Since I sail mostly in the Pacific away from city lights that would otherwise degrade my night vision, I personally disliked the location of the side lights on the cabin sides: the lights (especially the green starboard light) reflected off the side deck and ruined my night vision. So I placed my red and green lights at the bow. Below are photos. The black masking on the toe rail top prevents the lights from reflecting off the white paint and then off the bow railing back at my eyes.
I used the Hella marine NaviLED Port & Starboard Navigation Light Twin Pack. Order info here: http://www.defender.com/product.jsp?...557&id=1342750, datasheet here: http://www.defender.com/pdf/NaviLED_...tion_Sheet.pdf. The lights are certified by the manufacturer as suitable for sailing vessels, and I personally set them up on a jig and verified the vertical sectors were greater than +/- 25 degrees.
On the datasheet, note the "CE" seal and the statement: "The electrical circuits contain components that suppress possible interference, both emission as well as susceptibility, to the limits prescribed in EN 60945." That's a European standard. There sadly are no U.S. standards. That's "deregulation" at work here! If the time ever comes that you can't hear the Coast Guard calling you over the radio frequency trash your LEDs are causing, you can thank the Grand Obstructionist Party in Congress for the lack of regulations (we all know who that is). That leaves you with only one reliable choice for LEDs: Buy European.
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