LED Navigation lights

[nmeyrick]

Apologies for the multiple posts, but I thought cleaner than one combined post.

I am also looking to replace my nav lights when under sail with LED and am seriously contemplating a Lopolight tricolour at the top of the mast, whilst retaining the old incandescents at deck level to use when under motor. Expensive but seems to be fit & forget, and I am planning to have the mast out shortly anyway to rewire so now would be the time.

But having read a few threads here a number of people seem to be suggesting that deck level nav lights give beter visibility than masthead in any case. An alternative approach then would be to fit LED lights at deck level, and leave the old incandescent tricolour as a fall back. Advantages would be:

- still benefit from reduced draw when under motor therefore more available for charging batteries
- easier to service/replace so can use cheaper fittings

My concerns would be:

- less visibility at distance especially when offshore
- Although deck level nav lights with no steaming light is a recognised combination for sail under collregs, I cant help feeling people would not be expecting to see this therefore easily confused and may assume you are a power boat that forgot or lost its masthead. Tricolour on the other hand is unambiguous.

Any thoughts?

 

[Georgio]

Hi Neil,
For what it’s worth I would stick with a bright LED masthead light as low level lights are going to be harder to see as your fine steed dips it’s bow and stern in the drink as the sea builds. That just leaves the problem of what masthead light to fit (I have the Nasa LED unit and it works very well, however there have been some reports of failures). The Lopo units are very good but what a price!!!

When rewiring the mast make sure you use decent quality tinned wire, small increase in cost but well worth it.

I would stick with incandescent bulb deck-level nav lights as you will most likely have these on when motoring so power use is less of a problem.

Hope to see you both soon.
G

 

[Ex-SolentBoy]

LED lights are excellent at both deck level and masthead. We have Lopos in both locations and I would challenge anyone to tell the difference at night, at a distance.

Yes, they are a price, but they are fit and forget. If that's importnat to you, and you have the money, then why not?

 

[VicS]

The low power consumption of an LED tricolour for use when sailing makes sense esp if your battery capacity is limited.

Retention of the deck level incandescents for use when motoring and as an alternative or back up to the tricolour also makes good sense esp as battery capacity is not an issue under power

The only time there is objection to using a tricolour is when it is likely to be lost among shore lights when viewed from the bridge of a ship.
Entering a commercial harbour is the time you are most likely to want to use the deck level lights rather than a tricolour but you can always switch the deck level lights on if necessary , ie when you see a ship creeping up on you, otherwise stick to the tricolour when sailing.

Your steaming light when under power can either be the "masthead" light visible through the same arc of visibility as the port and starboard lights or it can be combined with the stern light as an all round white light ( subject of course to the length of the vessel) atop the mast.
Again entering harbour under power you might want to use the deck level stern light rather than an all round white atop the mast so the ability to choose between all-round white and stern and steaming lights is an advantage

The choice of LEDs or incandescents is largely one of personal preference. IMHO

To opt for LEDs you must be convinced of their reliability .. doubtful with some of the less expensive options I think... and prepared to pay the high cost of them for perhaps little advantage.

Personally I chose to replace and incandescent tricolour with another. I was not prepared to pay the price of the Lopolight. The Nasa one was not then available ... fortunately perhaps as I would probably have fitted one. My port, starboard, stern and steaming lights remain incandescents.

 

[vyv_cox]

The many problems I have experienced with masthead incandescent anchor and tricolour lights have all been with the contact between the bulbs and the holders. For this reason I cannot see that a replacement LED offers any reliability improvement.

I fitted a Lopolight combined unit three seasons ago. It has performed perfectly and gives what appears to be a highly visible light, and judging from tests that have been carried out, at acceptable angles of heel.

Having a reliable masthead light means that I need to do nothing to the deck lights that only operate when the engine is running and can be replaced easily if necessary. Although it is worth checking the colour of the lenses. After a few years I found that sunlight had bleached the colour to such an extent in my starboard one that it was virtually white.

 

[prv]

The many problems I have experienced with masthead incandescent anchor and tricolour lights have all been with the contact between the bulbs and the holders. For this reason I cannot see that a replacement LED offers any reliability improvement.

Because it doesn't have any contacts! Mine is a solid block of epoxy with a wire pigtail coming out, which I will soon permanently bond to the cable up the mast with heatshrink adhesive solder butts, rendering the whole thing into an impervious maintenance-free paragon of reliability. That's the theory anyway, but it seems plausible.

I know it's not evidence, but there's a nice anecdote about the owner of one of these lights being unfortunately dismasted in a South Pacific storm, and seeing his masthead light glowing away 35 feet underwater all the time he was working to cut away the shrouds.

Pete

 

[Dockhead]

The Lopo lights look nice, but I have heard a few stories about failures of these, too. And the cost of course is shocking.

 

[Slipperman]

LED Navigation Lights

I have the Lopolight Tricolour with Anchor Light at the masthead, and also a Lopolight steaming light half way up the mast. I have been pleased with both, but I have found that I rarely use the masthead anchor light, preferring instead to plug in a light at lower level on a wandering lead - I think lower down is a more natural position for an anchor light. So if I was doing it again I think I would buy the Lopolight Tricolour without the anchor light and save a few quid.

 

[Fascadale]

Mine is a solid block of epoxy with a wire pigtail coming out, which I will soon permanently bond to the cable up the mast with heatshrink adhesive solder butts, rendering the whole thing into an impervious maintenance-free paragon of reliability.

Home made or bought?

And if so, where from?

Is there any way of fitting this kind of setup into the traditional Aquasignal tri?

 

[prv]

Home made or bought?
And if so, where from?

Bought - from Bebi. Almost scarily nice people to deal with - when my first purchase from them didn't turn up in the expected timescale, they apologised profusely (despite it being Fedex's fault, not theirs) and sent a duplicate package after it, of their own accord and without any delay, investigation or quibble. When I bought some more lights months later, they remembered the previous incident and upgraded my order to a faster service at their own expense to further make up for it. Their timezone means they're online in the evening when I tend to be sorting boat stuff, and they respond to emails near-instantaneously.

When I realised I needed to drill into the tops of some units for fixing screws, and emailed to check I wouldn't be damaging any hidden electronics, they confirmed that was fine but added that they'd have done the drilling for me free of charge if only I'd asked

Is there any way of fitting this kind of setup into the traditional Aquasignal tri?

That's actually what they're designed for. The one downside of the Bebi setup is that most of their lights can't be used standalone, but have to go into an existing holder. However, if you already have the holders, this is no problem. My "masina" light on the provided spacer glued neatly over the hole in the bottom of my Aquasignal bicolour, leaving a handy "wiring bay" inside the fitting's removable bottom plug to connect the incoming cable.

I also managed to fit them into smaller stern and steaming light enclosures, but that required slightly more ingenuity as I'd bought the wrong LED units ("masina afa" instead of "masina kuaka" - the silly names are Fijian).

They aren't drop-in replacements, but if you're prepared to do some PBO-style fettling to install them, they seem like a good bet. I used one of their anchor lights all last season, and will also have them for all my nav lights and a number of internal lights this year.

Pete