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Lighting Day

Replacing Stern Light Lens and LED

I got to the boat around 10 AM, a bit of a slow start.

The LED bulbs and Perko stern and nav light lens arrived during the week. I first changed the stern light lens and installed LED bulbs. It’s bright! And the current draw is minuscule compared to the bulb it replaced.

Replacing Nav Light Lens and LED

I then changed the nav light lens and put the new LED bulbs in. When I went to check, the lights didn’t work. I took out the voltmeter, traced the wiring and found that the wires were cut off in the bow compartment. I think the workers at the yard cut them off when they did some work to reinforce pulpit base.

No matter, the old wiring was a big mess anyway. I removed the wiring which was a big ball of tape and replaced with a cleanly routed marine grade wiring. Nav lights then worked.

It’s kind of amazing that you can still get replacement parts for these nav lights that are 35 years old.

Mast Light

I had a new LED mast light installed when the mast was pulled a few months ago. The mast was completely overhauled, stripped and powder coated. It looks really nice.

Naturally, I wanted to wire up the mast light also, it was long overdue. When I went to wire it up down below though, I found that old wiring was badly corroded. It runs under the floorboard where water collects. I rewired, but I’ll have to inspect and change this wire regularly as it will see plenty of water.

I now had all the lights working. This means I can get stuck out on the ocean at night. Since all exterior lights are now LED, the total current draw is less than just one of the old bulbs. I can now be stuck out there in the dark for much longer.

Before I went home, I measured the lifelines, deck plates and also the cabin windows.

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