I’d like to replace the 4 fluorescent lights in my 30U. (Head, master stateroom, and 2 in galley.) and replace with similar sized LEDs. . Converting the existing fixtures doesn’t seem worth it as the lens covers are so yellowed.
I found the following at Sailor Solutions which look like they might work. About the right size. They don’t have a red light option, which would be nice but isn’t critical.
Jim we just replaced the head and galley light with a unit from west marine. It is led, draws very little and has red light option. https://www.westmarine.com/seavolt For the main cabin we ordered from Alpenglow their Tuscany medium teak cabin light, https://www.alpenglowlights.com/, Also Sea dog berth lights from Defender. Very nice units all.
Hi Joe - They work great. I was able to re-use some of the holes to attach, since they are no longer linear. I also oriented the switches so that the port side of the switch turns the light to red. Helpful to remember!
All that is just double-stick taped to the wood trim of the shelf. Lens faces the hull. Also added the same thing under the galley cabinets for a much better-lit countertop!
I bought 4 of these for the 26C. You could almost do surgery in there now.
Biggest problem is short wire leads from overhead. I plan to redo the
install by placing the lights on teak strips mounted to the overhead so i
can hide wiring within.
I have purchased these https://www.salvinco.com/lean complete with “footprint extension” which should will cover the previous mounting holes. It’s very slim and dimmable too.
I have not installed them yet but will soon. I realize I need to relocate the position of the wire feeding though the headliner to suit - hoping there is enough slack.
The light Joe put on Seahorse would probably make an excellent replacement for the engine room light - would go from a dim light to actually being able to see things in the engine room - so bright you might have to worry about shadows.
I can attest to the gorgeous uplighting that the LED tapes make. I had the opportunity to visit on Quickbeam during the recent CBNA rendezvous, and while I didn’t see the rest of the lights in action, I really like the effect of Quicbeam’s LEDs. While I had planned to do something similar on Serenity, I now have a parts list!
I replaced a pair of my fluorescent lights with neat little LEDs from Binnacle last year. We thought the fluorescents looked too institutional and not up to the mark considering the high level of finish down below on Mascouche. I still have to replace the one ahead of the hatch. Please note that the hatch vent has an LED light too powered by its own solar cell.
Bob,
We were encouraged and grateful for your specific suggestions about LEDs around the cabin and in the galley, so bought them to install in our boat. Now we are stymied about how and where to mount the dimmers. Would you mind explaining where you put your dimmers and how you connected and mounted them? I was surprised to see our LED strips came with connectors on either end that will not work with the dimmers. I assume we will have to remove those and use a different connector that lets us wire into the dimmer.
Thank you!
Gail Marshall
Nepeta 30 C
Mount Desert, ME
It’s a little tricky to learn, but once you get it it’s easy. Here’s a video for cutting the tape lights and using connectors: https://youtu.be/bTRLt-fzTwg
I took a somewhat different approach to replacing all of the florescent lights in my 30U…
The florescent fixtures were all in good shape, the lenses weren’t yellowed, and I knew that the wiring was going to be tight and hard to pull thru the headliner… but I really disliked the power consumption and harsh bluish light the fluorescents put out, not to mention the mosquitos they attract.
I bought LED bulbs (fluorescent style) from Marine Beam. I selected the ‘Warm White’ color, and they are warm white, not bluish or harsh. They are brighter than the old fluorescents and make it easy to see into the fridge, and the light in the head is now much more pleasing to view one’s reflection!
12" for all of the smaller fixtures, 18" for the one long fixture over the saloon table. Not inexpensive, but now that they are in place, well worth the price.
There is a bit of re-wiring needed with these - mainly the old florescent ballast needs to be cut out and a couple of wires re-connected, and the extra wires just need to be taped off. Marine Beam has a very clear an instructional video on their website, and once I figured out which wire corresponded to which in the video (the colors were a bit different) and then did the first unit, the others were all relatively quick and easy. And the fixture over the fridge hadn’t been working for the last season (I put in fluorescent bulbs I knew worked and still no joy), but when I cut out the ballast and put in the LEDs, presto! The fixture works!! so it was just a bad ballast, and the fixture didn’t need to be replaced.
The only ‘eh’ in all of this is that the bulbs for the 18" long fixture actually direct their beams sideways - the light strips face outward along the headliner when the bulbs are turned into place, but it doesn’t really make that much of a difference… and these bulbs seem slightly less warm than the 12" bulbs. Good thing is that I use this fixture the least.
Very happy with the results! No more harsh lighting, no more “please turn those lights off!!” they draw too much power - I do not have shore or solar power (yet)… only way to charge my batteries is run the engine… The boat was bright and cheery in the evenings on this last trip!
Peter Grabow
S/V CAKE WALK III
1987 30U 430
Jersey City, NJ
