Boat Lights: Kick it Up a Notch with LED Christmas Lights

More boaters are getting into the holiday spirit every year and decorating for the Christmas Boat Parades. The bigger boats with on-board generators have had an advantage. With the new LED Christmas light sets that is changing.The LED light sets require much less power than even the lowest power incandescents. Now the small boat captain can compete if you are willing to spend a few extra bucks for the latest Christmas lighting technology.

Prices for the LED lights vary greatly, but 100 light ropes can be purchased online at eBay starting at 10 bucks plus shipping. The variety of light colors, string design and lighting modes has greatly improved over the last few years. Best of all, the LED's require a fraction of the power of the incandescents and are much more rugged. Loosing one bulb in an incandescent string can ruin your night if competing for light parade prizes.

To save time, a variety of center pieces or ready made displays are available. Santas, reindeer and holiday signs that took days to build by hand are now ready made in LED. The majority of the displays and light strings are 120 volt AC powered. Inexpensive power inverters can be used to connect to your battery system. Twelve volt DC strings are available specifically for boats, but there is that marine premium added to the cost.

For sailboaters that want to join in the fun without stressing their batter power, solar LED strings are available. These stand alone light strings have their own solar charger and small battery supply requiring no extension cords. The solar lights are perfect for hanging in your rigging without having trip hazards on the deck. At $60 per 102 light string Silicon Solar may seem pricy, but the set includes multiple display modes (flashing fading chasing etc.). Run times for a full charge average over 75 hours.

To really kick up the competition, Light-o-Rama has computer controlled light sequencers starting a $420 for 16 channels. The lights can be programmed to match music or follow any pattern you can dream up. You will need your laptop to interface with the controller. Light-o-Rama provides programmed music packages to save some time or program your own.

The 16 channel controller is somewhat limited, but can create an impressive animated center-piece sure to attract attention to your boat. More channels are just a matter of money and available power. Using LED lights you can have a much more elaborate display, but remember every component requires power. Do not overload your battery power or cabling.

With the LED lighting advances, this year's Boat Parade of Lights is sure to be the most elaborate ever seen. If you want to join in the action you still have plenty of time to build an impressive light display on your boat.