Friday, February 4, 2011

Just like your refrigerator


You will not believe what a difference this small project will make.  It sounds almost trivial, but it is a huge plus in making a boat comfortable for living aboard:
Put lights in the closets.

Boats are dark anyway.  And the closets/lockers are even worse.  Is that a light blue shirt or a grey one?  Without light in the morning when you are getting dressed for the day, it can be really hard to tell.  And in some weird way, having the lites in the closets is welcoming.

The lite you see above was purchased at an RV store (a great source of marine supplies that don't come with the 2X marine cost multiplier).  They are 12V, and are meant to be screwed to the top edge of the closet opening.  They have a button that, when depressed by the closing door, turns off the light.  So that just like your refrigerator, when the door is closed, the light goes out.  These are incandescent, but feel free to search for LED versions.  Although given the length of time that these lights are on during any given day, the power savings from using an LED would be undetectable.

This really is one you just can't live without.

5 comments:

  1. Great Idea.
    Do you have a name of these Lights? So I can ask my RV dealer for them?
    Thanks.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Bob,

    I like the little switch idea. Do these run on batteries or the 12V system? Our RV has closet lights installed at the factory so I can tell you it makes a very big difference.

    I'm still trying to figure out what kind of lights actually make sure I wear matching clothing!

    Marlan

    ReplyDelete
  3. Trisailing -
    I'm sorry, but it has been years since I bought and installed them - the boxes are long gone, and anyway it would surprise me if they were still sold. But I would imagine that similar fixtures are available today.


    Marlan -
    Thanks for the testimonial! The lights run off of 12V and are wired into the boat's lighting circuit. There are a lot of similarities between boats and RV's, aren't there?


    bob

    ReplyDelete
  4. I think I found some here:
    http://www.twinsrecreation.com/br2-210213r.html#
    Do these look like them?
    Trisailing

    ReplyDelete
  5. Trisailing -
    That's them! Except mine are brown. Good job!

    bob

    ReplyDelete

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