Underwater lights

It seems like more & more boats are installing underwater lighting nowadays. I'm wondering if there any regrets by those that have them because it's just one more thing to add to the maintenance list of either jumping overboard or grabing a brush & scrub the darn things at least weekly.
One evening a couple of weeks ago my wife saw a sportfish with the transom underwater lights on in the not-so-clear to downright cloudy waters of the lower Chesapeake & said she liked them & asked if we could put them on our boat. I quickly shot down her want with a "heck no they're a waste of time" answer. In the early '80's we would install "underwater lighting" (lawntractor headlights!) aimed at the propeller blades to help raise marlin (the same theory as the shiny freshwater spinner baits). I can't say that it helped raise fish but I can say it involved hiring a diver often to keep the lens clear of growth.
IMHO there too many lights on the water already with everybody lighting up their docks & houses (a HUGE peeve of mine but that's a rant for another thread). When we anchor out for the evening we try to find a spot with no invasive lights so as to enjoy the natural evening light that nature provides.
Was I too quick with my negative answer to my lovely life? Maybe I should let her pick a set of lights the color of her choice & be done with it but I hate to spend hundreds & then find we don't/can't use them because I skipped scrubbing the things a couple of times.
I could always use a couple of extra "look what my sweet husband did for me" bonus points, though...
Thoughts?

Soooo, When you install your new lights, follow manufacturers directions to the T. Happy wife....

I have always wanted them on our boats. They are an interesting way to see the water and the sea life they attract. However, the Neuse River (NC) and the surrounding tributaries are too gloomy to make it worth the effort. But to your point, I would put them on to not only make your wife happy, but you may actually like them. In addition, they come equipped with a great feature in case you don’t... and OFF switch.

As a side note: there are surface mount lights now that don’t require a large hull hole... or lights that only need a hole the size of the wire. So there are options to avoid the “I don’t wanna put another diddly-dang hole in my boat fer nuttin’” crowd. And there are plenty of those.

We had UW lights on our past two boats that were drilled through the transom..Express cruisers.

First boat, problems and they lasted two years.

Second boat, better, no problems.

The current generation of UW lights are solid but it's best to purchase the $ ones because you get what you pay for. No just my opinion because I asked around a lot and did the research with owners on other forums. Much less prone to water intrusion and failure.

Boomerang, there was another thread about this recently. I like them, but didn’t want all the hassles you mention. I bought portables from Amazon for $20 or so. I like the light being 360* instead of straight out, the only go in during use, so stay clean, multiple colors to choice from, etc. might be worth a try for a season to see how much you actually use them.

https://www.amazon.com/Lightingsky-...0151699&sr=8-1&keywords=Underwater+fish+light

Fletcher500 said:

The current generation of UW lights are solid but it's best to purchase the $ ones because you get what you pay for. No just my opinion because I asked around a lot and did the research with owners on other forums. Much less prone to water intrusion and failure.

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I'll bet you knew this was coming...what are the ones you now have? Where did you get them. How were they installed? How much?

Thanks

I don't know, if I'm going to put the things on I'd want them permanently mounted so I'll have to go with one on each side so as to be able to reach them from the boarding platform for maintenance rather than one in the middle. Then kick in the extra $$ for the multi colored ones. It's looking like over $1000 for colored water. Ouch.

seasalt007 said:

I'll bet you knew this was coming...what are the ones you now have? Where did you get them. How were they installed? How much?Thanks

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Lumishore SMX52.


These will turn blue and white with the adjustable switch.


These are surface mount, but you still need to drill a small hole in the transom to run the wire.

Hell yeah Under Water Lights!



i can't wait till I haul in the spring for my first bottom job on this boat...Guy up the dock from put in blue underwater lights and they are soooo cool!

And there is a guy in the neighboring marina with a fishing boat with color changing lights!

I want mine to pulse/color change with my music...Baller!

I'd never cut into a perfectly good hull to add UW lights.
If I was shopping for a boat that had UW lights cut into the hull I'd probably pass on the buy, or at least discount the price for what it's going to cost to remove them and re-seal the hull and insure no moisture ingress, especially a cored hull.
Also, very few of these boats operate in the crystal clear waters of Bahamas or Carib. Hold a flashlight under some brown water with things floating by and tell me what that looks like.

Greetings,
I too have been impressed by the "aquarium" that gathers around underwater illumination at night. I can fully appreciate the points made thus far (additional holes, albeit small ones, necessity of cleaning, and possibilities of early demise of less expensive devices...) BUT, what about mounting the lights on a flip down bracket on the swim platform whereby the lights can be deployed when desired and "stored" against the underside of the swim platform out of the water when idle?

Our swim platform is about 3' wide and 1' or so above the water level so such a bracket might allow flip down lights to operate 2' under the surface....Hmmmmm....

Further...IF one could join the leads in a waterproof fashion there would only be one small hole (above the water line) necessary in the transom meaning one could mount as many as one liked ...3, 5 but maybe more than 10 would be excessive...

Mr. BR. Agreed, the clarity of one's cruising waters would most definitely be the deciding factor if considering such an installation.

BerettaRacer said:

...very few of these boats operate in the crystal clear waters of Bahamas or Carib. Hold a flashlight under some brown water with things floating by and tell me what that looks like.

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Our boat is currently on the Missouri River. My favorite local description is "too thin to plow, too muddy to drink." It's certainly not the Bahamas, but our underwater light is still nice to have. Yes, you get a diffuse glow instead of an aquarium view, but you can still see fish gathering. It helps us see the dingy mooring clips when we come back after dark, and I like to think it attracts bugs into the water for a wet death where they're eaten by fish rather than flying around the aft deck lights. Happily ours has been zero maintenance so far. I did want to replace the bulb with an led, but decided to leave it sealed and not invite trouble until it burns out.

I had UW lights on the last boat. I have them on the current boat and I will have them on the next boat. White light is better than colored but better if you can do both. Water clarity is a changing thing but even murky water is clearer than you think when back light.

My boat has so many thru hull fittings already, four more for lights adds no significant risk to the hull. Plus with today’s LED UW lights we are talking four 1/8” holes.

It is utterly amazing what shows up when you leave the UW lights on, both above and below the water.

Waters here have too much solids (nutrient rich), making underwater lights worthless. Nice not to have a need for spending $$$.

Having useless underwater holes in a boat might be a tiny concern....but those that do something whether major or not, but are necessary for that function, done correctly, shouldnt be given snother thought.

Agreed, Psneeld. I'm not too much worried about the hole part ,especially in a solid glass layup hull , because I plan on plugging them with a light thats been sealed with gobs of polyether sealant but the fear of disappointment & $$ wasted is what gets me. For the next couple of years, until we retire, the boat is going to reside in murky waters of the Chesapeake & Carolina sounds. When our cruising kicks into hi gear we'll most likely be in another boat anyway.
Mr Firefly you have a valid idea but by the time I engineered a bracket for deployment & retraction of the things I could have probably just as easily installed them in the transom. Then there's the issue of somebody knocking into the on switch while they're out of the water...

kthoennes said:

Our boat is currently on the Missouri River. My favorite local description is "too thin to plow, too muddy to drink." It's certainly not the Bahamas, but our underwater light is still nice to have. Yes, you get a diffuse glow instead of an aquarium view, but you can still see fish gathering. It helps us see the dingy mooring clips when we come back after dark, and I like to think it attracts bugs into the water for a wet death where they're eaten by fish rather than flying around the aft deck lights. Happily ours has been zero maintenance so far. I did want to replace the bulb with an led, but decided to leave it sealed and not invite trouble until it burns out.

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Well now there's a couple of reason's (besides for making my wife happy) I haven't considered. I'm all for keeping the bugs away from the inside of the boat & I like the use for night boarding/securing of the dink rather than direct light from above. I'm all about function. Fashion...not so much (or we wouldn't have an old Mainship! )

Absolutely, you should install an underwater light. we installed UW Lights. And there is no problem.

How about mounting a set of waterproof lights pointing down on the underside of the swim platform? Mine is about 8" above the water line so wiring can be run through or over the transom easily.
Anyone tried this?

Steve, I did that on my pier. Too much glare, UW definitely better

I'll add to those in the "no need for unnecessary holes below the waterline" camp. Also, we spend most of out time out on anchor, where we're counting every amp burned. I just can't see chasing around shutting off interior only to run exterior lights underwater.

I'm a adult, I don't need to see baitfish.

boomerang said:

IMHO there too many lights on the water already with everybody lighting up their docks & houses (a HUGE peeve of mine but that's a rant for another thread). When we anchor out for the evening we try to find a spot with no invasive lights so as to enjoy the natural evening light that nature provides.

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Personally I agree with this. But different strokes.

I'd like to make a request of folks who do have them: Enjoy them, but then turn them off when you're done. I've been anchored by boats that turn them on, go ashore, come back, go to bed, and they're still on the next morning.

Boating is about having fun. If someone wants lights, great. It turns the area behind the boat into their own personal aquarium. I have spent countless hours sitting with little kids watching fish and trying to catch them...unsuccessfully. And yes, I turned them off at night....Funny.

Good for attracting squid?

danderer said:

Personally I agree with this. But different strokes.

I'd like to make a request of folks who do have them: Enjoy them, but then turn them off when you're done. I've been anchored by boats that turn them on, go ashore, come back, go to bed, and they're still on the next morning.

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How is this a problem for other boats?

Believe me, I am around a lot of boats that have them and how they are a problem for anyone else unless you are an astronomer.... is beyond me.

I don't have them but I'm considering getting at least a portable underwater light.

Luckily our water clarity is great the majority of the time and it doesn't take much of a light to attract a lot of fish.

I'm also an adult and have seen my share of baitfish, but I never tire of watching the smiles on kids as they are introduced to what mother nature has on offer under the water.

Bruce - I've been told the blue lights attract the squid.

Since I am only semi-grumpy my response is that I plan to replace mine next haul out. Viewing the aquarium under the boat is very nice after a nice happy hour and a nice meal.

I am looking for the best buy on the lights...not the most expensive or the cheapest.

I'm in the camp that wants them. They are cool

Just need to figure out which ones....

Any good recommendations?

Limited sea blaze x are the most bang for the buck. The are reasonable priced, only a 1/4” hole needed, very reliable, color and clear.

Not as bright as the 800w halogens but you can’t have it all.

I have used both and I am not sure which I liked best.

Lumitec not limited. Dumb spell checker.