LED nav lights

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Rhapsode

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Has anyone got practical experience of the reliability of LED replacement bulbs in their tricolour / anchor lights? My mast is down at the moment so it would be a good time to fit them. On the other hand - I really don't like climbing the mast - especially if I have to go up just to swap them back!
 
As far as I can tell this issue is fraught with potential problems. I'm certain to be corrected if wrong, but my understanding is that there is not an MCA approved LED bulb which can be fitted into a conventional light. There are certain problems with the cut off angle as heel changes, thus opening up the possibility of the light not being legal. Again, as far as I know, the only UK/EU approved LED light is the rather expensive, but beautifully made Lopolite.At £270 odd it is not cheap, but after looking at the options, as soon as I can afford one, I'll be getiing a Lopolite.
 
I bought a Lopolight for exactly the reasons you say. Changing the bulb type seems to bring various problems, including the cutoff that you mention but also the colour, which apparently can be completely wrong. On top of that, my existing bulb holders are pretty dodgy anyway, bad contacts, etc, so a new light seemed by far the best option.
 
Martin -

Is there a combined masthead out as well? I missed it at LIBS, and I can't find any info on it on their website.

As a matter of interest, you havn't run up both versions in your workshop to see the differences?
 
We looked at these - but would want a combined tri-colour w. anchor light if possible. I presume you could stick the tricolour on top of the anchor light, but a combined unit with 3 wire cabling would much easier to install and replace an existing combined unit.

Jonny
 
Just spoke to NASA - they are planning a combined unit - but it won't be available until next year at the earliest.

Also, they don't produce a bracket to mount the seperate tri-colour and anchor lights together!

So, despite being well price, they don't seem such a good idea as most yachts I see have a combined unit up-top! NASA suggested you could fabricate your own bracket to hold the two units - but they don't supply or envisage supplying such a bracket.

Jonny
 
But you might consider having a tricolour only at the masthead and a Triton anchor light down at eye-level. I know there has been some discussion about this on the forums but IMHO having the light down low is a far safer option. I can recommend the Triton, last year in an anchorage at Vulcano ours was something like twice as bright as every other one.
 
I use a separate anchor light hung in the rigging, but the all round manthead is my steaming light, so not having one would mean installing two new whites elsewhere.
 
Re: LED nav lights - blue cabbages

I have been looking at this over the winter and have now fitted an LED bulb in the anchor light but left the tricolour alone in our combined Aquasignal.

There were a couple of reasons for this - I have seen LED anchor lights used before and they are incredibly bright and give a very useful reduction to power consumption.

But the tricolour - several people have noted odd colour rendering when using a white LED through coloured glass/plastic and I have noticed that when walking dog wearing an LED headlight you do get blue cabbages in the fields!!

I did also try to change all the below decks lights to LED but there was an uprising in the ranks (principally SWMBO) over the non-compatability of LED's with Scrabble and reading other than Ladybird books.
 
Good point!

We have no steaming light, so use our 'anchor' light as a steaming / stern light when under power.

The only draw back I see with the Triton is having to run a power cable down through a hatch, across the floor and to a 12v socket - or do you have a neater solution (I thought about a deck plug for power, but wouldn't trust it to be 100% waterproof when on passage).

Jonny
 
Re: LED nav lights - blue cabbages

Bit of thread drift here, sorry, but did you use the 'warm' LED's in the cabin? We are looking at these at the moment.

We got 1 to try from a supplier, but it is quite blue in colour - so its resigned to the chart table light now. SWMBO want's warmer ones in the saloon.

Jonny
 
Re: LED nav lights - blue cabbages

I bought one at this place:

http://www.sailorsolutions.com

and I'm quite happy with it. Although not officially approved by the EU, it's approved in the USA. They (US coastguard) are more difficult to please I've been told (that is, in this area...)

Personal observations concur with the claims made for the product.
It's very well build from aluminium (no plastics other then the clear lenses)

Arno
 
[ QUOTE ]
Martin -

Is there a combined masthead out as well? I missed it at LIBS, and I can't find any info on it on their website.

As a matter of interest, you havn't run up both versions in your workshop to see the differences?

[/ QUOTE ]

Hullo, sorry for being slow.

I have not compared them side by side, but they are both very bright indeed.

The Triton lights are great and I am talking to providers of a self contained version (no lead).

The issue surrounding mast head or structure level lighting is an important one, my own preference is for a white up top and separate led nav lights lower down.
 
I have always had a deck socket in the cockpit, to drive the Tillerpilot, and had one in the anchor locker for about 10 years for a searchlight, which blinds the helm if used in the cockpit. I also have one at the foot of the mast, which a solar panel plugs into. They are Dri-plugs and none has ever leaked a drop.
 
Re: LED nav lights - blue cabbages

[ QUOTE ]
Bit of thread drift here, sorry, but did you use the 'warm' LED's in the cabin? We are looking at these at the moment.

[/ QUOTE ]I have a couple of warm white LEDs in the forepeak reading lights. They're a lot brighter than the old bulbs, tho I don't know what they were, and quite acceptable in terms of colour.

Not really bright enough for the saloon to my mind, tho - but I like bright for cooking, passage plannning and so on. I prefer halogen lights for that.
 
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