3-mile LED anchor light

LaRea

Is there a 3-mile LED anchor light that costs under $200?

For safety, I want a light that's super-bright, and doesn't fade when the battery gets a bit low.  But the cheapest I've found is this one for $230:

https://www.westmarine.com/buy/signal-mate--pedestal-mount-led-all-round-anchor-navigation-light--13836200?recordNum=50 

There are plenty of 2-mile LEDs that cost less, but the 3-mile lights seem to start at $230 and go up from there.  

onislandtime

@LaRea check this out. Maybe you could modify to fit your needs. I have a 2 mile one and everyone says its bright as anything and they have seen it further then 2 miles.

https://www.amazon.com/attwood-7812-S-7-Folding-Masthead-Anchor/dp/B01MY3883I/ref=sr_1_2?keywords=3+nautical+mile+marine&qid=1552963847&s=sporting-goods&sr=1-2

LaRea

That looks pretty good.  Thanks @onislandtime.  I should be able to adapt it to mount it on my existing pole.  The Signal Mate seems to be made for mounting on the top of a sailboat mast rather than a pole mount.  

LaRea

Interesting ... the ad copy says "Provides 3 nautical mile visibility in a 360 degree radius."  But when you read the fine print, it's 3 NM in front and 2 NM at the stern.

Dream_Inn

That looks like the one I bought almost 7 years ago...  
This is the exact one I purchased: https://www.backtoboating.com/products/led-anchor-masthead-navigation-light?variant=13826763143

I needed the longer pole and needed it to fold down to fit under a bridge I routinely go under.  I will say, it is extremely bright.  When rafted up, those tied on my sides say it lights up the inside of their cockpits too much.  We turn it off to look at the stars.

onislandtime

@LaRea turn it 90 degrees and you will have 2.5 miles in both direction lol

onislandtime

I have a 2 mile led and it lights up the whole boat like a full moon shining down.

Dude_Himself

I have a Hella Marine 12" fold down white all-round light on the radar arch. It's rated for 2nm, not three, but it's amazing otherwise. Super bright and I've flown the quadcopter 4 nm away and it was still clearly visible between 20' and 300' up.

Dude_Himself

https://www.hellamarine.com/en/products/navigation-lamps/all-round-white-anchor/2-nm-naviled-360-all-round-white-fold-down-pole-navigation-lamp-compact.html

rasbury

dang...how do you sleep at night with that beaming out?

Dude_Himself

I have the bimini up and the light is above the arch - none hits the boat really. The old one - ugh - it was impossible to sleep, but this one has a great lens.

LaRea

Right -- the lens is important.  But even with a good lens, the nav/anchor light should not be allowed to shine on any part of the boat.  If it does, it interferes with the captain's night vision, and probably needs a baffle plate to keep the boat in shadow.  

Cableguy Greg

One thing that frustrates me about Attwood is that they change the base on every product. They over think it. When you go to upgrade, you have to drill new holes. I wanted a taller anchor light and they didn't offer the same one that I had. It was the same mast and light head, but the base was different. I ended up drilling the rivet out and adapting the new one to the old base. I got LED bulbs for my light. Unfortunately it is only a 2 mile light.

Why are you looking for a 3 mile light? Just curious.

LaRea

When I'm underway after dark, I want a nav light that is really bright -- as in, the oncoming boat absolutely can't miss seeing it, even against urban lights.  Maybe a 2-mile LED would work.  My 12-year-old incandescent light doesn't seem very bright.  

Cableguy Greg

LaRea said:

When I'm underway after dark, I want a nav light that is really bright -- as in, the oncoming boat absolutely can't miss seeing it, even against urban lights.  Maybe a 2-mile LED would work.  My 12-year-old incandescent light doesn't seem very bright.  

Makes sense. Since I also boat in an urban environment, I get how the ambient light can throw things off. The cool white LED's really stand out against the sodium vapor lamps reflection on the water. I was going to go with the Attwood one above, but I didn't want to drill and fill holes. The LED bulbs that I got were for all around lights, and they have a bunch of small LED chips all around the bulb, verses just being on one side. They are very bright.

LaRea

I'd get the Attwood light if I could convince myself I could mount it to the existing pole.  

onislandtime

@LaRea I think you will be impressed with the 2 mile LED. It was a major difference when I replaced my incandescent light to a LED.

Cableguy Greg

Here is the light that I have on my boat.

http://www.attwoodmarine.com/store/product/7208

Here is the LED bulb that I replaced the original one with

https://smile.amazon.com/EverBrightt-2-Pack-White-24SMD-Festoon/dp/B015X6MWQU/ref=sr_1_fkmrnull_1?keywords=EverBrightt+2-Pack+Cool+White+31MM+3014+24SMD+LED+Festoon+Light+Lamp+for+Map+Light+Dome+Light+Trunk+Light+Plate+Light&qid=1553263675&s=automotive&sr=1-1-fkmrnull

Dude_Himself

Get the Hella off Amazon and try it (twist wires to a car battery). You won't be disappointed - it's "Hella"-bright! It's also robust - the Atwood was destroyed by a branch while towing. This Hella got hung up on a wire hanging down (the wire that is used to bind all the actual signal wires together overhanging a road) and it didn't even get scratched. The mechanism for putting it down is also very well thought out and secure - no need to worry about checking it.

jme097

I second islandontime. I installed the Attwood LED 3 mile light last Spring. Holy jesus its bright

LaRea

@jme097 - bright like "I feel safer" bright, or like obnoxiously bright?

jme097

@LaRea I mean if you stand 3 feet in front of it its crazy bright but once you're away from it, its hard not to be seen. My brother in law picked me out of a cluster of boats last 4th of July because of it. Its a solid add

LaRea

I decided to go with the Attwood LED 3-mile all-around light, and also upgrade to LED 2-mile nav lights.  

In daylight, my nav lights can't be seen at all, so I have to belly-crawl up on the bow to see if they're working.  I checked them last weekend, and as usual, one was burned out.  I decided I was tired of never knowing when my nav lights would crap out, so I bought these LED lights from West Marine, on sale for $40:

https://www.westmarine.com/buy/west-marine--deck-mount-led-navigation-lights--15761588

I just hooked them up to a power supply at my desk ... Sweet Fancy Moses, they are bright.  

[edit, there's no indicator light.  It's a screw hole to secure the metal housing.]

I'll try to get 'em all hooked up this weekend.

Dream_Inn

I've been thinking about changing my nav lights out as well.  I wonder if these would fit well exactly where my old ones are.  After reading more, they seem to be quite large. I don't navigate the boat a ton at night, but it'd still be nice to upgrade.

Stodge

I switched out my anchor light more for the power use since we anchor out a lot.

LaRea

Installed them this morning ... they fit nicely on my boat.  They are 3" wide, so slightly smaller than the width of the flat part of the deck there.  I re-used the front screw hole, and had to drill new holes for the aft screws.  

They are MUCH brighter.  Here's a shot of the two green lights shining on the wall in the forward cabin, with the door closed.  


[edit:  There's a screw that secures the metal housing to the plastic fixture.]

Note, the lights do not include fasteners.  You will need four 1-1/4" screws and two 1-5/8" screws.  (My old lights were installed with 1" screws.)

I don't really care about power consumption when I'm running, but for what it's worth:  the old incandescent lights used 0.75 amps each, and the LEDs use 0.07 amps.

06Rinker270

@LaRea how do you like the attwood?  I seem to be following all your latest upgrades lately.  If you are anchored amongst fellow boaters will it be an annoyance to them?

LaRea

I'm 100% happy with the anchor light and nav lights.  I think the anchor light actually throws less light down onto the deck than my old one did.  A boat anchored nearby would notice that it's brighter, but it's not gonna keep people awake at night.  

Now, if I was tied up to a boat with people hanging out on the flybridge, different story.  It would be at eye level for them, and probably would be annoying.  But in that case, we could use their anchor light and turn mine off.  

06Rinker270

Always Chris thanks for the info!