What all-weather/low maint interior lights?

[Macintosh]

I am considering adding a couple very small, unobtrusive interior lights along the gunnels or seats in my bare-bones aluminum boat. This is on a bare aluminum hull that lives outside year-round, is covered with snow all winter, and is generally not babied, ever. I DO NOT want a larger, more blinged-out light setup, I only want the minimum to avoid tripping over stuff and maybe re-tie a line, loading and unloading in the dark, etc. Is there anything out there like this that will last? any recommendations of specific lights, especially with photos or info on how and where you mounted it, likes and dislikes, etc? Thanks very much in advance.

 

[thill]

I do a lot of boat rigging. We very often use sealed amber LED ligths. Trailer "marker" lights. Very tough,weather proof and easy to install. Lately, we have mostlly used double-sided emblem mounting tape very successfully.

The trick is to mount them facing down so they don't kill your night vision. Here are some of the lights we have been using:
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B073TBY6H9https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B071PFC1H2https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B071V9WQS9
These are just a few types we use in different places. the amber ones are good for flooring. The flat white ones are bright enough to use as flood lights, and work well inside hatches and under the console to tie knots and so on. The 3/4" plug lights are excellent for trailer use, too. Bright enough to see by, but don't blow out your vision. I use those things everywhere.

IMPORTANT is to use glue-filled, self-shrink electrical connectors. If the wires corrode, even the best lights will fail. Everyone is talking about the solder-filled heat shrink connectors. Just saw a review from a trusted source, and I'll be getting some soon.

I hope this helps

 

[Macintosh]

So you use tape to put them on? How does that hold up on old aluminum in a high-use environment (stuff dragging over it, etc)?

 

[airshot]

Why not self contained battery powered led lights ? Had a coupke in my cudy cabin that kasted most all summer before replacing the batteries. Held them on with velcro, just removed them during winter storage, no wiring to be concerned with. Mine were a round disc shaped, about 2" in dia, push to turn on and off. Ran off a couple AAA batteries that lasted most all summer. A good quality double stick auto tape for a semi permanent install or heavy duty velcro such as I used, allows you to remove or move to other locations. Just some food for thought !!

 

[DaleH]

FWIW 3M double-sided foam tape is used to secure trim on autos … so that should work well!

I myself wouldn’t use amber though … it’ll kill your night vision - use red.

 

[Macintosh]

Why not self contained battery powered led lights ? Had a coupke in my cudy cabin that kasted most all summer before replacing the batteries. Held them on with velcro, just removed them during winter storage, no wiring to be concerned with. Mine were a round disc shaped, about 2" in dia, push to turn on and off. Ran off a couple AAA batteries that lasted most all summer. A good quality double stick auto tape for a semi permanent install or heavy duty velcro such as I used, allows you to remove or move to other locations. Just some food for thought !!

Airshot, that sounds interesting and might be a good solution, as I am not crazy about adding complexity for something I'm not confident will last. Do you have a link or can you send me in the right direction on what you used?

 

[Macintosh]

FWIW 3M double-sided foam tape is used to secure trim on autos … so that should work well!

I myself wouldn’t use amber though … it’ll kill your night vision - use red.

That's what I'm afraid of! I've never had good luck with auto trim either. I know that tape works well if the surfaces are clean and smooth, but this 30 year old workhorse boat is neither clean nor smooth, and it'll 100% get stuff dragged directly over the lights since there is nothing to shield where the lights would go such as a protruding gunwale, shelf, etc, so was hoping for some sort of attachment that is a bit more "physical".

 

[DaleH]

Mount the light in a little plastic project box and bolt or rivet both to the hull ... the box around the lamp will protect it.

 

[airshot]

Airshot, that sounds interesting and might be a good solution, as I am not crazy about adding complexity for something I'm not confident will last. Do you have a link or can you send me in the right direction on what you used?

At age 72, not a computor wiz so adding a link is foreign to me. I have saw many of these small battery powered lights at a variety of places like Target, Walmart, most outdoor type places and I am sure Amazon. Just LED battery powered lights. I used heavy duty velcro to attach mine, have had good sucess with racing tape, the two sided thin foam tape used on high speed vehicles. I recently saw a pack of 3 for less than 10 bucks, no wiring just clean surface well with alcohol and stick the self stick velcro. Have it on my side x side going thru mud, water and still sticking after 3 years.

 

[thill]

So you use tape to put them on? How does that hold up on old aluminum in a high-use environment (stuff dragging over it, etc)?

Macintosh,
First things, first, these are permanent and last many years, as long as you wire them properly. Battery powered lights are made to fail. They are almost never waterproof, and the batteries WILL die sooner than later.

If you look at the flat amber lights I linked above, they are very thin and very tough. Made to live on a trailer. Solid, fused plastic, they are not hollow and are not easy to damage or knock off. They are made to screw or rivet in, and we use that option in some areas. But in many applications, we have been using high strength mounting tape for years with excellent results.

The intention should be to mount them in offset areas. Under the top rail of the gunwales facing down is a preferred location. Also under the console facing down, under the lips of storage areas and livewells and so on. The idea is to NOT mount them where they will be blinding you or getting kicked or stepped on.

 

[thill]

To tape mount the lights, we clean the area with a shot of carb cleaner and a rag. It's very important that the area be smooth and very clean.

If the aluminum or paint is a bit crusty and pitted, we run a Scotchbrite pad across the spot and then clean it again. This tape does not let go. You would almost have to destroy the light. To get them off cleanly, we use a piece of steel leader like a "wire saw." That stuff is tough.

That being said, some small boat designs don't have many offset places to install a light, and they end up in high-traffic areas. For those, we use pop rivets, mostly, but sometimes screws. I recently did a simple jon boat that didn't have any top rail protrusion inside the boat. So for floor lighting, we mounted the lights at the bottom of the bunks, facing forward. Three of them lit up the whole floor of the boat nicely.

 

[thill]

The reason we use the lights we do is because they do not fail often. I won't say "never" because forever is a long time, but I have not yet had even one of the flat marker lights fail within the last 5-10 years that I know of. I have had wires get damaged in the past. For that reason, I use very specific wire and am very particular about how I run them, so it's been quite awhile.

I used to have a ton of interior install pics, but I changed phones last year. Looking in my new phone, I don't see any jon boat pictures, just bigger boats.

But I'm working on three boats currently, and I'll probably add interior lighting to at least one of them. I'll try to remember to take some detailed pics and post them for you.

 

[thill]

I found a couple of pics. Here is a center console with "light amber" cockpit lighting. They wanted a lot of light, so there are six of them mounted fairly low, but still offset so they don't blind you while in the boat:



These are the more "amber" lights. Easier on the eyes at night. Enough light that you can see and not be stumbling around:


Sometimes at night, you need to see, so we also installed some of the flat white lights:


These only use 7 watts, but really light up the front of the boat. Enough to see reflective bouys and markers to maybe 100' out. Here is how the front of the boat looks with the lights on:


It's similar to a florescent shop light. Plenty of light to tie knots, rig rods, look in your tackle bag, get a hook out of a fish and so on.

I will usually install one of these under the console and sometimes inside bilges or hatches to access important things.

Obviously, the boat pictured isn't a tin boat, but it's what I could find. I realize that this phone doesn't save pictures that I text to customers. I have to go back and find the actual text message and open it that way. What a pain. I miss my old phone!

 

[thill]

Again, the wiring is very important if you want the lights to last. Good, waterproof switches and connectors, and TINNED copper wire are the key.

 

[TheGrandestPoobah]

@thill that was hugely helpful, thank you

 

[thill]

Mount the light in a little plastic project box and bolt or rivet both to the hull ... the box around the lamp will protect it.

We will split a piece of PVC pipe, warm and soften it to shape and use it as a light shield at times. Looks good and works well, but you can also buy them.

Many people cannot see anything with red lights.

Amber lights have been almost 100% happily accepted by every customer. I say “almost” because sometimes a customer will argue before the fact, thinking another color is better.

After doing dozens of these installs, I now ask them to trust me, BUT I promise to change to any color they want for free if they don’t like the amber.

So far, not a single person has asked to change Amber out after using them, but I have changed out red, blue and green. Sometimes, I will leave the first color and add a switch for the second color. That way, they can have their “cool” show lights and functional work lighting. On occasion, we do both amber and white on the initial install.

We also install multi-color LEDs that customers supply. They are pretty cool, but some do not seem to work properly after awhile. Often the remote control is the weak link. The lights are waterproof with remote control often is not. The lights are waterproof, but the remote control often is not. I don't like rope lights much for the same reason. This is a place where cost matters. If you get the expensive ones with a lifetime warranty, they do well.

 

[thill]

Hey…. For what it is worth, having a bright all-around light on a tall pole works well at night. I use a 48” long pole and these LED bulbs are
excellent:

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07X9TZFJ9
For that reason, I have never installed cockpit lighting in my own 16' Princecraft. It simply doesn’t need it.

And believe it, or not, the light is enough to bring crabs and bait fish to the boat at night, which bodes very well for catching. ( I love night fishing!)

This may be something to consider if you really want to keep it simple

 

[Macintosh]

Thill, thanks, thats very helpful. You are correct, there is literally NO sheltered place to put lights on this boat, no protruding inwale, etc, so Im forced to put lights where I know they’ll get messed with as well as making it hard to angle them down. I like the battery idea mostly because its a relatively low-cost, low inpact way to experiment before doing something more permanent.
Those lights you posted seem right, I just need to figure best way and location to attach.
You mentioned that “hoods” are available or can be fabbed to shield them a bit.
“We will split a piece of PVC pipe, warm and soften it to shape and use it as a light shield at times. Looks good and works well, but you can also buy them”

Any info or pics on this?

 

[thill]

I would have to search. They sell them at West Marine, but the price was kind of crazy.
I make them on an as-needed basis. Not sure if I have a pic anywhere, but I could make one and take a pic, just not today.

Could you post a few good pictures of the inside of your boat? I'd like to see the layout.

 

[Macintosh]

Thanks @thill, I appreciate that.
Boat is nothing fancy—I have a “fancy” much bigger boat, this is just a 16’ “rowboat” I use for fishing, camping and hunting out of. Purpose is specifically to be all-weather, mud-proof, deer blood proof, capable of being dragged up on beaches, over beaver dams, etc. l’m using it a lot for pre-dawn or after dark access to/from hunting, which is the main reason for the lights, to aid in getting loaded up and off in the dark.

Im thinking I might be able to mount lights under the seats facing the floor, they are filled with flotation foam but I have access to about a 1” flange of aluminum folded up horizontally along each bottom edge of the seat that holds the foam block in place. Those flat side marker lights should fit onto that flange without protruding where they'd get caught on something, and I imagine I'd get enough light reflected off the floor to suit me (?). Thoughts?

Q--you linked the TMH brand lights. I also see the Nilight brand that looks similar. Have you used those and are they of more or less equal quality? Link to nilight version of side marker lights