Underwater Transom Lights

[PROFINITY]

I am trying to decide which underwater transom lights to obtain and install on a new 23 Parker SE. I want green color lights. What would you folks pick and why. There are different schools of thought with these lights. Some guys feel the surface mount is best as you only need about a 3/16" thru-hull hole. The potential issue is having to screw the light to the tranom using 3,4,5 and maybe 6 screws, depending upon the particular light and I need/want two lights. I am NOT happy about screwing a bunch of holes in the transom for fear of water intrusion. I also am familiar with 4200 and 5200 and am still NOT happy.

Then there is flush mount and thru-hull which would require one hole drilled thru-hull of about 3/4" - 1". This seems better to me as there are less holes in the transom. The problem is if the light requires repair then it needs to be removed. I also only want a full metal (bronze) housing, no plastic, polymer or aluminum housing. I am amazed at the price of these lights. The cost of an LED is CHEAP, the electronic portion of these lights is CHEAP, a metal bronze housing is NOT that expensive and many of these lights go for near a grand a piece. It seems to me there is some in-frickin-sane mark-up. Ok, have at it. Thanks in advance.

[cablemaker]

Contact ScarabChris.

Here is link to his website that shows boats lit up:

http://www.coastalnightlights.com/styles-UWlights.html

The color really depends on what you are wanting to do. For fishing, Green would be best.

Installing the Blue Transom lights is my Fall project. I will probably end up with lights that exit out of the top and run the wires up over the transom. I really do not want to drill a hole thru the transom.

[Fishinspot]

Ditto on ScarabChris.

[Mike F]

I would also look at Shadow Casters. Very bright and inexpensive. www.binnacletackle.com

[touche]

Went through this process recently. Wanted green and it limited my choices. I liked Seavision and Abyss but green wasn't an option. Plus where you mount them and shape of the lights will be consideration. Metal housing you will want to ground and the larger thru hulls you need more space to work. Ended up doing what I saw at the Miami Boat Show on the SeaVee 32b (same boat) and bought the OceanLed Abyss A12s. They fit the space I had, were the color and were easy to install. There are four screw holes though and I hope I used enough 4200! Time will tell. The lights work fine and I hope the plastic housing is as tough as they claim - upside of the plastic was no worry about corrosion. They're bright but since under my euro transom not as bright as others I've seen that are mounted on the transom with no obstruction. They work best in clear/shallow water (reflection). Also, keep in mind some the underwater lights CANNOT be run out of the water. Even LEDs of some get hot and need to have water on them to keep cool.

[YachtLights]

Go with the OceanLED Amphibian A6 or A12's. All you have to drill is a 3/8" hole for the wire and a couple of SS screws to hold them in. They are also made of a composite, so you won't have any issues with corrosion.

For a 23' boat I would not recommend the more expensive thru-hull models. Both OceanLED and Abyss' surface mount lights are so bright, that there's really no need to drill larger holes and spend more money for the thru-hull types.

Also, the Amphibians can be operated out of the water, or when your up on plane. You can leave them on 24/7 in the hot sun and they will be just fine. If they were to ever overheat, they will dim down to 50% intensity until they cool down.

You can see a side by side comparison of all the lights here to give you a better idea of just how bright they are.

Underwater Light Comparison

OceanLED Amphibians

[Blue Bayou]

Go with Petro @ Yacht Lights.....no doubt.

I have Ocean LEDs pointing straight down and they are bright....I need a pair for my transom. Need a sponsor, too...lol.

[ScarabChris]

I make a light that can be surface mounted using 5200 or 4200 and you can run the wire up the transom like you would do with a transducer. No holes needed at all. Shoot me an email or a PM and I would be happy to answer any questions you have.

[PROFINITY]

Thank you for the replies.

SC- I think you have a good idea and have read good things about your lights however I do NOT want wires coming up over my transom.

My question is intended more in the direction of what light would you use and why. I do NOT want holes, even screw holes in my transom. I am thinking less holes may be more in the way of water-tight integrity. I am thinking I would rather drill one hole through the transom per light and be done with it instead of having a bunch of screws in my transom. The Ocean LED A12's are supposedly bright however these are flush mounted and require a bunch of screws in the transom. They are also a polymer housing. For the money these folks want for their lights, the housing should be metal and made out of GOLD. I do NOT want any plastic, polymer or anything not metal under the waterline with the exception of the fiberglass hull. In my opinion, the cost of all these lights is ridiculous. The mark-up must be turn-key times a factor of 3-5.

Would you folks go the flush mount route and put many screws in your transom or go with a thru-hull (one thru-hull hole)?

[ScarabChris]

I make the lights both ways. You can have them run through the transom or up and over.

You say you don't want any plastic under the water? Then your only option is a thru hull type light which basically uses a large bronze thru hull fitting that requires cutting a large hole in your transom.