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Posted

Hi all, am considering installing LED deck lights on my older Stratos bass boat and am looking for any suggestions from those who may have already done this, i.e. Height from the deck, spacing etc.. Also thinking about the lockers and live wells.

Thanks 

Gene

  • Super User
Posted

590632cf76a45_led001.thumb.JPG.1a3116a6d48a54e671730f0fb54240c3.JPG001.thumb.JPG.84239360254fd0e5327fd332fa74a856.JPG002.thumb.JPG.0dd194391f31a7e9c6c4e6513cd20c7c.JPG

I went with amber because it does not attract bugs while night fishing but allows me to see the gunwales so I don't fall in the drink

  • Like 2
Posted

Looks really good, what's the single light on the bow and stern at the end of the strip? Did you install a dimmer switch for the rail lights? I'm thinking plunger switchs for my storage and rod boxes, that way they only activate when I open them. Which battery circuits did you use, starter or the trolling motor? Also, with that many LEDs was there a noticeable draw on the battery? Sorry, lots of questions, thanks for taking the time to respond.

Gene

One last question, how high up did you mount them from the carpet?

Gene

  • Super User
Posted

The single light on the bow and the one in the middle of the cockpit at the stern were factory installed. The center rod box and front and rear livewells also came with factory installed LED's. No dimmer switch. I piggybacked the deck lighting into the existing acc/light circuit and the rod locker lights are connected to the nav/anchor light switch. I connected them to the nav/anchor switch because that switch is always on after dark and I may or may not have the deck lights on. I upped the fuse size on the nav lights from 5 to 7.5 amps and upped the acc/light from 5 to 10 amps. The additional amp draw is minimal, I don't recall the exact amount but it is only a coupe amps. I also attempted to install a door switch on the rod lockers but they failed pretty quickly. If I could find a switch that would hold up, I'd use it.   

  • Like 1
Posted

Thanks , that's some good info, especially the fuses , honestly had not thought of upping the amps. One last question, how high up did you mount them from the carpet?

Thanks again.

Gene

  • Super User
Posted

I would never do it but looks cool ;)

  • Super User
Posted
1 hour ago, Gene Eby said:

Thanks , that's some good info, especially the fuses , honestly had not thought of upping the amps. One last question, how high up did you mount them from the carpet?

Thanks again.

Gene

Theyre mounted to the underside of the gunwales 

28 minutes ago, Catt said:

I would never do it but looks cool ;)

Theyre quite functional.  I fish a narrow section of the Wisconsin river with high cliffs on either side. Many times the moonlight wont make its way to where im located. Its nice to know where the boat ends and the water begins

  • Super User
Posted

The top of my boats are white, easy to see even on moonless nights!

  • Super User
Posted

I use 1 underwater powerful underwater at the stern to light up everything around the boat, including the shoreline enough to know where the water starts. This makes it easy to net bass at night and after the eyes adjust you can see very well, good enough to retie.

The lakes I fish at night have clear water, so the light luminates all around the boat and we don't have very many biting bugs!

I have tried black lights, flood lights, LED lights and setlled on the underwater, spot light for navigation if needed and a clip on LED hat light when needed.

Perimeter LED lighting looks good and several boats have them, just not my cup of tea.

Tom

 

  • Super User
Posted
59 minutes ago, Redlinerobert said:

That looks great!  Do the lights pulse with the music?  :P

Im trying to figure out how to mount a disco ball

  • Super User
Posted

Apparently now they make speakers with lights.  What will they think of next?

 

 

  • Like 1
  • Super User
Posted

I haven't done the deck lights yet, I was planning on adding them to mine soon though. As far as spacing and height you're going to have to experiment with that based on what look you're going for. Not knowing how high the gunnels are on your boat you may be able to mount yours a considerable distance off the deck. If you keep them up higher they'll still provide light, but you may not see as much of a pattern on your carpet. (see picture) The angle of your gunnel will also dictate this. 

40087_6_Red.jpg

 

On my last boat, I put lights in my compartments using LED strips. I had an "interior lights" switch on my last boat, so I wired the compartment lights to that. If I didn't have that, I would have wired them in with the navigation lights. If you do deck lights, you'll probably want them on something other than the navigation switch as having them on could interfere when you're running in low light. If I remember correctly some boats use a type of magnetic switch for their hatches. You might want to look into those if you're concerned about amp draw. From what I've found, led's don't pull much for power at all and I didn't have to worry about upgrading any wiring. (pics of my old boat for reference)

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Posted

Thanks , that's some good info, especially the fuses , honestly had not thought of upping the amps. One last question, how high up did you mount them from the carpet?

Thanks again.

Gene

Posted

Thanks for the info, my boat is an older Stratos , the gunnels are about 4 inches high, and the fronts are at a 90 degree angle from the floor however the aft are angled at about 30 degrees. My concern is that the aft lights will shine up and miss the floor entirely. Your lockers and wells are what I'm intending to do with mine. I intend to run deck and locker lights on a separate circuit and the others, (courtesy) on the same circuit as the nav lights , , thanks very much for the input. Man there is so much knowledge here, you guys are always willing to assist.

Gene

Posted

My buddy picked up a pack of these things somewhere cheap and stuck them on his boat to see where he wanted to mount LED's and wound up keeping them for a year. They were nice, you could tap them with your toe to turn them off and on and stuck to the carpet with velcro.  http://www.homedepot.com/p/Light-It-Luna-Tap-Light-30302-308/207169793?cm_mmc=Shopping|THD|DigitalDecor|google|D27L+Interior+Lighting|_pkw__pmt__product_207169793&mid=sirFzxEqw|dc_mtid_8903yuu57254_pcrid_142160173350_pkw__pmt__product_207169793_slid_&gclid=Cj0KEQjwxbDIBRCL99Wls-nLicoBEiQAWroh6ja3PlqtyF_3m27cdPC9HMV-oBgy3vYACBZ2fjTxbJ8aAiCT8P8HAQ

 

  • Like 1
Posted

L. n L. Like the idea of the luna light, may try that in a couple of storage boxes, installed the LEDs yesterday, wow, glad I installed a dimmer, can't even imagine trying to fish and not being able to dim them down. They are so bright , I was testing them out after installation in the back yard and was afraid NASA would come and investigate. I must say they are exactly what I wanted , the hardest part was actually drilling the first hole in the glass gunnels, man that was tough. But the end product was well worth it.

 

Thanks to all who assisted me with their input. 

Gene

 

I will try to post some pics in the next few days.

  • Like 2
  • Super User
Posted

Glad it worked out for you! You'll definitely have to post some pics!

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