That's what I ended up with. It's actually listed as a Masthead / Foredeck Light. Why?
So here it is apart on the kitchen table.
It's 5.5" long and divided in half top and bottom in a half round tube-like form that stands out 2 1/2" - with a full fresnel style plastic lens on top.
Meauring the bulbs for LED replacement. The 1 3/4" festoon bulb, which looks like a pointy-end fuse has this LED replacement source:
marinebeam.com - cone-end festoon with 30 LEDs, FS-42-30C. 160WW lumens, 270mA/3.2W. $29.95.
This is the upper steaming light, and is found on most boats about halfway up a mast, Thinking of mounting it just above the spreaders. (No spreader lights planned.)
The decklight halogen bulb is a miniature bayonet, single point, listed as a BA9s. Bayonet style / 9mm diameter base / single point. 12V/10W. Total length a little over an inch.
To illuminate the foredeck from 15ft above the deck, this wee bulb would have to smoke. But assuming there's enough to see by, the modest illumination hopefully won't destroy any nightvision.
Wonder what appropriate candelas are for a LED replacement?
This halogen part of the combo fixture is exposed. The uncovered bulb sits in the center of a 2"diameter metal bowl reflector in the bottom of the fixture. The bulb is protected within the 'shroud' of the housing. Water won't directly invade the electrics inside, but still this AquaSignal design is very open to moisture and corrosion.
To access the inside for wiring and festoon bulb replacement two long #6MS hold the housing and steaming light lens to the base. However the halogen bulb must first be taken out of the reflector. It gets pushed into the spring-loaded socket and turned to release it, at which point the bulb drops out. After the bulb is removed the housing can be tilted forward and taken off the base. The little 20W bulb, when in its socket, is easy to remove as most of the bulb is exposed for a two-finger grab. This means that the electrics are also right there at the hole.*
Obviously the open bottom design helps disapate the heat of the halogen, and would do the same for a replacement LED cluster bulb.
marinebeam.com BA9S 15-LED Replacement Miniature Bayonet. BA-9S-15. 90WW lumens. 1.3W/100mA $15.
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* Paid list price for this AquaSignal Steaming/Foredeck Light. The black plastic is fiberglass impregated nylon. I think the thin metal parts are all s.s.
The molding is clean and sharp, the cosmetic design is trim and compact and is the reason I went for it. As an exposed electrical fixture in a sodium chloride environment, out of five stars I'd award it one, or half of one star. That makes it an expensive piece of safety gear.
When you need it, the lights MUST function. There is a skinny EPDM gasket around the festoon compartment inside. When the housing is cinched up the acrylic lens makes a seal. The lens is factory installed dry in the housing and seems non-removable. The light is open at the back where the base attaches to the mast. Be interesting to see what a shot from a waterhose would do. The housing is not gasketed to the base.
I'm thinking that butyl tape or black 3M Weatherban should be used in an attempt to weather strip all parts of the fixture when installed. Liberal use of TefGel and some kind of dielectric grease for the electric points of contact. Any recommendations?
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