A boat is a huge investment, and you want to make it your own. Your boat should stand out, be functional, be a great place for you and your family and friends to hang out, and really reflect your personal style. Adding your own lighting to your boat can be a great way of personalizing your experience. Here are some tips for how to use waterproof LED light strips for boats and other ideas for how lighting can be both decorative and useful
Why Choose LED?
LED lights make a great choice for a boat. They’re very energy-efficient for one thing, so they won’t be eating up your power. They also last a very long time, orders of magnitude beyond the lifespan of traditional light bulbs. As a result, you won’t find yourself constantly having to replace bulbs if you put in waterproof LED light strips for boats. Finally, LED lights come in any sort of color and style you can imagine. This means you can truly customize your experience when using LED.
Waterproof LED Light Strips for Boats
As you can imagine, it’s very important that any LED light strips you get for the outside or the deck be marine LED light strips. Marine light bars and black lights for boats–really any kind of light that you put on a boat–need to be waterproof for obvious reasons. It’s not enough that you simply buy outdoor LED lights such as you might put outside your home. You need lights that will be resistant to the salt water and the punishment that the sea can give. LED light strips typically have a rating that specifies how much protection they have from the elements. The higher the rating, the more you can expose the light strip to salt water.
How Can I Mount My Waterproof LED Light Strips for Boats?
There are a lot of ways that you can mount your boat LED strip lights. Accent lighting on your deck can come in color changing light strips that can be controlled with a remote. Mounting ship lights along the underside of the deck rail not only gives your boat an attractive glow, but also doesn’t disturb your vision as you look out over the water. Furthermore, such lighting allows you to see your deck clearly at night. Mount LED light strips inside all of your storage spaces, too. When you open them up, you’ll be able to see everything clearly, but the lighting is discrete and does not take up space that you need. If you are putting your LED lighting inside the cabin or the galley, there’s no need for waterproof LED light strips for boats. Cheaper non-waterproof light strips can work in this space.
Are Light Strips Just For My Boat?
Not at all. If your boat is being pulled by a trailer, there can be lighting problems with the trailer. Or maybe you just want your trailer to be more visible or don’t want to worry about whether the boat’s own lights are working properly or not. Building your own boat LED light bar can be your solution. This is just a portable trailer lighting system that you put on some wood. Remove it when your boat is being what into the water, and put it back on to go home. Decide which side you want your boat light bar plug to be on. Then run new wire through the outside trailer frame and make sure the plug meets up with the plug that comes out of your vehicle. At the stern end of the trailer you’ll need a marine grade electrical work box. Use waterproof connectors. Measure a 2 x 4 to fit across the boat and decide how you want to secure it. Mount a basic trailer light kit to each end of the bar, hook up the wires, and plug it in.
Lights on your boat and trailer are both functional and decorative. Get the right kind of lights for your boats and keep it safe while also letting it stand out.
