Any boat that travels at dusk or after dark needs navigation lights, and marine navigation light requirements specify how far those lights must be visible.
Until relatively recently, boaters could choose only incandescent lights for their boat navigation lights. But with the advent of brighter 12 volt LED lights, several marine lighting companies now offer LED navigation lights in addition to other LED lights for boats. And LED lights have some significant advantages over their incandescent competitors.
LED Navigation Lights Last Longer
The marine environment isn't kind to electrical devices. Corrosion occurs quickly in moist salt air, and vibration from a vessel's engine or engines can shorten the life of a lightbulb.
However, LED navigation lights have an estimated lifespan of tens of thousands of hours. For example, Orca Green Marine estimates that the bulbs it uses in its LED marine navigation light line will last for 50,000 hours.
Longevity is a huge advantage when you're dealing with a masthead tricolor, the sailboat navigation light at the top of the mast, and many sailors are choosing LED masthead lights for that very reason.
Powerboat owners don't need to worry about going up the mast, but they also enjoy the fact that they no longer need to fret so much about their navigation lights going out.
Newer LED Lights Just As Bright, But Draw Less Power
Any navigation light on the market must meet U.S. Coast Guard standards for visibility at night, so LED marine navigation lights are just as bright as incandescent navigation lights.
But LEDs draw significantly less power: For example, Hella Marine's incandescent bicolor bow light for boats up to 65 feet draws about 1 amp of electricity with its 10-watt bulb, while Aqua Signal's Series 43 bicolor LED navigation light draws just 0.12 amps.
Power savings can be a huge issue on a sailboat with limited capacity to generate electricity other than with the engine's alternator. For many powerboats, conserving energy isn't as important, although cruising powerboats that spend more time at anchor than tied to a dock likely will enjoy the electricity savings from LED boat navigation lights.
Price Tag for LED Boat Navigation Lights: High
Of course, the benefits offered by LED boat navigation lights come with a significant tradeoff: cost. LED navigation lights are expensive, in some cases twice as expensive as incandescent boat navigation lights.
For example, Hella Marine's incandescent stern light, which is visible for two nautical miles and meets Coast Guard requirements for boats up to 65 feet in length, retails for less than $50. The company's NaviLED stern light, meanwhile, costs more than $115.
It also can be difficult to find an LED bowlight that includes both red and green lights; most LED navigation light manufacturers offer separate red and green navigation lights, but not a bicolor option. Aqua Signal does offer one LED bicolor option: its Series 43 bicolor retails for around $300.
LED boat navigation lights can represent a power-saving, maintenance-saving upgrade for boat owners who need to replace their navigation light fixtures. Others may want to consider replacing old bulbs with LEDs designed to fit their current boat navigation lights.
Jane Anderson - Jane M. Anderson spends as much time as possible on the water, working and sailing on boats. She grew up sailing Sunfish and Rhodes 19s on ...
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