Who has mood lighting installed?

jcyamaharider · Mar 7, 2014

Mine isn't over the top but just right for me. They are 5050 RGB's in all cup holders, cutouts on transom and under the swim platform.

leeatmg · Mar 7, 2014

Looks great - assume they change color based on the photos?

jcyamaharider · Mar 7, 2014

Yes they go thru the color spectrum, kind of like a tv. Uses shades of Green, Blue, and Red to make what color you want. The 4th bulb in the cluster is white. I love the orange ( my boat is orange ) but yellow isn't so apparent.

farrelltravis · Mar 7, 2014

Your mood lights worked. Now, all of a sudden.....I am in a mood to get out on the boat!

McTafur · Mar 7, 2014

I installed 4 sets throughout my boat controlled by a switch panel. Mounted the switch panel so I could control which areas get lighting. RARELY use it, unfortunately. Passengers love the lighting but not the Bugs.

jawsf16 · Mar 7, 2014

McTafur said:
I installed 4 sets throughout my boat controlled by a switch panel. Mounted the switch panel so I could control which areas get lighting. RARELY use it, unfortunately. Passengers love the lighting but not the Bugs.

I have always wondered about the bugs with these lighting mods. We are not night boaters, but I have to think the bugs love the only,sliver of light available in the middle of a dark lake.

McTafur · Mar 7, 2014

I'm sure others have figured out some way of dealing with the bug issue. I don't do too much night boating so we generally stay out until someone complains.. lol.
And yes, it has worked out well for me in the "special lady" category.

Joshb723 · Mar 7, 2014

I don't do a lot of night boating but we installed red lights and don't have an issue with bugs. One thing that works for bugs if your just sitting still is thermacell. Popular with hunters. I bought one but haven't needed it yet.

leeatmg · Mar 7, 2014

Joshb723 said:
I don't do a lot of night boating but we installed red lights and don't have an issue with bugs. One thing that works for bugs if your just sitting still is thermacell. Popular with hunters. I bought one but haven't needed it yet.

Thermacell devices are almost magical. It is the only device that works for repelling mosquitos. As a current resident of Minnesota, I know of what I speak. We have six of them and set them up in an overlapping pattern on our 25 x 25 patio and the whole area is free of mosquitos all night. And that's with a wooded, damp backyard. Only exception is that they don't work in windy conditions all that well.

soggyshoes · Mar 8, 2014

jcyamaharider said:
Mine isn't over the top but just right for me. They are 5050 RGB's in all cup holders, cutouts on transom and under the swim platform.

Those look awsome! What brand are they/ where did you get them?

jcyamaharider · Mar 8, 2014

There are a couple of places to get them. Superbrightleds.com is one, this set is actually a set off of ebay. Bought for around 20 dollars. Then I bought my wiring and quick connectors from SBL.

jcyamaharider · Mar 8, 2014

McTafuost: 5224 said:
I installed 4 sets throughout my boat controlled by a switch panel. Mounted the switch panel so I could control which areas get lighting. RARELY use it, unfortunately. Passengers love the lighting but not the Bugs.

Lets see some pics!! I bet it looks awesome!

Jim Robeson · Mar 8, 2014

jawsf16 said:
I have always wondered about the bugs with these lighting mods. We are not night boaters, but I have to think the bugs love the only,sliver of light available in the middle of a dark lake.

Funny you mention night boaters. Told the wife that I was going to put some blue LED lights in the boat and she made the comment..."are we going to start doing a lot of night boating?" I told her that I was thinking it would nice to have a little"mood" lighting while we were on the lake enjoying an adult beverage after the sun goes down. As far as bugs go, I'm hoping for the best.

jcyamaharider · Mar 8, 2014

Here is a link to the RGB's that I used.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/32122230416...eName=STRK:MEWNX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1497.l2649

McTafur · Mar 8, 2014

As soon as I get her out of storage, I'll be posting some pics. ...

txav8r · Mar 8, 2014

The RGB's in the boat are absolutely awesome. And will add to the ambiance and appeal of being out on the lake after dark. We pretty much didn't even go out until about 5 in the afternoon. We wanted the lake to ourselves and most of the traffic is gone by sundown. And an added benefit was we always had a vacant ramp to launch and retrieve!

I did full LED installs on my boat twice. Once with red LED's to prevent bugs and not destroy my night vision. Well, it was worth a try, but it didn't work. They still attracted bugs, and you can't have any lights on when running at night or you can't see!!! If the dash lights only had a dimmer! I actually have laid a towel across them! Bugs...ugh. Yes, they are attracted to light, but you have bugs regardless. I learned from my experience, that a breeze keeps the bugs down, and if you have no breeze, anchor farther from shore, and that will keep the bugs down too.

On my installs, I used about 69 watts of the 72 watts that come on a full spool of 5050 RGB's. Most handheld controllers are also limited to 72 watts, so any more and your using two remotes, not just one. And that is more light in a boat at night, than you need or will want. If I were doing this again, I would use less powerful LED strip such as the 3528 strip. Several reasons for that...not as much wattage, more tightly spaced LED chips, and a narrower strip. The downside? Well, I am not certain you can find RGB in 3528. But you can find other than 5050 in RGB, and I would consider this doing it again...just too much light from them. But there is more than one way to do any install. Some guys want to buy prepacked strips and cupholder illumination, and some will want it perfect, and will take the time to build it. I went that way. Here are a few pics of how I did my cupholders and speaker rings, and the end result. The RGB strip I used was 100% waterproof, and I sealed both ends of the strip, used waterproof heat shrink, and made this a permanent install.