so i had some strip LED lighting laying around, and figured i wanted to upgrade my one dinky little marker light for the front of the boat....here is what i came up with..... works pretty **** well too!
onthewater102 said:Looks great! I've been thinking of something similar for my boat as my post light is no longer taller than the trolling motor. My concern with re-purposing LED's is will they be visible from far enough to (hopefully) keep me safe? There is only one lake around here that would be an issue, but that lake has more boats on it at night than other lakes in the area do during the day, especially in the summer when the lakeside bar is open - so you know most of those boaters are sloshed on their way home.
Pity police don't value boater's lives as highly as drivers/pedestrians. They could make a killing on impoundments and DUI's sitting in the mouth of the cove leading away from the bars running a safety checkpoint like they would a seat belt inspection on the road.
At least one person has died on that lake each summer due to DUI related boating accidents, sadly it seems to usually be the night fishermen out there for night tournaments who get hit by the drunks - but I can't say for sure if it's because they don't run their marker lights the way they should.
Barefoot_Johnny said:I provided several websites full of information - - - Read them, then make your own decisions.
Okay - I tried to piece together a simple drawing of how you are REQUIRED to have
your Navigational Running Lights mounted to your boat. It DOES matter what "kind"
of lights !!!! any navigational lights you put on your boat MUST BE USCG APPROVED !!!!
All Navigational Running Lights must be "distinctly visible at two nautical miles".
with that being understood, I think that Christmas Lights do not fall into this category.
If you want to be a RESPONSIBLE and SAFE boater, it is YOUR responsibility to ensure
that you, your passengers, your boat and any other vessel that you may encounter on the waterways
are as safe as possible. And just because you "never boat at night" is a misnomer that you do not
have to have navigational lights. The USCG requires you to have at least the minimum of the small battery
powered clip-on running lights. The laws and regulations are in place for a reason.
Just read up on what you are required to have in your area. Not just lights, but your emergency box also.
If I have given any misleading or incorrect information,
please post any notes for clarification as well as where to find
the correct information. It is in all our best interest that
this information be as accurate as possible.
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