under platform LED

(wakespecialty) · (wakespecialty) **Join Date: Feb 2005** 01-17-2006, 5:55 PM

So we got the LED pods set in the fiberglass platform of Gabriel's beautiful X45. Although it's not required, we decided to go ahead and router the pods and wires into the platform. That added a bit of time and mess to the install, but who doesn't have time for this? Looks killer on the trailer - tomorrow night is the lake test! More to come.......
pods & wires routered, potted with 3M 5200 & siliconed

pods & wires routered, potted with 3M 5200 & siliconed

(s4inor) · (s4inor) **Join Date: Mar 2002** 01-17-2006, 6:03 PM

That looks nice! I love how dispersed the light is, I'm sure it will look impressive in the water.

Let us know when you have pics!

(grant_west) · (grant_west) **Join Date: Jun 2005** 01-17-2006, 7:27 PM

WOW thats 16 pod's. Looks like the 4 that are on the back of the swim platform are not even turned on??? Looks great I wanna see what it looks like in the water. I hope It lights the water just like the first photo, nice install

(zo1) · (zo1) **Join Date: Aug 2002** 01-18-2006, 6:01 AM

I have been pondering this one for a while but I hate the idea of having a wire hanging down the transom. Drilling under the platform still makes me feel a bit uneasy.

How did you wire????

(lzyboy) · (lzyboy) **Join Date: Jun 2001** 01-18-2006, 6:21 AM

SAVAGE, that is soooo sick - keep up the good work. SKILLS

Lzy

(burbanized) · (burbanized) **Join Date: Mar 2004** 01-18-2006, 11:21 AM

Sweet cant wait for the lake test pics. Thats going to look so good.

(twitch) · (twitch) **Join Date: Dec 2004** 01-19-2006, 3:24 PM

wheres the water pics

(mastercraft1995)

How did you get if from the power from the boat to the swim deck?

(sylv2080) · (sylv2080) **Join Date: Jun 2004** 01-20-2006, 6:40 AM

that is sweet!!!!!!!!!!!!!! please let me know how I could get that done on my boat!!!! I have a teak platform on the back of my 21i but that shouldn't matter should it????????

(cp3) · (cp3) **Join Date: Dec 2005** 01-20-2006, 1:10 PM

that is sick! How much does that cost?

nautique226 01-20-2006, 1:40 PM

love it!

(matt77) · (matt77) **Join Date: Oct 2005** 01-30-2006, 5:28 PM

That is sooo sick!!
Post the pics of it when it was in the water!

(crowmobe) · (crowmobe) **Join Date: Aug 2001** 01-30-2006, 6:03 PM

NIce very Nice!!!

(fox) · (fox) **Join Date: Jul 2002** 01-31-2006, 6:17 AM

When are you going to post the in-water pics?

(c_rundell) · (c_rundell) **Join Date: Jan 2006** 01-31-2006, 8:53 AM

that should look great in the water!
Where did you get the LED's at?

(acurtis_ttu) · (acurtis_ttu) **Join Date: May 2004** 01-31-2006, 11:09 AM

I'm assuming he used his own. Go to wakespecialty's website, click on his profile.

(cpt_tripps) · (cpt_tripps) **Join Date: Oct 2002** 01-31-2006, 12:27 PM

That is a great price for the under platform kit, but I am just curious how to wire it. I have LEDs all over my boat, but I am not sure about drilling a hole under the platform nor and keen on having a wire dangle.

Could you tell us how you go about getting power out to the platform?

(fox) · (fox) **Join Date: Jul 2002** 01-31-2006, 2:03 PM

I think you can power them through the bolts for the brackets that hold the platform. Positive to one bracket and negative to the other.

(grant_west) · (grant_west) **Join Date: Jun 2005** 01-31-2006, 2:51 PM

Eric is correct, Positive on one side of the swim platform bolt and Neg on the other.

Here is a Pic of the wake specialtys underwater LED's hooked up this way in a bath tub. The current is passing thew the water but its nothing! The 9 led blocks are drawing 1/2 of a amp, when they are dunked into the water and the current passes between the 2 mounting pionts there is no more current draw. Why ??? who cares it just work's

(wakespecialty) · (wakespecialty) **Join Date: Feb 2005** 01-31-2006, 4:43 PM

uh, it appears there are ten blocks

(grant_west) · (grant_west) **Join Date: Jun 2005** 01-31-2006, 5:59 PM

whoop's

justsomeguy 01-31-2006, 6:05 PM

"whoop's"

Has anyone ever mentioned your superfluous apostrophe syndrome to you?

discolafinger 01-31-2006, 6:23 PM

how did you get a power to the swim platform

(shocker) · (shocker) **Join Date: Dec 2005** 01-31-2006, 6:43 PM

we see the bath tub test ,lets see the lake test now

(fox) · (fox) **Join Date: Jul 2002** 02-01-2006, 7:09 AM

Wires Brian...from the dash switch to the back of your boat, and then back again.

(rogersuofl) · (rogersuofl) **Join Date: Jan 2006** 02-01-2006, 9:37 AM

I know that the link to where I could get a set of these Led blocks has been posted before, but I can't seem to find it. Grant do you mind telling me where I can buy these, and how much a set of ten will run? Thanks

(grant_west) · (grant_west) **Join Date: Jun 2005** 02-01-2006, 10:32 AM

http://www.wakespecialty.com

(tyler97217) · (tyler97217) **Join Date: Aug 2004** 02-01-2006, 10:52 AM

is there just a raw wire going out to the swim platform to the boat or is there a hole drilled in the transom? Pics of that would be cool. Thanks

(acurtis_ttu) · (acurtis_ttu) **Join Date: May 2004** 02-01-2006, 10:55 AM

Diggs, what it sounds like is the platform bolts act as a conductor of the current, so no holes have to be drilled

(tyler97217) · (tyler97217) **Join Date: Aug 2004** 02-01-2006, 5:04 PM

adam,
sorry guess I could have read that too...... wow that is pretty awesome

(stepintoliquid)

How much does that kit go for?

(2high4u) · (2high4u) **Join Date: May 2004** 02-02-2006, 2:26 PM

$149 as stated on website.

(tparider) · (tparider) **Join Date: Aug 2003** 02-06-2006, 2:05 PM

Kris -

You said, "although it's not required, we routered the pods and wiring into the platform."

Two questions:
1. After you routered the pods and wiring, what did you use to fill in the areas over the wiring to make everything stay in place?

2. How do you make the LED pods and wiring stay in place if you don't want to router your platform?

Thanks.

(tparider) · (tparider) **Join Date: Aug 2003** 02-08-2006, 2:27 PM

Wakespecialty - please read my post above...

thanks!

bocephus 02-08-2006, 2:34 PM

Have any of you ever seen an outdrive with a short in it after it's set in the water for awhile? You end up with all sorts of good minerals attached to it. I assume the same thing would happen to the metal brackets on the swim platform. All sorts of minerals will collect on the platform brackets. Anyone agree or disagree?

(grant_west) · (grant_west) **Join Date: Jun 2005** 02-08-2006, 2:45 PM

Ill answer for Kris Im pretty sure he is a the Dallas Boat show.

After you router out the spots you can fill the aera's with fiberglass resin. Either polly or epoxy resin will work fine. I would use Epoxy resin. You can add a tint or dye to the resin depending on the color of your platform if you wish.

With the Wake Specialty Under platform lights the wires that connect them to each other come in and go out on the top side of the cluster so If you dont want to router a small channel to hide the wires you can either use a silicone to glue down the wire or if you dont mind drilling into the platform you can use a wire tie down.

(tparider) · (tparider) **Join Date: Aug 2003** 02-08-2006, 3:48 PM

Hey Jed - I don't know if your statement would be an issue when dealing with fresh water.

Grant - so if I don't want to router the platform, I can use clear silicone to "glue" the wires and the LED clusters to the platform? Will that hold up during riding conditions? It seems like the clusters would get pounded by the water and I'd end up losing the lights in the lake.

Thanks for your help.

(grant_west) · (grant_west) **Join Date: Jun 2005** 02-08-2006, 3:59 PM

I was talking about the wires only. You will need to secure the lights them selfs a bit better the lights have a hole in the center of the block that you can run a screw threw

bocephus 02-08-2006, 4:01 PM

It's a major issue in fresh or salt water. Stick an electrode in your swimming pool over night and you will have calcium deposits on it over night. When we had a houseboat at Powell one of our outdrives had a short in the trim motor and the entire outdrive was covered with mineral deposits.

I'm not bagging on the guys idea either, just wondering if any one had any experiance with it before.

(Message edited by Bocephus on February 08, 2006)

(mikeski) · (mikeski) **Join Date: Aug 2003** 02-08-2006, 11:04 PM

There are a couple of issues here that may or may not need to be addressed. One is the conductivity of water based on the salt content and the other is the galvonic reaction with water.

If you run in salt water it will conduct electricity much better completing a circuit between the platform brackets. Maybe they will just run a little less bright? Maybe the fuse will pop? Maybe not enough conductivity to make a difference. Throw them in a sink and dump some rock salt into the mix and see?

The galvonic reaction causes the water to leach Zinc out of the metal, I think??? I don't know much about it since I am not a sailor, but I work with a smart one, PM me if you need answers. Here is my guess on the issue: If you are leaving the boat in the water for periods of time it will be an problem. In Grant's case I know he runs in fresh water and only leaves his boat overnight while on trips much the same as lots of us out here in CA. He also keeps his boat clean and I doubt he will ever notice any galvonic effect.

If anybody is really worried about this just install a double pole relay so both the + and - wires are disconnected when the power is turned off. Or, like Grant said just try it and see if it works...

nonsequiteur 02-08-2006, 11:35 PM

Its not that it leaches zinc out of metal, it actually Eats the metal, whatever metal is most reactive, if you have aluminum on the boat that will most likely be the first to go, then brass or bronze, then steel. They use Zincs on boats because it is inexpensive and more reactive then most metals used structurally in a boat. Think of it as simply being softer so itll get eaten by any galvanic action faster than hard metal will. They are used Purely for the purpose of being sacrificial, if they wear out and arent replaced the metal starts to get eaten off the next softest metal, typically a prop or outdrive. Using the bolts as conductors is a pretty good idea, as long as the are completely isolated from all other metal on the boat, or have zincs attached to them. Any electrical currect that is going from the boat into the water is going to end up pulling metal off the boat wherever that contact is, if you hook a zinc up to those bolts and run it several times with the power on youll start to see the corrosion quickly. Itll take longer to see the corrosion on the stainless steel bolts, but it Is there and if its connected to any structural metal in the boat you may not see it at All. Mind you this is most important for the metal that has the most contact with the water, including the engine. Running it in freshwater only Will slow down the galvanic action as compared to saltwater, but its still there. Also, considering this boat is More than likely going to be spending Most of its life on a trailer (like it or not) the threat isnt immediate or likely to cause your boat to collapse from the lack of structural steel. As Mikeski said, only a Real problem if you are leaving the boat in the water for long periods of time. Dont run a High current through it though. Heard of a guy who sailed (yes Sailed) over to Catalina Island from Los Angelos (25 miles Appx) had Just installed Brand new zincs for the trip, he got over there, after several hours and did some snorkeling, on his way back in the boat he noticed that his Brand New zincs were completely Gone. He found an antenna wire that had chafed through at the base of the mast. The current from the antenna was enough to eat his zincs entirely in a matter of maybe 8hrs possibly a bit more. Could have ended up more serious had he not caught it in time...
Novel Complete

(tparider) · (tparider) **Join Date: Aug 2003** 02-09-2006, 4:21 PM

I'm interested to hear what Kris has to say about this. Post up when you're back from the show, Kris!!

bocephus 02-09-2006, 7:04 PM

sorry to send this thread in this direction, I didn't mean to. I think it's a cool idea.

nonsequiteur 02-09-2006, 10:23 PM

It Is a cool idea, another way to prevent the corrosion would be to entirely insulate the bolts on the outside so they dont have any contact with the water. The buildup and deposits you are seeing on the outdrive or electrodes in water, its the metal being oxidized, not anything attaching to the metal, that is what the metal looks like when it is being eaten away. Aluminum Oxides is white, chalky, and gets puffy, similarly to how rust will puff out from the surface, its just a different color and slightly different form. Sorry to hijack the thread, just am trying to provide a little bit of info, trying to help make boats last longer...