Lookin for LED Bow and Stern Lights

[Steve Laume]

Raven's running lights were a crazed and clouded mess when I took over. The first thing I did was to replace the lenses. I then went with these http://www.defender.com/product3.jsp?pa ... id=1440341 once I started to do more overnight sailing. They are very bright and use a minuscule amount of power. After sailing her for a few more years I added a OGM masthead light. http://orcagreen.com/2015/index.php/led ... ode-strobe While , not cheap this is a fine piece of engineering. I wired it with two breakers instead of the dedicated switch. One breaker controls the running tricolor light. The other one controls the anchor light. IF you flick them both on at the same time, you get the strobe.

The two sets of running lights are never used in unison but I would not feel comfortable with either option alone. I use the bow and stern lights while inshore and switch to the masthead tricolor when offshore. People do not tend to look up to see a masthead light when you are in a crowded area. When offshore the higher light can be seen, even when there are significant wave heights.

The photodiode is a wonderful addition for one who tends to be forgetful or for when you are away from the boat until after it gets dark.

Having two sets of running lights also gives you redundancy in a critical system. I had a wire connection break on my bow light this spring and it was no problem at all as I could just run my masthead tricolor and then fix it in the daylight when the boat wasn't bouncing around, Steve.

[John #126]

See Steve's post above for links.
Here are the part numbers:
Bow bi-color: N1-112-RGN
Stern: N1-135-CLR
Berth lights (reading lights): BP-G4-06 RED or WW
Dome light: BA-1156-1142-23 warm white only

Their anchor light is great as well, FX-360-18.

John