Cockpit lighting
Posted: Wed Apr 27, 2005 8:58 pm
We have a low-light 2-led companionway lamp on the starboard spreader which illuminates the deck and, slightly, the cockpit. This was mainly intended for occasional use for seeing well enough to go forward in the dark. However, it uses so little power and is so unobtrusive I have been using it as an auxiliary anchor light so the boat can be seen as well as the mast top. It is controlled by a spdt switch on the pedestal which also energizes the depth finder. (One or the other as they are never needed at the same time.)
There is a cigarette lighter socket on the pedestal and a plug-in lamp with switch that is half hooded shining downward.
In the cabin we have a red/white 8Wx2 fluorescent lamp ceiling mounted over the aft dinette seat. Either color illuminates the whole cabin. The white is good to illuminate a chart on the table, the red saves night vision. The fixture cannot be seen from the helm.
In the "just in case" box of goodies is a cheap, miniature, cigarette lighter plug-in automotive "trouble light" with long cord, metal shield and hook. In addition to the pedestal we also have a 12 VDC power outlet at the galley. For reading in the cockpit there is a full-size 15W fluorescent plastic "trouble light" with both cigarette plug and spring clamp connectors on a long cord. And there is the strap-on head lamp. And the Davis Mega Light. And flashlights. And touch-on, touch-off dome lamps with their own batteries.
Of course, with all the "civilization" and light polution one needs to get about 50 miles out before it gets dark. At the tip of the Green Bay Peninsula sticking out into Lake Michigan in 2003 I saw the Milky Way for the first time in years. WOW - that's a lot of stars. And THEY will light the cockpit.
There is a cigarette lighter socket on the pedestal and a plug-in lamp with switch that is half hooded shining downward.
In the cabin we have a red/white 8Wx2 fluorescent lamp ceiling mounted over the aft dinette seat. Either color illuminates the whole cabin. The white is good to illuminate a chart on the table, the red saves night vision. The fixture cannot be seen from the helm.
In the "just in case" box of goodies is a cheap, miniature, cigarette lighter plug-in automotive "trouble light" with long cord, metal shield and hook. In addition to the pedestal we also have a 12 VDC power outlet at the galley. For reading in the cockpit there is a full-size 15W fluorescent plastic "trouble light" with both cigarette plug and spring clamp connectors on a long cord. And there is the strap-on head lamp. And the Davis Mega Light. And flashlights. And touch-on, touch-off dome lamps with their own batteries.
Of course, with all the "civilization" and light polution one needs to get about 50 miles out before it gets dark. At the tip of the Green Bay Peninsula sticking out into Lake Michigan in 2003 I saw the Milky Way for the first time in years. WOW - that's a lot of stars. And THEY will light the cockpit.