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 With the arrival of LED boating lighting has also come a good deal of confusion and misinformation. Because LEDs are such a radical departure technology wise from the traditional incandescent bulb, there are different operating aspects and performance parameters that can come into play. Although boaters have been fairly enthusiastic in their acceptance of LEDs, there has been a great deal of misunderstanding as well which has led to some issues with safety and effective operation. Many boaters make the mistake of thinking they can simply modify existing fixtures with their own LEDs and find the results less than stellar, and others try modifying navigation light housing to accept LEDs without realizing the effects this has on their regulatory compliance. Such issues are fairly commonplace, and in order to help clear the air a bit we'll address a couple of the more common questions regarding LED boat lights here.

This one is a common question and we've place it at the top because of the importance this type of lighting carries. Navigation lighting is critical to the safety of not only your own vessel, but the safety of other boaters passing nearby. The most important function navigation lighting serves is to make it possible for other boaters to see your vessel in the dark, identify its size and type, and ascertain your position and heading relative to their own. Navigation lights make all of this possible because of their color, mounting positions, and visibility. Depending on the color of the lights visible and their position, another boater can determine if you are heading towards them or away, parallel to their course or angled off, and the general size of the craft you are operating, and thus they can make their own navigation decisions in order to maintain safe travel.outdoor LED display

In order for navigation lights to do all of this effectively, they must be visible for the minimum required distance, and they must display the proper colors over a specific range of viewing angles. A red and green bow light for instance must have the red illumination visible on the left side of the craft, and the green visible on the right. Additionally, this light must show an unbroken arc of the horizon of 112.5 degrees, from dead ahead to 22.5 degrees abaft the beam on each side. In order to produce the correct arc of visibility an incandescent combination red and green sidelight has built in reflectors and a lens designed to produce the proper visibility range.

The problem arises when boaters try to retrofit basic LEDs into a navigation light housing without understanding how LEDs can affect the arc of visibility. Unlike incandescent bulbs which radiate light in a 360 degree pattern, and thus the housing is designed to work with this pattern, LEDs are highly directional. If you install LEDs into a nav light fixture designed for incandescent bulbs, you can severely alter the viewing arc the light produces, making it difficult for other boaters to correctly determine your course and position, and thus creating a potential situation where a collision could occur. Additionally, it is possible the colors could even blend together, making the light entirely useless for navigation purposes. Perhaps most importantly of all, replacing the bulb in an incandescent unit will most likely void the lights USCG approval, opening you up to possible citations and fines if it fails to pass an impromptu inspection. The best bet here is to avoid trying to retrofit LEDs into existing navigation light fixtures, and instead install new dedicated LED fixtures that carry the proper USCG approvals.