Mounting of Rail 2 or other LED Strips for Ambient Deck Lighting

[JC80]

Hey guys! We're getting ready to do an audio overhaul on our '89 390 and thought we might have the guys install some ambient deck lighting at the same time. I myself have become pretty jazzed at how the Lumitec Rail 2 light would work (dimming white and non-dimming blue and red model, all from a single on/off switch) and if we went that route then down the road I'd probably also upgrade our radar arch lights to the Mirage or Orbit model.

Before I give the go ahead, I wanted to get a sense at how well these LED strips work in practice because these Rail lights aren't exactly cheap. We're thinking of doing one under each gunnel (where the stock lights used to be) and another one under each of the rear facing seats (Picture for reference below). Most of the LED strips I've seen (including the Rail 2) look like they tape or screw into an object and shine 90 degrees from the surface of that object. However, some are on swivel mounts, and to me that would seem to make much more sense if you could help position the light beam out into the middle of the deck.

Does anyone have experience with these? Has anyone solved the non-swivel problem? Am I over thinking this? I didn't want to spend $350 for LED strips and have them turn out to be a worthless investment. Thank you

 

[Kreole Kid]

I love my strips, I did go wild with them...

 

[The Bill Collector]

http://www.banggood.com/buy/Led-strip-light.html I love my strips...

View attachment 39586 View attachment 39587

 

[JC80]

Thanks guys. Bill Collector, I can't see your pictures.

I guess the real question is, can you fire the lights right into the deck and have them make an impact or do you need to fabricate something so that the strips/rails are at an angle and shoot towards the center of the boat.

 

[The Bill Collector]

 

[Kreole Kid]

Thanks guys. Bill Collector, I can't see your pictures.

I guess the real question is, can you fire the lights right into the deck and have them make an impact or do you need to fabricate something so that the strips/rails are at an angle and shoot towards the center of the boat.

My Blues are firing at different angles (obviously up and down) and my whites are firing up. You just have to do your homework when you order.

Let me say this, a lot of thought went into my setup. I went out to the marina at night time with some lights and rigged up different scenarios and finally decided on my final install.

The bottom line is, you can throw all kinds of lights on your boat, but, what really looks good, to you, is gonna be up, to you.

Honestly, i'm glad I did it the way I did, and wouldn't change it for the world. I get a lot of looks of oooohhss and aaaahhhs when I want, and I can instantly turn them off for the covert look. The LED's are good when docked or idle cruising, but other than that, you won't be able to see sh!t on plane, cause they are so bright.

 

[munko]

I just installed Lumitec this winter and they work great. They are also very bright.
I used Shadows for the arch, I caulked around the bezel as my arch is exposed to the elements.
For under the gunwhales I used the Lumintec rail.
They wired to the existing 12v wires for the stock lights.
The existing toggle switch works to turn on/off, dim the white and switch colors.

This is my first attempt at Photobucket, I hope I did it right.
Photos below:
<iframe width="480" height="360" src="http://s76.photobucket.com/user/davidmunko/embed/slideshow/"></iframe>

 

[tc410]

I put the Lumitec rails under the gunwales and orbits under the t-top on my Regulator. They are very nice and you won't be disappointed with the quality and light output.

 

[JC80]

Thanks for all your advice and pictures everyone! This has been helpful.

I just installed Lumitec this winter and they work great. They are also very bright.
I used Shadows for the arch, I caulked around the bezel as my arch is exposed to the elements.
For under the gunwhales I used the Lumintec rail.
They wired to the existing 12v wires for the stock lights.
The existing toggle switch works to turn on/off, dim the white and switch colors.

This is my first attempt at Photobucket, I hope I did it right.
Photos below:
<iframe width="480" height="360" src="http://s76.photobucket.com/user/davidmunko/embed/slideshow/"></iframe>

Your link didn't work unfortunately but I was able to fix it: http://s76.photobucket.com/user/davidmunko/library/ Those look great and that's really helpful.

I put the Lumitec rails under the gunwales and orbits under the t-top on my Regulator. They are very nice and you won't be disappointed with the quality and light output.

Wow! That look tremendous. How many rail fixtures did you use there?

 

[Saverio]

I picked these up a few backs. Was going to put under rear seat or under the gunnel.

 

[h_gerry]

I just did some LEDs over the winter as well. I added Lumitec Mirage lights to my radar arch. The lights are dimable White/Red/Blue. I already had blue LEDs under the gunnels, so I just left them. In the cabin I also swapped out three basic Perko white lights for Lumitec dimable White/Red LEDs. I can't wait to get the boat in the water to use them.

 

[tc410]

Wow! That look tremendous. How many rail fixtures did you use there?

I used 8 total 12" 3 color rails (4 per side under the gunwales) and 3 orbits under the t-top.

 

[JC80]

I just did some LEDs over the winter as well. I added Lumitec Mirage lights to my radar arch. The lights are dimable White/Red/Blue. I already had blue LEDs under the gunnels, so I just left them. In the cabin I also swapped out three basic Perko white lights for Lumitec dimable White/Red LEDs. I can't wait to get the boat in the water to use them.

Looks good :smt038

I used 8 total 12" 3 color rails (4 per side under the gunwales) and 3 orbits under the t-top.

WOW... That's twice the number of rails I was going to use, but it certainly helps to see the light pattern. I think four should be ok for the limited deck area I would like to cover. Thanks for sharing.