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#1 2019-01-14 19:36:15

Charles_Grossie
Committee Member
Registered: 2017-08-10
Posts: 153

LED navigation lights

Hi folks,
I have taken my mast off my V34 for maintenance and one of the jobs includes either upgrading the bulbs in my existing AquaSignal fittings/filament bulbs or replacing the complete light fittings with a newer LED equivalent.

My mast head tri-coloured light is an 'as-new' AquaSignal fitting and it seems a waste to replace it. I have been looking at suitable LED replacement bulbs from 'Boatlamps.co.uk'.

https://boatlamps.co.uk/pages/aquasigna … nformation

I will most likely replace the steaming/deck-light fitting as the existing one getting on.

Has anyone any advise based on their own research and recent experience of either replacing filament bulbs with marine grade LEDs or indeed sourcing/replacing entire fittings?

Many thanks.

Charlie.
V34 cutter - 'Anitra'.


Victoria 34 Cutter - 'Anitra'

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#2 2019-01-15 00:32:17

Don_Smith
Member
From: Chester
Registered: 2017-06-25
Posts: 60

Re: LED navigation lights

Charlie,

At post purchase refit we found the masthead lantern servicable but elected to replace it with a modern LED unit.I'll look up the type and send the details. The remaining nav lights were working and left untouched apart from the stern light's circuit that had failed. All the lightbulbs below deck were replaced with LED. The old masthead lantern still had some life in it and was sold on EBay.

Don Smith
Triptych
Conwy

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#3 2019-01-15 13:28:26

Alastair_Fleming
Member
Registered: 2007-06-12
Posts: 29

Re: LED navigation lights

Hi Charlie,

I replaced the AquaSignal tricolour on Kaya with a Hella Marine LED tricolour and all round white some years ago. Excellent piece of kit and to my mind well worth the money. I had been replacing bulbs in the Aquasignal on a fairly regular basis and it is great that I don't need to worry about this. Also it uses less battery power when it is on. One great feature of the Hella anchor light is that it has a built in darkness sensor and so only comes on when it is dark.

Alastair

V34 Kaya

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#4 2019-01-15 18:00:23

Jonathan_Hopper
Member
Registered: 2004-03-23
Posts: 155

Re: LED navigation lights

On Francesca the lower lights are strictly motoring lights as there is no stern lamp, so I have kept an incandescent bulb for this as the motor will be running.   For the masthead I changed to an Aquasignal 34 series tricolour plus anchorlight, which has been fine.   It is more compact then the series 40 (which is somewhere off the continental shelf having knocked itself off).

If you do go for a bulb change then boatlamps will give some good advice, but I have see a fair number of red/blue navigation lamps on yachts where people have changed to LED with frequencies which have not worked with the coloured lens.   

It is also noticable how poor some of the angles which LEDs work in comparison to incandescent.   If your yacht is heeling perhaps 35 to 40 degrees the old incandescents still pump out a strong light (horizontally), but the LED's lose their brightness at these angles.   Perhaps less of a concern with a V34 than a F26, but perhaps still something to bear in mind in your choice.

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#5 2019-01-15 18:45:37

Charles_Grossie
Committee Member
Registered: 2017-08-10
Posts: 153

Re: LED navigation lights

Guys, thanks so much for your responses and experience. I may opt to replace the masthead tri-colour and anchor light arrangement with a new LED version. Will have to see how the piggy-bank holds out to all the spring projects. :-)


Victoria 34 Cutter - 'Anitra'

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#6 2019-04-14 19:59:46

Colin_Reid
Member
From: Gloucestershire
Registered: 2003-11-02
Posts: 36

Re: LED navigation lights

I changed to LED replacement bulbs in all my navigation lights quite a few years ago and they worked OK and certainly saved battery power. But there are a lot of technical issues that have been explored in depth by the Cruising Association. To do with using a coloured lens designed for white incandescent bulbs with Led which is a totally different technology.  So in the end I bit the bullet and bought dedicated sealed Led units which have been excellent except the bow bicolour which occasionally needs a bash to get it to work.

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