I finally got to the top of the mast and replaced the very inefficient incandescent anchor light bulb with Superbrightleds tower bulb #1156-CW18-T. It fits inside the bulb cover, works like a charm and draws almost no power. The price was $18.95. A very good and inexpensive upgrade and made in the USA.
John I have a question about your anchor lit. Mine has a small plastic dome like cover about the size of a quarter. Most LED'S don't fit. What does your lit cover look like.Charlie
Hi Charlie
Mine is a fairly tall Aqua-Signal or close equivalent which seems to be standard equipment on the MkIIs of my vintage (1999). The lens accommodates a light over 1.5 inches high (including base).
Charley, here is what the light looks like on my 2001 MKll before I changed to an LED bulb.
Jack
P.S., this may give you a better indication of the size of the light.
Jack
That looks like mine as well
Well I should have known better, but judging by John's enthusiastic post, I ordered the same replacement bulb from Superbright LEDS. Sent my son up the mast only to find I have a festoon bulb. I figured I'd order a replacement from the same sight, but now I find they have both 42 AND 44 mm festoons.To save another trip up, does anybody know what size festoon lamps were used?
David : On the festoon based bulbs, the 42/44mm length isn't that critical. Because you can spread or compress the upper contact to fit.
What is important with the festoons is : they have ends that are either pointed or dimpled. Aqua Signal tends to use the dimpled festoons.
Ask your son before you order. Hope this helps
John,
Do you know if the LED anchor light is Coast Guard approved? I've heard that some LED's shouldn't be used for navigational purposes unless they are approved for level of brightness.
Thanks!
Looks like I am going to have to replace my anchor light bulb which will likely mean sending my girlfriend up the mast. Couple of questions.
1. Anyone with a near 2005 mkII who has been up there lately and knows what kind of light is up there and bulb size? I hope to replace with an LED but don't know what to order and I am hoping to only have her go up there once.
2. Since I have never been up there I am not sure what to tell her about how to get the lens cover off. Assuming it looks like the pics in earlier posts does the kense just twist off or is there more to it?
Thanks
Joe,
If it is like the pictures on my 2001, it just slips off by pulling straight up.
Jack
Mine twisted off.
My guess is that you would have no problem seeing this LED anchor light from two miles away but I don't know if it is Coast Guard approved in the U.S. or Canada. Since I anchor only in recognized anchorages I am not sure if that matters. Wouldn't we all be illegal in any case if we weren't all hanging a black anchor ball in the rigging during the day? I think of the light as nothing more than a helpmate to me when I am trying to find my boat after dark, and, similarly, a small assist to overrefreshed dinghy skippers trying to avoid my boat late at night.
All I have to say is if you can get your girl friend up the mast, you need to marry that woman and keep her around. What an asset.
Ralph
John : I gave up on raising the black anchor ball during the day!!
I found that the only people that knew what that black ball meant was the USCG (who came by and congratulated me) !!!
Quote from: SD Diver on March 20, 2011, 02:17:59 PM
All I have to say is if you can get your girl friend up the mast, you need to marry that woman and keep her around. What an asset.
Ralph
It is certainly a significant item for the PRO side of the equation. She went halfway up to run a spreader halyard. When I asked her this weekend about the mast head she said why not. Just another 15 feet.
If she goes up there ask her to bring a camera (with a strap of course). I used to get great shots from the masthead. :thumb:
My life time of experience suggests that - in general - girlfriends are much more enthusiastic about boating adventures and chores than wives. Luckily, I managed to nab one of the rare exceptions. On one occasion, Kate was actually in the bosun's chair ready to go up the mast underway in the middle of the Strait of Georgia to free a stuck spinnaker halyard - and this was after we got married. Remarkable! Luckily, the halyard came free just as I started to haul her up.
John,
Out of curiosity, I noticed on the Superbright LED site that they have another bulb, 1156-CW45-T at 290 lumens vs. 120 for the one you purchased. Wondered why you chose the one with the lower output. The mA difference is 290 mA vs. 175mA, still a small amount of power use.
By the way, they have the 1156-CW18-T listed for $17.95
Thanks!
The answer is that I didn't see the other one. Or perhaps they didn't have it available when I did this last year.
I installed this LED bulb over the weekend, 1156-CW-45T. It seems to be equal in brightness to the original anchor light. I happened to read the latest Mainsheet Tech Sheet yesterday, and someone was talking about EMI given off by LED bulbs. So I'm wondering if this bulb will interfere with the VHF since the mast top antenna is right next to it. I'll have to check that out next time I'm at the boat. The Mainsheet article talked about Marinebeam.com as the supplier for that bulb used, which is marine tested and won't interfere based on standard testing (whatever that truly means). By the way, the 1156 base fits the anchor light receptacle perfectly.
http://www.superbrightleds.com/cgi-bin/store/index.cgi?action=DispPage&category=CAR&Page2Disp=%2Fspecs%2F115x-x45-T.htm