My LED Lighting Project

[treeskier]

I am always looking for inexpensive ways to dress up my older Yamaha LS2000. Last summer I started an interior LED project and before I put the boat back on the lift this spring I completed the project with underwater lighting of the wake.

I ordered 8 of these for the interior lighting: 2 up front in the bow seating area, 1 each under the helm and glove box area, 2 in the rear seating area and 2 on the swim platform. http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00AJVLA04/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o00_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

For the underwater lighting I ordered 3 of these evenly spaced along the transom just below the waterline. I was looking to light up the wake so it looked like an afterburner. http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B008YWG3AW/ref=oh_aui_search_detailpage?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Here are a few pictures which I am not pleased with but these were the best of a number of attempts.

 

[Kross]

looks great man. What don't u like?

 

[treeskier]

@Kross love the lights but I hate the pictures. It was very hard to get even marginal photos due to the low light. I was very pleased with the way the boat looks both moored and underway.

 

[Trevor Shipman]

That's cheap for transom lights, how do you like them? Usually they're about $400 for 1!

 

[Glassman]

@treeskier , nice job lighting your "Classic" LS2000 !

And thanks for the links...

 

[treeskier]

That's cheap for transom lights, how do you like them? Usually they're about $400 for 1!

Yea the under water lights that run $200-$400 each ...some times even more are the very high intensity lights that get so hot you can't run them unless the boat is in the water (some even have a key lock switch so you don't accitently turn them on and fry them. Those are totally different than what I used. Mine are true underwater lights that are sealed but they are not the super high intensity type that get so hot.

I chose these for cost (I didn't want to spend a grand on a 13 year old boat) and for the fact they don't have to be wet ... it is cool to light it up while its on the lift. I am pleased with the results both moored and underway and the water here is not espically clear.

I mounted them just below the water line on the transom one of the concerns I had with something like a drain plug light was how deep in the water it would be, as I said our water is not espically clear.. I think a big factor in how far they penetrate is the transome tilt points them downward a bit.

 

[njmr2fan]

nice job. Thanks for the links.

 

[4x15mph]

@treeskier , I am seeing this and considering starting on a similar install. This looks great and it is functional since right now I have a single courtesy under the dashboard.

A couple of quick questions:
1) did you screw each of the courtesy lights in place or did you use 3M/other tape only? If tape only, are they holding up?
2) did you install a dimmer on the courtesy light switch? Did you use the original, courtesy light switch?

 

[njmr2fan]

+1 on @4x15mph questions.

 

[treeskier]

I did screw the lights in that are in the cabin...the screws were very small and they are covered by a snap on bezel ... no 3M tape. The underwater lights on the transom are screwed in and have a rubber gasket I used 3M sealant in the holes I drilled for those.

All of my LED lights are wired through the OEM courtesy light switch. I did not install a dimmer and I did disconnect the original incandescent courtesy light.