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Old 18-07-2018, 08:08   #1
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LED deck or spreader lights

Hello, I am looking for installing lightings to improve visibility and enjoyment of sailing, or chilling at dock at night.
It seemed that there are more people installing LED lights on deck rather on spreaders, practically is there any pro/cons of each?

I am thinking of installing underwater light at stern as well, have anyone done this on their sailboats?
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Old 18-07-2018, 09:09   #2
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LED deck or spreader lights

Deck lights are easy and often done to look cool.
Spreader lights are more effective if your objective is to light up the deck.
Underwater lights are the realm of powerboats tied to a Marina. Most sailors don’t knock another hole in their boat that has no use.

Now this is my opinion of course, it’s your boat, do what makes you happy
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Old 18-07-2018, 09:32   #3
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Re: LED deck or spreader lights

Thanks, I am leaning towards spreader lights as well, but I don't see it commonly done, unlike occasionally with deck lights.

On boats with foldable swimming platform, I think I can get by without knocking a hole? I imagine it would be cool for chilling and swimming at night.
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Old 18-07-2018, 10:00   #4
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Re: LED deck or spreader lights

We installed both on our new yacht, which I think is overkill, but installing these things is easy when the mast is down.

On our installation the spreader lights are better for making the boat visible, and the deck light is better if you want to work on deck, but they serve a similar function.

The effect will vary depending on exactly which lights are installed.
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Old 18-07-2018, 10:15   #5
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Re: LED deck or spreader lights

Do you have pictures of the lightings on?
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Old 18-07-2018, 10:24   #6
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Re: LED deck or spreader lights

No, sorry.
I would take some for you, but it does not go dark at these latitudes so I doubt they will show anything.

We also have some lights under the stern arch (the same fixtures as the spreader lights) these have a different effect. A good combination would be deck light or spreader lights (take your pick) together with lights under the stern arch (or similar lights towards the stern).
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Old 18-07-2018, 10:26   #7
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Re: LED deck or spreader lights

Don't know the size of your boat, but have you considered a combination steaming / deck light? The wiring is considerably easier than running wires out on your spreader, and it's one less hole to drill in aluminum.
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Old 18-07-2018, 10:29   #8
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Re: LED deck or spreader lights

Personally, I would not drill any more holes in my hull or deck than absolutely necessary.

As for foredeck & spreader lights. I suggest both: A red LED fore deck light so as to retain as much night vision as possible when needed. White LED spreader lights for usage when needed & retaining night vision is not important.
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Old 18-07-2018, 10:58   #9
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Re: LED deck or spreader lights

Noelex, I hope it wouldn't trouble you too much for taking the pictures.

John, my boat is 36 feet in length, not a large boat, I have just googled steaming/deck light combo, it looks neat, I just haven't seen it on a boat before, do it work as well as spreader lights?
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Old 18-07-2018, 11:21   #10
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Re: LED deck or spreader lights

Yes, a steaming/deck light combination is a good solution. We had this on our old boat. The sealed beam deck light was not the best and consumed a bit too much power to leave on for general illumination, but there are aftermarket LED globes that can replace the sealed beam.

The new boat has the Aqua Signal LED steaming/deck light. This is one of the few LED combination lights. The LED function is not so important for the steaming light (because the engine will be on) but the LED deck light is very nice.
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Old 19-07-2018, 00:49   #11
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Re: LED deck or spreader lights

This is the view from the cockpit just before midnight last night.
Spreader lights on the left, deck light on the right.
As you can see, there is not much difference. The spreader lights illuminate the mast and side of the boat (for visibility at anchor) and the deck light illuminates the foredeck for working at the anchor etc slightly better, but both lights do a similar job.

The lights look much brighter when it is actually dark.
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Old 19-07-2018, 01:25   #12
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Re: LED deck or spreader lights

I'm thinking of adding marine duallys from Rigid Industries.
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Old 19-07-2018, 03:03   #13
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Re: LED deck or spreader lights

Quote:
Originally Posted by old frog View Post
A red LED fore deck light so as to retain as much night vision as possible when needed.

You might like to check COLREGs and think about what it will look like to another vessel from different directions before doing that
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Old 19-07-2018, 03:50   #14
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Re: LED deck or spreader lights

First please do NOT put red as a foredeck light. There is someone in Miami who did that on the complete walk around deck. At night he drives on the ICW and you can’t tell what he is doing.

Second — the absolute best dockside lighting setup I’ve was on a Jenneau I delivered last year. The owner had run wire inside the Bimini and installed small 3/4” round chrome LEDS on the Bimini’s tubing. They burned blue. Not the best color for night vision, but it provided a nice soft and even lighting in the cockpit.
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Old 19-07-2018, 06:40   #15
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Re: LED deck or spreader lights

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Originally Posted by noelex 77 View Post
This is the view from the cockpit just before midnight last night.
Spreader lights on the left, deck light on the right.
As you can see, there is not much difference. The spreader lights illuminate the mast and side of the boat (for visibility at anchor) and the deck light illuminates the foredeck for working at the anchor etc slightly better, but both lights do a similar job.

The lights look much brighter when it is actually dark.
Yes, it seemed that there is not much difference, probably because the choice of light colour or you are using lower power LEDs.

You mentioned you have steaming deck lights before, do you think they work as well as your current spreader lights?
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