LEDs Made All the Difference

If you are like us and sticking close to home due to the pandemic instead of taking your boat south or heading to the Caribbean, Bahamas or Mexico, then this winter has become a time for big boat projects. Looking back on the years we owned ourt Jeanneau 452 Lime’n, which is a truly great all-around cruising boat, there were many upgrades we undertook during the winters when the boat wasn’t south that made it better, safer and more comfortable.  A new full battened mainsail and a laminated 125% genoa (Mack and Quantum) improved the boat’s sailing performance by at least a knot. A folding Gori propeller added another half to a full knot under sail. The new Ultrasuede dinette cushions added a touch of style to the interior and were very comfortable. But perhaps the best and most significant upgrade was retrofitting all of the incandescent bulbs on the boat with LEDs. We put a tri-color with a 360-degree anchor light at the masthead, standard LEDs in the deck level running lights and replaced all of the overhead and reading lights with dedicated LED fixtures from the LED-specialists at IMTRA. The net effect was a dramatic reduction in the draw on our house battery bank, to the degree that we hardly saw a drain at all. We could sail all night with the masthead lights on and have no battery deficit in the morning. We could leave the anchor light on all night and even forget to turn it off in the morning without making much of a dent in our available amps. The new LEDs meant we never had to worry about the state of the batteries due to the boat’s lighting fixtures. Plus, the new generation of LEDs have a pleasant amber glow and are dimmable. So, if you are looking for an upgrade that will make a real difference in your life afloat and help to reduce your boat’s carbon footprint, LEDs are the way to go.