This project wasn't difficult, but it was a bit tedious due to some previous installations that were not obvious until I got into this project.
About 5 years ago, I replaced my OEM all-around / anchor light with one of the first LED units to hit the market.
Up to this time, the light still worked fine, but the clear plastic had turned a bit brown with the sun lessening the light output.
The other issue I had was that the old light was a bit short to clear my US flag and my fishing rods while in the rocket launcher.
The replacement light that I sourced is a 2nm light by Hella that I got from Jim Maier at BOE Marine.
The first order of business was to open up all of the old mounting holes in the top with a drill and a unibit so that I could properly seal the holes.
From the looks of it, there had been at least 2, and maybe 3 lights here before. Those old holes needed to be cleaned up and sealed.
Once the holes were opened to good wood, the bottom of the holes were sealed with multiple layers of duct tape.
Next, one pump each of West Systems epoxy and hardener were mixed and carefully poured into each hole.
The balsa core sucked up every bit of epoxy I poured, but that was good. It meant I was getting good penetration and protection.
Once the epoxy kicked and set-up, I mixed another pump each of epoxy and hardener and topped off each hole.
After this step, I kicked back with a ponder beer to wait for this batch to kick.
When it did, I sanded the top smooth with 60 grit sandpaper to make everything level.
The rest was just mechanics.
After the epoxy cured, I drilled the center hole for the power cable, and two holes port and starboard for the mounting bolts.
Rather than use screws, I through-bolted the light to make sure it wouldn't ever loosen on me.
The openings for the wire cable and the through-bolts was sealed with a little marine silicone on top, and the hardware snugged down.
After that, the bottom was sealed so water would never be an issue.
To repair the carpet (which has been opened up multiple times over the years), I used industrial strength velcro to close up the 'wound'.
Sometime later this summer, I may attempt to cut out the old section of carpet and replace it with a fitted patch to make it look a little nicer.
And here is the final result.
The light is 24" tall, with a 2nm LED white light that should serve me well for many years.
Sealing all of the old mounting holes should also avoid any possibility of water intrusion into the wood core of the top.
About 5 years ago, I replaced my OEM all-around / anchor light with one of the first LED units to hit the market.
Up to this time, the light still worked fine, but the clear plastic had turned a bit brown with the sun lessening the light output.
The other issue I had was that the old light was a bit short to clear my US flag and my fishing rods while in the rocket launcher.
The replacement light that I sourced is a 2nm light by Hella that I got from Jim Maier at BOE Marine.
The first order of business was to open up all of the old mounting holes in the top with a drill and a unibit so that I could properly seal the holes.
From the looks of it, there had been at least 2, and maybe 3 lights here before. Those old holes needed to be cleaned up and sealed.
Once the holes were opened to good wood, the bottom of the holes were sealed with multiple layers of duct tape.
Next, one pump each of West Systems epoxy and hardener were mixed and carefully poured into each hole.
The balsa core sucked up every bit of epoxy I poured, but that was good. It meant I was getting good penetration and protection.
Once the epoxy kicked and set-up, I mixed another pump each of epoxy and hardener and topped off each hole.
After this step, I kicked back with a ponder beer to wait for this batch to kick.
When it did, I sanded the top smooth with 60 grit sandpaper to make everything level.
The rest was just mechanics.
After the epoxy cured, I drilled the center hole for the power cable, and two holes port and starboard for the mounting bolts.
Rather than use screws, I through-bolted the light to make sure it wouldn't ever loosen on me.
The openings for the wire cable and the through-bolts was sealed with a little marine silicone on top, and the hardware snugged down.
After that, the bottom was sealed so water would never be an issue.
To repair the carpet (which has been opened up multiple times over the years), I used industrial strength velcro to close up the 'wound'.
Sometime later this summer, I may attempt to cut out the old section of carpet and replace it with a fitted patch to make it look a little nicer.
And here is the final result.
The light is 24" tall, with a 2nm LED white light that should serve me well for many years.
Sealing all of the old mounting holes should also avoid any possibility of water intrusion into the wood core of the top.
