Running Lights

[commanderpete]

Yes, yes, young Rico, the cure for my present ailments is quite clear, at least to me.

But navigation lights is a very important subject. I keep mine burning day and night as protection from my enemies, of which there are many, as I have told you.

Pretty soon I will feel better and can go back to my usual form of insanity, which includes attaching a photo or two with every post

[Commander 147]

I know exactly how you feel. While I live in Florida where fall, winter and spring are our prime sailing seasons I have not been out anywhere near as much as I usually require to avoid the withdrawal shakes.
 
We have had the coldest winter here since 1977 and to top it off my boat is stuck on the hard. If not for true friends Dave, Tim and Tom who take me sailing I would be in an institution right now. As a matter of fact I just came back from Charlotte Harbor where Tim had me crew on is new to him as of today Tartan 3000. I feel so much better after having gone sailing today, and so will you but as Rico says you need to do it now, don't waste any time, run don't walk to the nearest sailboat and go sailing. :D
 
BTW I will reply to your e-mail as soon as I post this.

[commanderpete]

Very good. Message received and understood.

It helps to talk about these things. I think just a sniff of varnish would be good too.

Maybe I'm not being chased and followed around by enemies after all.

[John]

CommanderPete;

I am sufferng from the same disease as I look out at Commander No 287 in the front corner of the yard.  It was a lucky thing that she was there instead of closer to the house...
See http://www.flickr.com/photos/jhg2/sets/72157623535053242/

I have however gotten as far as making up a new mooring rode...So there is progress.

John

[Commander 147]

I bought a new stern light for my commander of which I only plan to use the base and the new glass dome from. I will be using my old top piece and plan to have it rechromed.
 
So I have the new top piece I purchased, my old base and cracked glass dome, and Commander Pete sent me his old base and top piece to offer to anyone that needs it also. The glass dome can be purchased new for either of these old lights. I should also mention that both of the old bases need a new socket installed in them.

[Commander 147]

All I have left is one of the base sections. Free to anyone that wants it...

[Rico]

I just installed an LED light on my Steaming light fixture. This was the last incandescent bulb I had... I am now completely LED...

It took me a while to get to this bulb as I waited until I had trustworthy help getting up the mast.

I used a 31 mm Festoon with 1 High Power White LED 12VDC Bulb with Pointed Ends as a direct replacement. Plug & play...

After the installation I was surprised at how much light the single LED emits. Of course the single LED is quite big... I have a fairly small steaming light fixture and it uses the small (31mm) festoon bulb - can't fit many LEDs into that space!

I got this Bulb also from Mastlight.com above and it performs quite well. Once again I was  initially concerned about the off-center viewing angles asince the LED is the forward facing type. But in practice it works quite nicely with a wide angle of brightness.

$5.00 LIST price

[JurisG]

This is probably slightly off-topic, but since this discussion is sticky and it's an obscure part search I'm going to fire away. I am missing this part for my Ariel (see pic). It has a female threaded hole (with an insane thread that is not recognizably metric or standard) and an eye hook on the end of it. Does anyone know what this part is called and/or where I can get a replacement? Even if the thread doesn't match, I will just put a die on the male end of the railing cable and re-cut it. Thanks!

[Bill]

This is probably slightly off-topic, but since this discussion is sticky and it's an obscure part search I'm going to fire away. I am missing this part for my Ariel (see pic). It has a female threaded hole (with an insane thread that is not recognizably metric or standard) and an eye hook on the end of it. Does anyone know what this part is called and/or where I can get a replacement? Even if the thread doesn't match, I will just put a die on the male end of the railing cable and re-cut it. Thanks!

Stop by your local rig shop and take a look at the life line hardware . . . or check a marine store.  That appears to be a "gate eye" and there should be a pelican hook on a section of life line that attaches to it.

[mbd]

The bronze stern light cover pictured above that Jerry so graciously offered is available again. It doesn't quite fit MY original glass dome, but you may be able to rework it or find another glass dome to fit. I guess I just need to work on my original stern light to get down to the purty bronze... Thanks Jerry!

[Commander 147]

Mike
 
How interesting. With my stern light which I believe to be original it was totally interchangeable as was the new glass dome I bought from the same company.  These boats really were one off boats with each one unique in some way to all of the others. No computerized tight tolerances like you see in todays production boats.

[mbd]

Maybe in the few years between our boats they, changed a manufacturer or something. If you look closely at the pic, it looks like C-Pete's old housing has a wider top dome than the new one, which is what mine would look like. I'm sure with a little working, it could be made to fit. But if I'm going to do that, I should just rework mine down to bronze and let someone else enjoy a beautiful NEW bronze stern light fixture then can just install and enjoy.

I edited my post above to say, "It doesn't quite fit MY original glass dome"...

[Lucky Dawg]

Must be an anomoly in the search function.  I've searched for LED and it comes up with no results.  I'm certain that there is a string that Rico contributed to on LED specifics, including sources for replacement bulbs.  
 
So, here is a string dedicated to LED lighting and upgrades from original navigational lighting.
 
Hoping to do some upgrades to LED.  Would be interested in specific recommendations for our yachts.

[Rico]

Hey Kyle,
The search function does not like search terms with less than 4 letters...

-Look twds the end of the thread for final solutions. It is easy (Plug & play) and there is no reason NOT to convert over to LEDs.

[ebb]

That's what I ended up with.  It's actually listed as a Masthead / Foredeck Light.  Why?

So here it is apart on the kitchen table.  
It's 5.5" long and divided in half top and bottom in a half round tube-like form that stands out 2 1/2" - with a full fresnel style plastic lens on top.
Meauring the bulbs for LED replacement.  The 1 3/4" festoon bulb, which looks like a pointy-end fuse has this LED replacement source:
 marinebeam.com - cone-end festoon with 30 LEDs, FS-42-30C.  160WW lumens, 270mA/3.2W. $29.95.
This is the upper steaming light, and is  found  on most boats about halfway up a mast,   Thinking of mounting it just above the spreaders.  (No spreader lights planned.)

The decklight halogen bulb is a miniature bayonet, single point, listed as a BA9s.  Bayonet style  / 9mm diameter base /  single point.  12V/10W.  Total length a little over an inch.  
To illuminate the foredeck from 15ft above the deck,  this wee bulb would have to smoke.   But  assuming there's enough to see by,  the  modest illumination hopefully won't destroy any nightvision.
Wonder what  appropriate candelas are for a LED replacement?

This halogen  part of the combo fixture is exposed.  The uncovered  bulb sits  in the center of a 2"diameter metal bowl reflector in the bottom of the fixture.  The bulb is protected within the 'shroud' of the housing.  Water won't directly invade the electrics inside,  but still this AquaSignal design is very open to moisture and  corrosion.  
To access the inside for wiring and festoon bulb replacement two long #6MS  hold the housing and steaming light lens to the base.  However the halogen bulb must first be taken out of  the reflector.  It gets pushed into the spring-loaded socket and turned to release it, at which point the bulb drops out.  After the bulb is removed the housing can be tilted forward and taken off the base.  The little 20W bulb, when in its socket, is easy to remove as most of the bulb is exposed for a two-finger grab.  This means that the electrics are also right there at the hole.*

Obviously the open bottom design helps disapate the heat of the halogen,  and would do the same for a  replacement LED cluster bulb.
marinebeam.com   BA9S 15-LED Replacement Miniature Bayonet. BA-9S-15.  90WW lumens. 1.3W/100mA  $15.  

________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
* Paid list price for this AquaSignal Steaming/Foredeck Light. The black plastic is fiberglass impregated nylon.  I think the thin metal parts are all s.s.
The molding is clean and sharp, the cosmetic design is trim and compact and is the reason I went for it.  As an exposed electrical fixture in a sodium chloride environment, out of five stars I'd award it one, or  half of one star.  That makes it an expensive piece of safety gear.  
When you need it, the lights MUST function.  There is a skinny EPDM gasket around the festoon compartment inside.  When the housing is cinched up the acrylic lens makes a seal.  The  lens is factory installed dry in the housing and seems non-removable.  The light is open at the back where the base attaches to the mast. Be interesting to see what a shot from a waterhose would do.   The housing is not gasketed to the base.
I'm thinking that  butyl tape or black 3M Weatherban should be used in an attempt to weather strip all parts of the fixture when installed.  Liberal use of TefGel and some kind of dielectric grease for the electric points of contact.  Any recommendations?