LED lights on Pontoon

[phaseonephotog]

I was wanting to know a good source for LED strip lights or rope lights to put on my 32 foot Suntracker Party Cruiser. Was thinking about putting one set at the top of the cabin all the way around and another set around or underneath the rails. Primary Reason is for sleeping on the boat and other boats seeing me at night, not running lights while the boat is moving. My question is what type of LED to use, the smaller strip lights that have tape on the back or rope lights. Will the tape hold on the rails or better to use stainless screws?

There may be an issue of mounting underneath the railings as you will have to encounter the vertical post and thus make cuts in your wire? I also wanted some lights in the bow of the pontoon to add some mood lighting while seating with friends.

Thanks in advance for suggestions?

Jay

[curtiscapk]

10% discount on this site...


http://www.pontoonstuff.com/collections ... oon-lights

[sunedog]

I love pontoonstuff.com too, but I got my blue LED strip lights from Amazon. Hard to beat $16.99 per 16 foot strip.

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B006IW ... UTF8&psc=1

[Waterlogged]

Welcome aboard. With a name like phaseonephotog I'm sure we will see some good pics after you light it up.

Glenn

[badmoonrising]

Will the tape hold on the rails or better to use galvanized screws?


Jay

I would advise against anything but stainless screws or aluminum rivets, galvanized screws are going to react with the aluminum and will cause corrosion.

[Traillblazer]

I purchased all of my strips from ebay (drop shipped from China). I learned a lot about these strips. They work great, really bright. All of my controllers use the same 44 key remote. The tape on the back partially says what looks like 3M, but no way it can be. Its junk. I had to clean off the tape that came with it and use real 3M tape. I bought a lot of extra wire and got rid of all of the original plugs. They do not hold together well so I cut and soldered all of my connection and shrink wrapped. I did under seat strips as well. Under deck I mounted vinyl strips to the beams. I purchased these at Lowes and ripped them in half. They were 1.5" wide from the store. I then added insurance with some zip ties to make sure nothing moves. I have about $150 into the project. Now with knowledge I could save a bunch of money if I did it again. I need to get some video to share. They are really bright at night.

[phaseonephotog]

Will the tape hold on the rails or better to use galvanized screws?


Jay

I would advise against anything but stainless screws or aluminum rivets, galvanized screws are going to react with the aluminum and will cause corrosion.

sorry i meant to say stainless

[woolznaz]

As for exterior lighting, I would suggest you make sure you are familiar with your state's laws. At the dock you can probably do whatever you want with lighting. At anchor, though, I suspect your state will say you are to run your 360 anchor light and only the 360 anchor light. In addition to being seen, while not temporarily destroying the night vision of others, that anchor light also tells people you are anchored or stationary and not running. More is not better when it comes to lights at night. They deliver a message to keep you and others safe. Your state may differ, but I bet that is what you will find.

We boat primarily in two different areas/lakes/states. On one lake, the rules are enforced. On the other, they do not seem to be.

[Traillblazer]

Yes, that is true. The first time I had them on was while watching fireworks Memorial Weekend. I had a law enforcement boat circle me like a shark but he kept on going. I thought for sure he was going to say something with the distance he came to check me out.