New cabin lights

Please welcome new contributors Nate and Natalie aboard s/v Astraea!  We join them mid-refit of their Cheoy Lee 41 - there have been a lot of projects there, but most have been too major to qualify as "small" boat projects.  But this one is a perfect fit...

A few weeks ago I added two new lights inside the cabin. One is centerline above the salon between the head and galley, and the other is on the aft port side over the top loading freezer in the galley. I bought the two new lights at the San Diego Marine Exchange and installed them in a day.

The lights are seven inches in diameter and need a 1/2 inch thick mounting base to keep the lights off the overhead and allow for flush mounting when the headliner is installed. I cut two new eight inch square bases out of 1/2 inch thick StarBoard, a sturdy plastic board I had left over from the wet exhaust project. There is an inch wide gap cut in one side to the middle to conceal the wiring.

The terminal block is installed on the white StarBoard base with the teak light mounting

Wired back to the existing light over the galley

Secured wiring in place with zip ties

We put warm white lights in the galley

A new light over the freezer

It took a full day’s work to cut the bases and install all the wiring. Having the new lights really brightens up the interior. Because they’re LED, I can have all the cabin lights on and use less electricity than one of the old incandescent bulbs!