Alexander]

Yes, they are pure white, not colored or warm white and they don't blink. We primarily use them only during the evening until everybody is anchored and settled in for the night, when slowly motoring to the watch the Christmas boat parade or Fireworks etc. but there have been a few nights when they stayed on all night. Usually when we're in a crowded anchorage where there is traffic or when anchored near the ICW channel or something like that. I also forgot to mention that the entire project cost less than $20.

[thataway]

My question about having those dck/hull lights on when running would be what does it do to your night vision. Any white light on the deck will decrease your night vision. I personally would not run with any light which would reflect off the deck or into my eyes. If I use a flood light, or search light, it is monetary, and I keep one eye shut.

Certainly dinner cruises etc have some deck lights, but these are located where the glare does not impede the skipper's vision.

Also any lights which detract from the running lights, make it difficult for other boaters when underway. It might be more of a problem with the bicolor bow running light, than with separate red and green. Personally I would not run with any lights shinning on the cabin sides/deck etc. (I do have low level lights under the eyebrow, shining on the fore deck for anchoring, a flood light which will project a beam over 500 feet for ward, and a cockpit/aft light which will light up the cockpit and water/shore aft for about 30 feet. But only would use these momentary if every necessary.

Rules:

[Alexander]

All valid questions but we have had no problems that aren't easily manageable. We RARELY use them underway , as I stated, and only where there is so much ambient light ( that my running lights might be so small that they visually disappear against the background), and only at idle speeds in congested areas. These lights have 2 zone off switches so there is no problem with night vision. I can put the front section off while leaving the rears on with no effect on night vision. Again, night vision is already an issue from ambient light or I wouldn't have them on underway at all.
Have you ever seen a 60' sport fisherman coming in an inlet at night at 30 kts? They are lit up like a Christmas Tree with running lights, Deck lights, Side lights etc and you can see them for miles. In a crowd of boats we are pretty small and I'll take every bit of visibility I can get. That being said, we're usually anchored and asleep by the time most people need running lights. I hate night running.

[AstoriaDave]

Alexander,

Where you run, sounds like a war of lights, which no one wins.

Here, the bar pilots rag the crab boats all the time about the forward facing megawatt sodium vapor lights the crabbers leave on, even when transiting the bar, long after they are finished working pots.

Personally, I would run with the mandated running lights only, to not add my mini watts to the kilowatts of others, but I surely understand the problem where you are. Once away from the bright lights of heavy shoreside development, the red and the green with standard white lights would really stand out against the mangroves..

[thataway]

Yes, when there are bright lights ashore, and traffic lights which can be confused with running lights, there can be an issue. I have far more of an issue with tugs and tows, than with another C Dory! I have a lot of experience with back ground lights, with thousands of miles of night sailing all over the world. I have never run deck lights, except on a couple occasions to light up sails, or decks--long before AIS, when I was not sure a large freighter saw my lights. The best light for these conditions is a bright all around light. I always be sure that my "all around steaming light" is as bright as possible. That is the one which is seen first by commercial shipping. A quick flash of a search light (not in the eyes or bridge of the other vessel, is usually all that is necessary. Good that you maintain the night vision.---ambient shore lights should not hinder your night vision, unless you are very close to those lights.

Yes, we have the same problem with search lights on tugs and tows on the ICW--but a call on VHF is far better than deck lights. These boats which are lit up, usually see you on their radar. Squiders on the West coast have these very bright lights also. But there is the occasional sport fisher which runs into a restaurant--and not a not one can do about that, even with all of the lights in the world!

[AstoriaDave]

Couple of times running at night in the Columbia River, I have had that gulp in the throat feeling as I faced down a freighter, until I sorted out the meaning of the ship's running light presentation. In daylight, i run outside the shipping channel. At night, I prefer to run just inside the edge of the designated channel to avoid shallow water off channel and wingdams, not all of which are lit, so it helps to know what angle course the ship is taking and which side of the hull I am looking at.

If I had Alexander's added predicament of megawatts of bright backlighting from shoreside sources, I think I'd stay home!

[Kushtaka]

[Alexander]

I just added pics of LED illumination of CD 25 to my album as discussed previously in this thread. I put the anchor light on too. Note, there are no other light bulbs visible when this extra lighting is on. The boat just becomes more visible and the cockpit and decks are illuminated for working at night. These lights are not used underway unless in idle speed "parade" type conditions in congested areas.
They have bee a very positive and inexpensive safety addition IMHO.

[ssobol]

I have done a similar thing to my CD-22. Although I used individual LED fixtures instead of LED "ropes". They light the side "walks" and the bow deck at night when tending lines and the anchor. They also make the boat more visible when anchored in areas with traffic at night.

Didn't occur to me until I was almost done, but if I had to do it again, I might have used the LED ropes, easier to wire up. I might also go for RGB LEDs to be able to control/adjust the color.

I did use LED lights that are designed for marine use. The durability of even the "weather proof" the LED ropes is questionable. I have had some fail in other applications. While these lights are not required or critical, not having to deal with repairing/replacing them saves some pain.

I used the Lumitec Andros lights. I happen to have some extras if anyone is interested.