Helia 44: Lighting and LEDs

[Cotemar]

Helia 44 has LED lighting everywhere.

[mndreamchaser1]

Does anyone know where to get replacement led reading lights for the Helia 44? Like the one shown below. I have not been able to find a matching replacement. The led's seem to get corroded in the salt air. Any assistance appreciated.

[Lake-Effect]

Originally Posted by mndreamchaser1

Does anyone know where to get replacement led reading lights for the Helia 44? Like the one shown below. I have not been able to find a matching replacement. The led's seem to get corroded in the salt air. Any assistance appreciated.

other than Fontaine-Pajot... no. But somewhere there must be a marking or other indication of the actual maker of the lamp?

Also, if it's possible to remove the LED bulb and show us, probably we can identify it. Worst-case... you'll have to buy a whole new lamp.

Sorry to hear about the corrosion, especially since the LEDs themselves should last 10+ years of normal use! I'm experimenting with dipping my LED assemblies in clear urethane, which should keep any moisture away. One hopes.

[Dod42]

Just a warning on the Hollywood strip lights, they are power pigs and draw quite a lot of power. We have them on our Lipari and used them a lot as they where more subdued lighting until I put a meter on them and found what they draw.

[Lake-Effect]

Originally Posted by Dod42

Just a warning on the Hollywood strip lights, they are power pigs and draw quite a lot of power. We have them on our Lipari and used them a lot as they where more subdued lighting until I put a meter on them and found what they draw.

We installed 12v warm white LED strip in our small boat, and yeah, it likes its current; about 1A for about 10 ft of the stuff. I found though that with a PWM (pulse-width modulation) type dimmer, you could get down to a 50% duty-cycle (for an average current of 0.5A) while maintaining close to 80% of the apparent brightness,and full-on it was too bright anyway. The places that sell the strips also usually sell dimmers (including ebay sellers).

[sailing_jack]

Watch out for rf interference from the current controlers. Some are very noisy

[SVI]

nice. Which LEDs did you use.
I bought 30 G4s - but all defect, overheat.
Next are very weak and greenish(
Appreciate a good source of affordable leds.

[mgstich]

I would like to add additional lights to our salon ceiling, especially in the galley.

I am just beginning to research this and would like any suggestions available.

Has anyone added lights to the Helia? Can you tell me what you did and how the project went for you?

Thank you,
Mary Grace

[cwjohm]

You need lights which illuminate both benches. Easy to install either side of stove cabinet. Several new Helia owners have visited our boat and commented on this and gone on to install their own lights.

A glaring omission by FP.

[mgstich]

Cwjohm, I agree it is a big oversight. Did you add any additional lights in the hulls? Specifically the aft, port cabin seems a bit dark too.

Do I have to increase the circuits to handle the additional salon lights?

Where did you order the lights?

I have never done any electrical work, do you suggest I attempt it myself or hire a professional?

Thanks for your help.

[cwjohm]

No problems in port aft cabin. You can always connect ac reading lights to the powerpoints if necessary.

LED lights are fine - no increase in fuses.

You are from USA so I assume you get them from Walmart.

There is no easy 12V connection and the oven and hotplate are there so I suggest you hire an electrician. The electrician can source the lights.

Whilst you are at it you should also fit a fan on the right side of the oven to cool the saloon, and fans in the cabins are also a nice addition.

[mgstich]

Thank you so much for the information.

I would like to find matching square light fixtures. Did you use the same fixtures?

We have our boat in charter and are removing it Sept. 1st. We will then make some changes to prepare it for living aboard and cruising. I am trying to buy any parts I will need and ship them so I know exactly what we are putting into the boat.

We did add 2 fans in the saloon and 1 in each cabin... excellent additions!

Thank you again for sharing your knowledge.

[cwjohm]

No, the square lights are not practical. You need adjustable downlights attached to the woodwork either side of the stove. That way you can adjust to illuminate different parts of the benches.

Ours are silver. Aesthetically they blend in.

If you already have a fan up there then installation is trivial.

[onthehook17]

Has anyone had to replace the LED strip lights in the ceiling and the cabinet kick spaces of the salon on a Helia.
2 questions:
1. What did you use to replace these strip LED lights?
2. How difficult is the access and wiring?
Any suggestions are appreciated. Photo attached

[captainjay]

The factory lights in the ceiling are Hella lights. I have added multiple lights to all four of the Helia's that we have in charter. Showed hull two to reps from the factory. We put one over the stove one over the island above the freezer one over the nav station and over the counter left of the sink and an additional one in the ceiling by the door opening.

We have had to replace the led strips on all three of the early hulls that we have. We bought replacements on amazon.

Jay