LED Transom lights--Tell me what you want

Kman · Oct-28-2009, 11:04 PM

Ok, you guys finally talked me into making some surface-mount underwater LED transom lights. There are already plenty of them out there, so I will aim for the Tim Taylor end of the market--brighter and more power—as well as see if I can lower costs.

What I need to hear from you guys is what do you want to see in a transom light? I can do white, blue, royal blue and green. I can emit the light in a flood or shoot out overlapping beams. Hell, I could throw light out the side of the fixture, greatly increasing the area around the back of the boat that’s lit.

I can also make about any size light. How many amps do you have to give away? ~3.5 amps will give you 12 of the latest generation white LEDs and will give you a little over 4,000 lumens.

What do you guys think about cable exit? I like the idea of going out the side and routing the wire externally rather than putting a hole in your transom, but that’s your call. As for mounting, I can put mounting ears on the lights (more holes), or you can just put some 4200 or 5200 on the light and it won’t be going anywhere.

I’ve got a couple prototypes made for the Trailer Trash—one has no optics and is straight flood while the other is a mix of wide and narrow lenses. Next will be colors. I’ll take some pics of how it turns out.

Rather than mount them on the TT, I may just cruise on down to the harbor and light up a slip & take pictures. Can anyone volunteer to let me in?

Thanks,

Kman

tuna taxi · Oct-28-2009, 11:45 PM

Can you make deck lights?

ALUMINATOR · Oct-29-2009, 05:37 AM

Kurt, What price range are you trying to stay within? I would llove to have a set but most I have looked at are over my budget.

Luhr'd Away · Oct-29-2009, 08:54 AM

Ocean LED Underwater Boat Lights - About Us

I recommend Ocean 4010. I did a lot of research on the issue and chose not to move forward as they are expensive. I will in the future.

Fishbones · Oct-29-2009, 09:21 AM

Seems like it would be a huge liability if someones boat sank because one of your lights failed.

shinerunner · Oct-29-2009, 09:44 AM

I like the wire out the side 5200 idea...

Luhr'd Away · Oct-29-2009, 10:12 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Fishbones

Seems like it would be a huge liability if someones boat sank because one of your lights failed.

The 4010 only requires a 1" hole. All the aothers are gigantic. I hear you on your quote, it is scary to drill un-needed holes in your boat.

Kman · Oct-29-2009, 10:25 AM

Let me be clear here: I'll ONLY be making surface-mount units. No thru-hulls. I should have spelled that out in the original post.

The fun thing here is to keep them cool underwater (easy) and while under way (not so much). I'll have to build in some throttling/overheat circuitry to save the lights if you, say, show off your lights (and you will) while on the trailer, then forget to turn them off. Without protection circuitry (that I've been building for years), the lights would quickly overheat. You pay a price for jaw-dropping brightness--and that's heat that has to be dealt with.

Edit: Here's one almost ready to go. It's got 9 LEDs, 6 are behind wide angle lenses, 3 behind narrow ones. If this doesn't work out as a transom light on the TT, it'll make an awesome forward-facing light for spotting lobster buoys and other obstacles. The light you see there is all spill. 90+% of the LED's light is going out the lenses. You can't really get a pic of the front without shooting it through a welding helmet. You might as well point your camera at the sun. You guys with my squid lights know what I'm talking about.

Its A Keeper · Oct-29-2009, 04:00 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Kman

Let me be clear here: I'll ONLY be making surface-mount units. No thru-hulls. I should have spelled that out in the original post.

The fun thing here is to keep them cool underwater (easy) and while under way (not so much). I'll have to build in some throttling/overheat circuitry to save the lights if you, say, show off your lights (and you will) while on the trailer, then forget to turn them off. Without protection circuitry (that I've been building for years), the lights would quickly overheat. You pay a price for jaw-dropping brightness--and that's heat that has to be dealt with.

Edit: Here's one almost ready to go. It's got 9 LEDs, 6 are behind wide angle lenses, 3 behind narrow ones. If this doesn't work out as a transom light on the TT, it'll make an awesome forward-facing light for spotting lobster buoys and other obstacles. The light you see there is all spill. 90+% of the LED's light is going out the lenses. You can't really get a pic of the front without shooting it through a welding helmet. You might as well point your camera at the sun. You guys with my squid lights know what I'm talking about.

What would a forward facing light like this cost???

Something else you might want to consider in your design. Is having one light that can do both functions, forward and underwater. Which shouldnt be that difficult, considering its not a thru hull....

Mounting on in the transome area...most boats have a ladder...maybe that should be the mount point... for forward facing, most boats have a rail...
Both ladder and the rail are basically the same diameter.

Bogii · Oct-29-2009, 05:28 PM

150.00 per pair sounds about right
can they change colors depending on bait conditions.???

Stoughty Rods · Oct-29-2009, 05:39 PM

Kman, I've always had a question and wondered about these transom underwater lights. Are they bright enough to raise squid? I know I shouldn't expect to raise the squid like a light boat, but are the light bright enough to raise them at all?

PaDDy Killer' · Oct-29-2009, 06:36 PM

Kurt you may want to get some ideas from this guy CoastalNightLights.com. His lights are very popular on tht.com. I got a set of green thru hull lights for $300 and a deck light that replaced my 55watt deck light for $100 I think. Both work great, and he uses material that does not yellow in the sun. I have had them for a little over a year with no problems. Good luck.