Adding Underwater Boat Lights To Brighten Up Night Boating

boat-lights

Underwater lights -- that they simply invite a celebration, don't they? Many people don't desire them but just about everybody would like them on their boat. There are 3 reasons to have underwater lights: nighttime fishing, safety in the event of a man-overboard, and pure aesthetics. But only 30% of lights are purchased for the first two practical reasons. The other 70 percent are for dramatic effect. Like mag wheels for boats, underwater lights add a wow factor and bling to your ride.


LED-based underwater lighting was introduced in the 1990s. It was big, cumbersome, expensive, and by today's standards, unimpressive. However, 30 decades of technological advancement later, much has changed. The lights come in surface mount or thru-hull installments, are better and safer, and functionality per dollar spent has increased. Let's take a peek at how things have evolved.


Once the kingdom of superyachts and massive sportfishers, underwater lights are infiltrating all market segments as smaller, more purpose-built vessels (center console fishing boats and runabouts) get in the game. LEDs are best for shelf light, low level floor washers, and uplighters.


Underwater lights create a nighttime party ambience. Picture credit: OceanLED


Surface-mounted lights are finding their way on pontoon boats where there's a need to create a night party ambience.


Even towboat manufacturers are taking an interest. Due to limited time to practice, wakesurfers will go out after work and operate in the dark, also because they browse so close to the ship, lights are a necessity.


Not only have sunken lights invisibly to new parts of the market, but they have also multiplied per boat. It's not unusual now to observe that a 70-footer showcase six to eight lights. The aftermarket for retrofits is growing also as boaters are becoming lighting envy.


Changes In Buyers Expectations For Underwater Boat Lights

Now's lights flash, strobe, dim, change color and even synchronize with sound. They come in single, dual and full array (RGBW) color and can change smoothly from one wealthy hue to another. Full RGBW color is where the upper economy is, and expectations of invention are high so lighting is evolutionary and dynamic -- changing quickly like marine electronic equipment.


Boaters prefer to place preprogrammed moods and themes for fun, effectively creating an on-the-water nightclub. And the more lights, the more the better. Today conversation surrounding is much less focused on thru-hull lights potentially sinking the ship and more about submerged lights as mandatory equipment. The question was how big will the hole at the boat be for a single light, to the amount of lights can I install?


The underlying technology has come a long way, and it has contributed to boat lighting exploding popularity. Fantastic strides have been made in the four important elements of lights: home, optics, controls and light emitters (LEDs).


Light Housings Alternatives

Light housings can be made from aluminum, bronze, stainless steel, copper, polymers (plastic) or a blend of metal and polymer. They have become more compact, so they need a smaller gap and not as much space in the hull. Because of some canister layouts, the home may be permanently mounted in thru-hull fittings while the guts of this light might be eliminated, serviced or upgraded without hauling the boat. Additionally, with a bit of bulb and system miniaturization, light businesses have freed up real estate in the home to add more smarts and heat dissipation features.


Advances have also been made in the reflectors and lenses that concentrate the light and determine the beam angle and its projection, which is how much it will reach and how much it will be. The higher the lens's quality, the less light will be trapped in the fixture and therefore, the more efficient and brighter the light. Without optics (reflectors), businesses will need to push lots of energy into the light, that looks great on paper with high tech lumens but performs worse. Using an optic to concentrate the beam (narrower angle), the beam penetrates farther, and the light is not dropped in heavy water.


OceanLED specifically have spent a lot of time in research and development to attain the optimum lighting impact through bespoke innovative unique optics. In addition to saving them electricity, OceanLED's Collars contribute to delivering more sustainable products that assist boaters lower their carbon footprint.


Developments In Light Controllers

The most critical advances are made in the light's electronics portion and especially in the controller. A number of the luminaires that firms like Lumitec sell have the processing power and memory of a typical computer only 20 decades ago. Lights finally have a brain and may communicate, making programming, heat monitoring, interactivity, and diagnostics simpler and better.


Today's controllers can work together with the person or simultaneous control of separate lighting zones. Lights are given in dual colors using a dimming feature, two-speed strobe, full-power brightness and change memory that brings the consumer to the previous setting when the lights have been turned back on. Additionally, most products now (whether surface bracket or thru-hull) are more compact with a very low profile outside the hull, reducing debris and drag snags while still underway.


Bluetooth connectivity has allowed remote control of the light atmosphere. If you would like to control your lighting display, whether customizing color sweeps, placing a mood or incorporating audio, you can now do so with a program in your own iOS or Android tablet or smartphone. More people have experienced exposure to light control already, together with RGBW strips fitted in houses so they are more comfortable with light apps generally.


Light Longevity

In the power draw vs brightness equation, the evolution has been to raise the lumens per watt. A decade ago, the standard has been 16 lumens/watt, and now it is over ten times that. Many businesses are attempting to increase output, and year-over-year people have been 20-50%. This push toward constant progress in lumens/watt, lumens/dollar and lumens/fixture ensure constant innovation as customers search for the latest.


Light longevity is less of an issue today. LED manufacturers tout 30,000 to 50,000 hours daily, translating to 10-20 decades of actual use on a ship. However, LEDs are analyzed in a laboratory under perfect conditions, so some underwater light manufacturers are more comfortable advertisements 20,000 hours. Without question, lights are living longer and will likely outlast a few of the boats they're on.


Boat Lights: Price vs Value

Therefore, you would expect the price of underwater lights to have plummeted also. But, LEDs are only a little portion of the lights' total cost, which is more than offset by the cost of the evermore-sophisticated optics and electronics.


As everyone chases a lesser cost per lumen, the lights are improving and therefore aren't so much cheaper, as better. Now, you can purchase advanced color-changing lights for the exact same cost of simple one-color goods only a few short years ago.


DIY Underwater Boat Lights

Now's lights are easier to install, therefore boatyards need less time and labor to get more lights inserted to a hull and for those brave individuals willing to drill holes in their hulls, it may be a do-it-yourself project too. Companies have installation guidelines that were made for boatyards, but boaters can use them too. Some templates are actual stickers, so you stick them into the hull and then drill the holes right through the template.


As stated above, with today's canister designs, most thru-hull lights may be removed, inspected and updated with no haul-out, saving time and money. Simple interchangeability is key to upgrading lights from the inside, and on account of the fast-changing color and effect tastes, hassle-free updates are important. Some businesses work directly with ship owners, and if a boat had their brand of thru-hull lights set up previously, they offer you a discount to replace the guts but maintain the canisters set up.


In addition, for simple maintenance, fresh lens technology has incorporated better antifouling coatings which wipe fresh marine growth, so they are not as likely to be damaged by a scrubbing diver.


If installed per the manufacturer's recommendations, even a DIY job should not void the warranty but consult with the manufacturer. The normal warranty tends to be two years to get surface-mounted lights and 3 decades for thru-hull lighting.


A Boatload Of Bling

When replacing or adding lights, the very first issue to decide is how complex the lighting should be. Most companies offer product families according to functionality and cost to make it easier to choose. Following that, it's only a matter of figuring out how many, in which to put them, and who'll install them. And then it's party time.


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