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Marine Lighting, sailboat
Hello-
I have been building a 56′ ketch rigged sailboat in Dallas, TX at night and on the weekends for eight years with about two more years to completion, or at least to move it to the coast for final completion.
I am beginning the interior finish phase now. The hull is complete, the engine, gen-set, all plumbing, etc is complete. It is time to lay out the lighting, and I have no clue. There are so many options, but my wife and I are leaning towards LED, but again, we are in the dark.
I have hired an electrical engineer in Maine to design the electrical systems; 12V, some 24V equipment, and 120V/240V shore power.
Can you make a recommedation for a designer that may be interested in this design project? Is this something someone on the forum is interested in designing?
I have the ability to install the lighting. I just need some direction on the best type of lighting to use in the different areas of the boat.
You can visit my website to see the progress. This was a few months ago, but we will update in a week or so.
Thanks for your help.
Jim Benge
214 796-7803 -
6 Replies
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Hi Jim…
I checked out your website… first of all, from a fellow sailor (nothing as sweet as yours, I have a 30′ sweedish Shipman28), I am green with envy… you have done a beautiful job.
You have posed an interesting question…. however, this might not be the right place for it. This “lighting design” forum is basically for cinematographers and filmmakers… guys and gals who design lighting plots for film, television, photographic shoots…etc. Not really quite the same thing… unless you want your boat filled with C-stands, big lighting heads, and miles of ugly cable, and big sandbags holding everything down.
There might be someone in here who can help you out, but if so it would just be coincidence… it’s not our specialty.
However, I do have a buddy who has faced a similar need as yours. I don’t know who took care of his design… but I will try to find out. If I have any luck I will contact you directly.
Good Sailing!
T2
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Todd Terry
Creative Director
Fantastic Plastic Entertainment, Inc.
fantasticplastic.com
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Terry-
After reading some of the thread I realized I may not be talking about the same type of lighting, but I do appreciate your visit to the site and really do look forward to some input from your friend, if he has an idea.
My wife and I bought a couple of LED fixtures from the local marine supply here in Dallas and we were very disappointed in the quality of light from the $23 fixture. There are some available on-line for $150 to $200 per, but I need about 30 fixtures of various types. I want to be sure LED is the way to go before buying more fixtures.
Thanks for your response.
Jim
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Sure Jim… I’ve already written the guy I know, I will see what he has to say.
I’m sure you have looked around at the usual sources (West Marine, etc.). I just checked them out myself and was surprised at what a very limited selection of LED lighting there is. It has been a while (years actually) since I have done any marine lighting, but I would have thought they would have had a lot more to choose from.
Considering the 12-24v power requirements (I wouldn’t want anything that worked only with shore power) I would definitely think LEDs are the way to go. If not LEDs, then I suppose fluorescents would be another choice for a low power / high output combination. You can get warm fluroescent bulbs, so your cabin doesn’t look like a dentist’s office.
You said you were disappointed with the “quality” of light. Do you mean the quantity of the output? When you are looking at lighting instruments check the specs… the output will be listed in “footcandles” or “lumens.” The higher the number, the greater the light output. Just to give you a comparison, a regular old GE 60watt lightbulb puts out about 850 lumens. A 100w tugsten bulb puts out about 1700 lumens, etc.
T2
__________________________________
Todd Terry
Creative Director
Fantastic Plastic Entertainment, Inc.
fantasticplastic.com
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Sure Jim… I’ve already written the guy I know, I will see what he has to say.
I’m sure you have looked around at the usual sources (West Marine, etc.). I just checked them out myself and was surprised at what a very limited selection of LED lighting there is. It has been a while (years actually) since I have done any marine lighting, but I would have thought they would have had a lot more to choose from.
Considering the 12-24v power requirements (I wouldn’t want anything that worked only with shore power) I would definitely think LEDs are the way to go. If not LEDs, then I suppose fluorescents would be another choice for a low power / high output combination. You can get warm fluroescent bulbs, so your cabin doesn’t look like a dentist’s office.
You said you were disappointed with the “quality” of light. Do you mean the quantity of the output? When you are looking at lighting instruments check the specs… the output will be listed in “footcandles” or “lumens.” The higher the number, the greater the light output. Just to give you a comparison, a regular old GE 60watt lightbulb puts out about 850 lumens. A 100w tugsten bulb puts out about 1700 lumens, etc.
T2
__________________________________
Todd Terry
Creative Director
Fantastic Plastic Entertainment, Inc.
fantasticplastic.com
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Terry-
The LED fixture we tried was a very narrow spot light, like a flashlight (LED). Maybe the better quality lights have a diffuser or some other way to spread the light.
You are right….it would look like the dentist’s office.
Thanks again,
Jim
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You know, you might want to try a truck/trailer parts supplier. My Lions club recently bought a BIG mobile stage trailer and every light on it is a multiple LED fixture and they are bright! Some are round, some are rectangular, and all of them are water proof and perfect for a sailboat.
An anchor light LED on a deep-cycle battery would run for months!
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