Masthead Light

[slode]

I hope all those in the upper half of the US had as terrific sailing season as we had on Sylvia.  I was sad to strip everything down last weekend and get her ready for a long winter tucked in the garage.  But breaking out the snowmobile took some of the frown of my face.  As long as we get some decent snow!

On the agenda for next season is a trip to the Apostle Islands.   Along with all the coastguard required safety gear I will need to add a 360º masthead light as we plan on anchoring out at least a couple nights.  The switch is already in the panel so all I need to do is find a good light and wire it in. 

So two questions on this


1.   Any recommendations for a LED masthead light that is rugged enough to hold up to the hundreds of miles a year of road travel hung off the end of the mast?
2.   Wire connection at the mast hinge.  I'd like to tie the streaming light and masthead light into a single plug to speed and simplify setup.  Has anyone done something like this and have a good plug recommendation?

[Bristol14]

I just installed a four prong plug that I picked up from West Marine. I had bought what I thought was a similar plug online but it was poorly made. The replacement is much better quality.

https://www.westmarine.com/buy/west-marine--four-pin-electrical-connector--184226?recordNum=7

[waterwheels]

Did the boat not come with an anchor light on top of the mast? If so you can just change the bulb to LED. If not I guess you have options.

Don

[slode]

I ended up going the "cheep" route with my new anchor light.  I didn't want to spend $100+ and didn't find many LED options under that of decent quality.  My other Nav lights are Aqua Signal Series 25 so I got the 360 deg light in that series for $20 and after some searching found a LED bulb with a lumens rating exceeding the 10W bulb that comes with the light.

https://www.amazon.com/HQRP-Festoon-Navigation-Masthead-Coaster/dp/B00B8593GS/ref=sr_1_19?s=hi&ie=UTF8&qid=1541426119&sr=1-19&keywords=led+festoon+light+bulb

First pic is factory bulb that came with light, second is LED replacement, just as bright but a more white light at 1/4 the wattage.