About time to hang the lights for the holidays

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kevfra

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Joined
Dec 31, 2005
RO Number
19858
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How many of us decorate our boat with lights for the season? Do you do it simply plugged in at the dock, or do you do one of the light cruises in your area?

This year I'll be using all small red lights which I can buy cheap at the local discount store. Like to have them functional by the weekend after Thanksgiving for show at the dock, and then do the cruise on December 15th in the San Rafael creek and possibly Tiburon.
 
Two years ago I bought a couple of strings of those "little" sparkling lights which are so common now. But when I plugged them into a cheapo inverter at my dash, they would not stay powered up. So, I need to learn more amount configuring things before I try it again.

Because I'm just one week out of surgery and I will be mending for a couple months or so, I won't try anything this year except perhaps taking time to begin my new education on how to do this. My boat does not have an onboard genney so I hope to configure something doable via my 2 onboard 27s and the cig adapter at the dash. Any ideas are welcome!

My immediate goal is to make it to the yacht club parade Dec 8th. BTW, this event is open to the public. Stop by for a toddy and a visit, or better yet bring your boat over and join in the parade! Here are the details:

Fleet Captain’s Report: By Kaylath Harper [925-684-9484]

“Looking out side, it is hard to believe that I am writing about the upcoming Lighted Boat Parade that is just a couple of weeks away. It is 80 degrees outside today,
tho we usually associate Christmas with snow and cold weather, but things change and those of you who came to the club last year will remember the high winds and driving rain we encountered just as the parade was getting under way. Well you can bet your
rubber boots that we are having a Lighted Boat Parade again even if it snows knee-high to a Giraffe. We are planning this event for December 8th 2007. With any event, participation is the key to success and we have a lot of brave captains at our club! We
need for each of you to bring your vessels, large or small, for the parade.
Our theme this year is An American Christmas. This gives everyone a large array of decorating opportunities. This could be a great Saturday morning together at the dock. I can just see it now, Bloody Mary’s and tinsel everywhere.

Santa will be arriving by boat so make sure you let Bob Barrios [925-684-9748] know you’re coming so he can plan the docking to ensure we have a spot for Santa to dock.
Santa Clause called to say he would fit us in his schedule and we should start looking for his arrival about 4pm. If you are bringing children, please bring a gift wrapped with their name on it and we will get it under the tree so Santa Clause can present it to the child.
We are also planning on having photos taken of the children and Santa if you want to purchase one.
Alas, this will be my last event as Fleet Captain. I have truly enjoyed being an Officer at the Club with all the rewards it has afforded me. I will finish my term doing one of the activities I really enjoy the most, being behind the bar meeting and talking with everyone. My wife Kyle and I certainly plan to stay active in the club, cruising and doing club things next year. So come on out and get the Christmas season started with all your
friends here at SJYC.”
 
You may have some trouble with this because of the outboards. Outboards do not provide 12 volts DC the same way inboards which use alternators. Alternators create their full voltage at very low RPM, which is why cars use them instead of the old generators where your headlights would dim when you can to a stop. Your outboards also need higher RPM to create their full output. Most of these lighted cruises are done at slow speed meaning slow RPM, and you may not have enough voltage to drive the inverter, thus blowing a fuse. The cure is to buy a new boat. Or failing that, just bring along another fully charged 12 volt battery and tie them together. As long as you don't have a huge lighting load that should do the trick.
 
kevfra, we have a misunderstanding: I have a single I/O with dual 27 batteries and a battery switch. I still blew a fuse.
 
Ah then it's likely your inverter is simply too small for the load. Or your load too large for the fuse rating. You need to look at some numbers, and figure out the wattage of the lights you used.
 
A friend told me I need to use more more efficient lights which use less. And the inverter is too small to do the job. Maybe I"ll have it together by next year's parade. This year, I'll just be lucky to be an observer.....
 
Flutterby, you might try some LED lights. They take less than 1/10 the power of regular incandescent lights and are getting cheaper. I've had 4 strings for 5 years now, and haven't had to change a bulb!
 
I hope to d that. I love LEDs! I tried to order some from the internet last year, but my order was never fulfilled and my emails went unanswered. Maybe Boatfix will begin to stock them......
 
Lucky me! We have a Big Lots store (formerly McFrugal's) in my town and I found boxes of the red LEDs for ten bucks each. Four boxes wrapped my boat nicely and boy - are these things bright! Along with some rope light for additional trim and I'm set for the parade. Everything waterproof. Looking forward to the fun.

Now a new question in this regard. I'm a weekend boater, but there are some liveaboard types in my marina not far from my slip. I'm thinking for the holiday season I'll put a timer on my lights and have them run maybe 6:00PM - 9:00PM each night. If it were me living near this I wouldn't be bothered, but I'd like your opinions on whether this sounds a bit intrusive into someone elses peaceful enjoyment of their livaboard. Not knowing who and where exactly the full timers are, I can't go and ask them directly. Thanks
 
I think that is a nice thought as long as they are turned off by 9PM. Everybody enjoys seeing cheerful lights reflecting off of the water!
 
Christmas lights on timers have been a tradition at Spindrift marina for a long time. A timer set for 9 p.m. sounds about right to me too (longer on the weekends). The LED lights are great and you can get them cheap at Longs, Payless and a lot of other places. They look great, but not as bright as the mini incandescents.

Come to think of it, boaters at Spindrift have never needed a holiday as a reason to hang lights. We had an informal group that called themselves the Tacky Light Club and they started a tradition of year-long lights (and timers) at some of the slips.
 
That's certainly the case with us motor home types - we hang Christmas lights all year wherever we camp. Most of us have a 2000 watt inverter so even when we aren't plugged in we can run the lights. But we leave them on all night as they tend to be a benefit for those walking the campgrounds at night. For many years the standard was the icecicle lights, but now most of us have switched to the rope lights because they store better and can be wiped down clean after a dusty outing. It's always a warm feeling to pull in to a camping area and see the RVs with lights glowing! I wouldn't mind some of that same activity in the boating community at all.
 
Comment 1: I recommend a MECHANICAL photo-cell timer. These go on at dusk and off 2, 4, 6, or 8 hours later. I say mechanical because they don't need to be reset after a power outage like a digital (or non-photo, for that mater) timer would. I saw some at Rite-Aid for $4.99.

Comment 2: Whatever you do, don't get lights that play music. They will make nearby tenants want to take a baseball bat to your boat. Personally, I don't see how lights would bother anyone, but I don't need darkness to sleep.

BTG
 
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