People with undewater LED's Please look !

Is this a possible way to wire them without drilling through the hull.

Run Positive and Negative from the Battery to the bolts for the swim platform mounts.... then from there run to the LED's.... will this work ?Like this:

I believe many people have done it this way to save themselves from needing to drill thru the hull

i would absolutely do this too if its possible

Yep! Sure is! Like Cory Said... lots have done this. But here's the deal... you still gotta drill the transom to mount the LED's... so what's one more small hole?

BTW, I didn't think it's possible... but I think you suck worse at Paint than I do! ;)

Yeah it was a quick job.... but everyone understood. haha

I think I may add a piece of wood off the swim platform that runs parrallel vertically with the back of the boat, then mount on there so I don't have to drill through

my question is where does the wire run from the battery to the lights? doesnt it have to go through the hull?

I haven't tried it but? Water conducts electricity and I know my brackets are under water? Sounds to me like a sure fire way to short out the power wire or if nothing else give everyone standing on your swim deck tingly feet! lol I just drilled a hole on my boat. Not that big of a deal when you think how many holes are put in your boat by the factory. Just my .02

Your not gonna electrocute yourself, nor are they gonna short. It's been done a bunch of times already.

It just works!

http://www.wakeworld.com/MB/Discus/messages/3183/656168.html?1231283612

Grant posted some of his work there.

Since fiberglass is non-conductive, it works just fine. The bracket bolts act just like a large gauge wire passing through the hull. Good thing about 12v's, it doesn't have the shock factor that A/C does, and with the high resistance of water, the chance of a short or electrical shock are slim to none.

thanks tanner for that post!

Awesome thanks guys.


Next question:

Are the underwater LED pods (specific for this type of thing) worth lets say $250 when I could get two trailer brake light things for like $50

Trailer lights are always super bright underwater, much cheaper, and prob easier to mount I would think.... how do you think they will hold up?

Trailer brake lights don't project like these underwater lights do. Do you really want to bolt trailer brake lights to your boat .

^^^ Maybe, somebody wanted to know the wheel bolt pattern for their Supreme V205

I would have another piece of wood off the platform the lights would be mounted too.... so I could pop them off when need be.

I don't need them to go far, just enough so when swimming at night the platform will have a little glow to it.

Tigemike what the hell are you talking about?

I'm sure the brake lights would give it plent of glow for you.

(Message edited by 05mobiuslsv on March 21, 2009)

I bought a string of 35 of these:



Using Marine expoxy I glued them down all the way around my fiberglass swim platform. When those are bought, superbrightled's builds the string for you, so they come in all in one piece. There's 1 LED module, 3" of wire, then another module, and so on. I situated them so that 1 end of the string was at one of the brackets, and the other at the other end. You can power either side of the string, so I'll be using an existing screw and putting a ring terminal on the power for 1 side, then ground to the other. I've already checked continuity with a multi-meter to make sure it would work (actually knew it would from reading here, but checked anyway). When I'm ready to remove the platform, I won't have to mess with any wiring at all. The screws on the platform bracket that's fixed to the transom has screws through it. On the inside, I'll put a ring terminal on each of those screws for the power to the lighting string.

I'll have some pics up soon.

These lights won't be nearly as bright as some of the ones that are being tested in the other thread, but they're not too bad considering I've got about $70 in the whole deal.

Link to the product page: http://www.superbrightleds.com/cgi-bin/store/commerce.cgi?product=BARS

Those are the LBM2's, and are completely waterproof. I emailed the company asking that question just to make sure.

Nu Bu, Somebody wants to know the lug bolt pattern for his Suprme!

http://www.wakeworld.com/MB/Discus/messages/3183/680003.html?1237664379

(Message edited by chpthril on March 21, 2009)

Ok

Are you drunk already .

^^^ Working on it

Thought so, don't stop till it's all gone...

^^^ 10-4!

That was the first thing I thought of a few days ago when I saw that thread title.... Lug nuts on a boat.

Thanks John, that looks like a pretty goo way to go for me.... how bright are they when all lit up?

also how big are the pieces that hold the LED's to figure how many to order to fill up my platform,
it looks like 1" of plastic then 3" of wire.

LED Module with 2 high flux 110 degree LEDs
measure 1.33 x 1.13 inches and have 3 1/4 inch wires between modules
The quantity you order will be wired together in a string, 100pcs maximum per string, price is per 2-LED module
$ 1.45


I haven't had them in the water yet, but in the shop they look fairly bright for what they are. I'll try to get a night time pic, but it'll be Monday or Tuesday before I can. They won't be anywhere near what the Bake's lights or others will do, but a little glow for me is enough.

http://viewmorepics.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=viewImage&friendID=60199007&a lbumID=2720624&imageID=45910274

Thats a link to my under swim platform lights.

I used smd strip lighting cost about $60 for a 10ft length has a led every 3/4's of an inch and its water proof. Super thin, and it has 3m adhesive on the back. I just stuck it on and sealed it with clear caulk just to make sure and no problems with it. Didn't try the swim deck mounting trick just drilled a hole in the back and sealed it up.

Just looked the specs up on the smd lights they are only 2mm tall so when you install them under a swim deck they won't be lower then the edge or bleed light out just down! Plus there completly smooth so you don't have to worry about sharp edges or getting them caught on something. Just my personal prefrence. Not sure how they'll hold up being I only have one day of boating with them on but so far so good.

I have mine wired through the brackets. My problem is the brackets keep getting corrosion build up and then they dont work as well until I pull the platform off and clean them. If anyone has any idea on how to prevent this I would love to hear it.

collin that's how my platform is wired I just put a aniod on each bracket problem solved

http://i109.photobucket.com/albums/n70/cgtigerlilly/photos4110.jpg
http://i109.photobucket.com/albums/n70/cgtigerlilly/boat005_2.jpg

(Message edited by my_malibu on March 22, 2009)

(Message edited by my_malibu on March 22, 2009)

Nick why dont you just glue two light sticks to your rudder.

You may want to add a small in-line fuse between the battery and the swim platform bolts if you run it this way.

Nick,

Grant has his underplatform LEDs wired this way. I prefer to drill a hole in my boat for some reason.

Does your boat ever see salt water? If yes, then don't do it.

Billy maybe you're right, we do have a tacky MC sticker on the back....it would complete the look.

No salt here. Wisconsin is quite landlocked.


Thanks for the help everyone, except Billy.

I talked to a electrician friend of mine and as crazy as it sounds you can wire thru the swim platform brackets. He said that even though water does conduct electricity the loss thru this type of connection would be minor. Said its a because the wire is small and so is the amperage. He did say if you had power to the swim platform bracket and it sat in the water for a week even with no lights it would eventually drain the battery. But in a situation like this he said no problem at all. I already drilled a hole thru my hull so I guess no sense in changing it now! lol

Salt water or not it sounds like a quick way to some good electrolsis. Toss a few zincs on your while your at it along with any boat next to yours.

We've always avoided the bracket method because we were concerned that running current through exterior metal would encourage corrosion. There may or may not be something to this.

For above water applications we use a mini clamshell to one side and just above the swim platform. We use a quick disconnect so that the swimdeck is still serviceable. A marine silicon is used to seal the penetration.

For below waterline, like the ABYSS, we use a marine poly caulk instead of silicon. The poly caulk (also used in thru-hull transducers) won't dry out underwater.

David
Earmark Marine

Nick on a serious note, FYI you can get corrosion in fresh water as well. We get it here in some lakes.
That MC sticker is still on there?!!!
BTW just drill some holes for gods sake, and fill them with 5200. You will be fine.

(Message edited by woreout on March 23, 2009)

Yup MC sticker on the boat and Shua's truck... my car managed to get away without one though.

I had some nice "Super Air Nautiques" stickers for your truck, but I forgot to bring them down last time.

David, what do you suggest instead of the bracket method?

by sending electricity thru the brkts you create an electric field which causes electrolisis hence all the white stuff on the brkts. don't be scared just drill a hole

John,

A S.S. mini clamshell just above the swimdeck on the starboard side to cover and seal the penetration. Silicon sealed. See photo: http://www.earmarkcaraudio.com/set21/large/item1/P0009932.jpg

A 16-gauge two-conductor quick-disconnect at the transom and swimdeck division. Contacts treated with dielectric grease. Both ends of disconnect covered in silicon and compressed in heatshrink.

Long lasting. Allows removal of swimdeck for service.

David
Earmark Marine

Thanks David. Do you have a link to something similar or maybe a brand and part number I could look up?

Drill the hole Nick, its no biggie. like they say, measure 3 times, drill once. Make sure you fill the hole and any screw holes you make with 3M fast cure 5200 sealant. Do not use Silicone. The slow cure is messy and kinda thin so make sure you use the fast cure. Its made for under the water line. Super good stuff!

John,

Please don't use 5200. It's permanent. If you need to remove the clamshell, the gelcoat might come with it.

For underwater penetrations we use a poly caulk versus silicon because it stays plyable forever. This is what we use for thru-hull sonar on 50 ft. boats, which is tonage of displacement and have never had a leak.

But your penetration will be above the waterline so 3M silicon is ideal.

E-mail us. We have every part in stock. Also, I had a few additional thoughts.

David
Earmark Marine

Actually, mine would be under the waterline if I do this....

John,

See - over on the Supra boards when I asked about
this, I can see where your ideas came from.

I want some lights back there - and would LOVE
to have the shadow-casters, or something, but I
much more like the prices on your solution - but I have to take the platform off - so I can't have anything permanent.

Todd (TG0824SSVGG from Supra boards)

Not sure if anyone mentioned, but you need a switch included in your drawing otherwise they (the LED's) will always be on!