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Bass Boat Mods => Custom Lighting => Topic started by: Curt on June 26, 2017, 11:02:44 AM

Title: LED Light Installation
Post by: Curt on June 26, 2017, 11:02:44 AM
I've had a complete set of LED lights for my boat for close to 2 years now. I installed the bow lights quite a while back and really like them. But I've been dragging my feet when it comes to getting the rest of the kit installed.  :rolleyes:

I think I'll bite the bullet and get it done sometime in the next week or so. I'll post some pics when it's finished  (yes)
Title: Re: LED Light Installation
Post by: Jig Man on June 26, 2017, 11:07:38 AM
I was wanting some red ones for the sides of my boat for night vision and red to keep the bugs down.  Luckily my main fishing partner had some that he had not installed.  I borrowed them and taped them to the side of my boat under the rub rail.  They did not even come close to being enough light so I gave them back and am still trying to figure something out.
Title: Re: LED Light Installation
Post by: JackJ on June 26, 2017, 11:27:57 AM
I have several green strips to put on my boat that I have been putting off also.   I just cant figure out a good way to mount them.   
I thought they would fit fine under my side bumper rails but placing it up close to them would have them shining down at a angle.  So not sure what I am going to do.

Right now the one I use is on a GoPro suction cup mount, but my new ones are strips.   I may end up putting them in some sort of enclosure also.
Title: Re: LED Light Installation
Post by: Curt on June 26, 2017, 04:06:00 PM
The lights I'm installing are more to light the interior of the boat than for anything else. They are all red strips. They came from @mfwyatt05 , a sponsor of this site.

I don't use any lights for night fishing with regard to shining anything on the water at all. The less light, the better.

Red is my preferred color because it doesn't attract bugs and it's the color that has the least effect on night vision.

Green lights attract bugs like crazy. So I would never recommend that anyone use them to light their boat or the water around it.  (nope)
Title: Re: LED Light Installation
Post by: JackJ on June 26, 2017, 04:27:13 PM
I'm using a red filter on a white light right now, its just not bright enough so I took it off and just use the white.   But even the white led without the filter usually doesn't cause me much problem with bugs.

I like it to be really lit up because I actually think I catch more fish when it is.  I think it turns them on, just like a dock light would do.
Title: Re: LED Light Installation
Post by: Jig Man on June 26, 2017, 09:09:30 PM
Where I fish there are no docks, no resorts, no houses and few roads passing so it is very dark except with moon light.  Any light you turn on will get you hundreds of some kind of gnat that sounds like mosquitoes.  Using a cap light, if it isn't red will have them all over your face getting into eyes and nose.  Even a black light draws them. 
Title: Re: LED Light Installation
Post by: JackJ on June 27, 2017, 09:40:50 AM
Black lights are the worst as most bugs are attracted to UV light.    Red or any color toward that spectrum is for sure the best.
I keep my light on the middle of the boat so when the bugs do get a little bad, its far enough from me that they dont bother me.   But when the mayflies are out I may find 1000 dead ones near the light in the boat.
Title: Re: LED Light Installation
Post by: Curt on June 27, 2017, 10:19:36 AM
It's amazing how fast bugs will find you when you turn on a light, even away from shore!  (fp)

I turn the backlights on my electronics down to the lowest levels and use a black background instead of the normal white. Taking these steps definitely reduces the number of bugs they attract and it helps with my night vision. But there are still times when I have a bunch of dead bugs stuck to the screen on damp nights. They get attracted to the screen because of the light and then they get stuck there when they land on the wet screen  (giggle)
Title: Re: LED Light Installation
Post by: JackJ on June 27, 2017, 02:48:05 PM
Yeah I know.  I always wonder what a mosquito does out in the middle of a lake when I am not around.   (shrug)
Title: Re: LED Light Installation
Post by: Curt on June 27, 2017, 03:25:05 PM
I always wonder what a mosquito does out in the middle of a lake when I am not around.   (shrug)

I think they must fly around looking for you... "Where's Jack? Have you seen Jack?"  (giggle)
Title: Re: LED Light Installation
Post by: JackJ on June 27, 2017, 03:54:39 PM
I dont doubt it  (giggle)
Title: Re: LED Light Installation
Post by: transamz9 on June 27, 2017, 10:06:09 PM
I have UV inside my rub rail, red/green nav lights, docking lights inside rub rail and blue throughout the whole inside.
Title: Re: LED Light Installation
Post by: Curt on June 28, 2017, 03:17:03 PM
I have UV inside my rub rail, red/green nav lights, docking lights inside rub rail and blue throughout the whole inside.

Sounds pretty colorful  :nod:

Got any pics of it at night with them all turned on?
Title: Re: LED Light Installation
Post by: transamz9 on June 28, 2017, 06:35:41 PM
(https://www.bassboatboards.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fi968.photobucket.com%2Falbums%2Fae169%2Ftransamz9%2FZ9%2520deck%2520lighting%2FDSCN2273.jpg&hash=37d249af5982599c0a6185fc98d4618314620b42)

(https://www.bassboatboards.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fi968.photobucket.com%2Falbums%2Fae169%2Ftransamz9%2FZ9%2520deck%2520lighting%2FDSCN2559.jpg&hash=871c441297c8dce89a9c0bfa97dce3a9ebdcc71b)

Title: Re: LED Light Installation
Post by: transamz9 on June 28, 2017, 06:38:02 PM
(https://www.bassboatboards.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fi968.photobucket.com%2Falbums%2Fae169%2Ftransamz9%2FZ9%2520deck%2520lighting%2FDSCN2577.jpg&hash=fc5deb34732df1085f2ea5f92651d462a5e340d5)
Title: Re: LED Light Installation
Post by: Curt on June 29, 2017, 02:25:03 PM
@transamz9 Those look awesome  :nod:  :thumbup:

Thanks for sharing!
Title: Re: LED Light Installation
Post by: transamz9 on June 29, 2017, 03:12:51 PM
If you notice in the first picture the third light from the left in the rub rail is shorter. That is what they call the moon glow. It illuminates the bank pretty good on a pitch black night from about 50' away. I know in the pictures it's hard to tell but the longer lights in the rub rail are the UV lights. I have 4 of those on each side.

Here is a picture of the docking lights in the rub rail on the bow. I don't have my navigation lights mounted in this picture nor do I have a picture of them but they are mounted directly under the rail .....

(https://www.bassboatboards.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fi968.photobucket.com%2Falbums%2Fae169%2Ftransamz9%2FZ9%2520deck%2520lighting%2FDSCN2576.jpg&hash=56a5433c132e34c1ecf5926b2b1f8abfa58beced)

In this picture you can see how much light the docking lights put out on the garage door. It's wild how the UV light mixes with the white docking lights to make the door look blue in the picture.


(https://www.bassboatboards.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fi968.photobucket.com%2Falbums%2Fae169%2Ftransamz9%2FZ9%2520deck%2520lighting%2FDSCN2277.jpg&hash=3dda3098fef79c64a06e5bfcda1ab710de3c0d41)

Title: Re: LED Light Installation
Post by: fishon-son on June 29, 2017, 09:42:41 PM
that's nice   where do you find them  and is there   red   lol   
Title: Re: LED Light Installation
Post by: transamz9 on June 29, 2017, 10:42:18 PM
that's nice   where do you find them  and is there   red   lol

The rub rail is Night Fishion and it only comes UV. The lights I have inside came from Wal-Mart.
Title: Re: LED Light Installation
Post by: JackJ on June 30, 2017, 02:18:07 PM
The lights I bought to put under my rub rail were actually red and not green.  Old age setting in I guess had forgetton what I ordered.
They just arent bright enough for me to see well and they are 5050's.    I have one green Blue Water light strip that is really bright so I may just use it.
Title: Re: LED Light Installation
Post by: Curt on April 18, 2018, 09:57:41 AM
Maybe, just maybe, I will get these lights installed this Spring before I start night fishing   :rolleyes:
Title: Re: LED Light Installation
Post by: JackJ on April 18, 2018, 11:04:20 AM
I have already fished 3 night tournaments, but I have yet to get my lights rigged up  :rolleyes:
I am still just using my little LED white light that suctions to the boat ( I have it on a Gopro mount)
Title: Re: LED Light Installation
Post by: Curt on April 18, 2018, 11:15:31 AM
I have already fished 3 night tournaments, but I have yet to get my lights rigged up  :rolleyes:
I am still just using my little LED white light that suctions to the boat ( I have it on a Gopro mount)

LOL. I don't feel so bad now  (giggle)

But enough is enough for me. I need to get these done very soon. I've procrastinated long enough  (fp)
Title: Re: LED Light Installation
Post by: Curt on May 21, 2018, 09:20:45 PM
I finally got them installed this past weekend!!  (woohoo)

Here are a couple pics  (giggle)

(https://www.bassboatboards.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fbassfishingphotos.com%2Fimages%2F2018%2F05%2F21%2F0520182012b.md.jpg&hash=c2ac067afd434e65fa47d3cec4ad7b88309fe300) (http://bassfishingphotos.com/image/kYLG)

(https://www.bassboatboards.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fbassfishingphotos.com%2Fimages%2F2018%2F05%2F21%2F0520182012.md.jpg&hash=024bc28f4c2a4f6d5b0e902fe02589e15062f53f) (http://bassfishingphotos.com/image/ka7v)

(https://www.bassboatboards.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fbassfishingphotos.com%2Fimages%2F2018%2F05%2F21%2F0520182013.md.jpg&hash=349d67bbf3232ff49c4d462aae3557a9322e0849) (http://bassfishingphotos.com/image/kTaR)

(https://www.bassboatboards.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fbassfishingphotos.com%2Fimages%2F2018%2F05%2F21%2F0520182013b.md.jpg&hash=18b7756b0aaa3feee629d33df18413df678b3bee) (http://bassfishingphotos.com/image/kbMp)

(https://www.bassboatboards.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fbassfishingphotos.com%2Fimages%2F2018%2F05%2F21%2F0520182013a.md.jpg&hash=1e9edffc4d59dac2c65506fc0415074f5db370e5) (http://bassfishingphotos.com/image/kr1d)

(https://www.bassboatboards.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fbassfishingphotos.com%2Fimages%2F2018%2F05%2F21%2F0520182013c.md.jpg&hash=28ec8b3d63095ec4c8760faeba2c105d88f4df84) (http://bassfishingphotos.com/image/kEH2)

(https://www.bassboatboards.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fbassfishingphotos.com%2Fimages%2F2018%2F05%2F21%2F0520182013e.md.jpg&hash=026afce9f68c1f4af3202a61e279895599f96f8d) (http://bassfishingphotos.com/image/kLI8)

(https://www.bassboatboards.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fbassfishingphotos.com%2Fimages%2F2018%2F05%2F21%2F0520182013d.md.jpg&hash=c373b740329c8ded33866ce7f25dd6d65fc6d5bd) (http://bassfishingphotos.com/image/kq6f)

(https://www.bassboatboards.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fbassfishingphotos.com%2Fimages%2F2018%2F05%2F21%2F0520182013g.md.jpg&hash=183241256072d8a51bf225768a7eb6dff0081d25) (http://bassfishingphotos.com/image/ktJ7)

(https://www.bassboatboards.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fbassfishingphotos.com%2Fimages%2F2018%2F05%2F21%2F0520182013f.md.jpg&hash=20675078090227eff16e392796dca0a17cfdf03e) (http://bassfishingphotos.com/image/kuLm)

I spread this project out over two days (Saturday and Sunday). This is the first time I have done this type of installation, so I had to sort out a lot of details as I went along. I think it took me a total of 7-8 hours. This is mainly because there was so much involved in figuring out how to route everything, how it would all connect together, etc.

Then I had to do a lot of wire fishing, which with an aluminum boat is a pain in the butt. All in all, though, it went pretty well and I only had one 5 foot stretch of wires that I wasn't able to conceal. I fixed that today by running to Home Depot and buying a 5 foot section of plastic wire channel with adhesive backing and hid that one stretch under the port side gunwale.

I'm really happy with the way they came out and the way the boat looks with them on in the dark.

I picked red because it doesn't attract bugs and it doesn't mess with my night vision.

The entire LED light set on my boat, including the bow lights, is from LEDHead Light. http://stores.ebay.com/LED-Boat-Lighting

@mfwyatt05 is a member here and the owner of LEDHead Lighting
Title: Re: LED Light Installation
Post by: Jig Man on May 22, 2018, 07:40:13 AM
That ought to give you plenty of light to see what ever you want to see in the boat.  Looks like a good install job.
Title: Re: LED Light Installation
Post by: Curt on May 22, 2018, 11:57:47 AM
Put this short video together:

https://youtu.be/9Pvzv1c4Ml4
Title: Re: LED Light Installation
Post by: JackJ on May 22, 2018, 01:20:50 PM
Very nice!  Really like the dimmer on there too!
Title: Re: LED Light Installation
Post by: Curt on May 22, 2018, 01:50:44 PM
Thanks @JackJ I wouldn't have installed them without a dimmer. It's nice to have complete control of the level of light!
Title: Re: LED Light Installation
Post by: Curt on May 27, 2018, 10:15:00 AM
During the video that I posted above, I showed a section of wires that still needed to be concealed. They were hanging down a bit.

Inside of my port rod locker I had other wires that I had run and then concealed at the top of the locker with duct tape. I did the tape as a sort of experiment, to see if it would hold overnight. I had a feeling it wouldn't, and I was right.

So, I hit Home Depot on Monday of last week and bought two five-foot sections of plastic wiremold with adhesive backing, to get those wires tucked up under the gunnel and in the upper corner of the port rod locker.

(https://images.homedepot-static.com/productImages/f57b1b50-7144-48f5-906c-7d48d9e89b08/svn/white-legrand-wiremold-channel-raceways-c10-4f_1000.jpg)

This worked perfectly! If I didn't show anyone the wire mold, they would probably never notice it. And it did exactly what I needed it to do.

I will get pics of the actual installation and post them later on.
Title: Re: LED Light Installation
Post by: Nightmare on May 27, 2018, 10:50:53 AM
Spiffy!  :thumbup:
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