red or blue lights for lighting up the deck

[lime4x4]

Which is easier on the eyes at night

 

[Bob_VT]

Re: red or blue lights for lighting up the deck

Red. Red lights/lenses are what we used in the military which were better to prevent night blindness. ...... just my opinion but I am used to the red..... use whatever you are comfortable with.

 

[a70eliminator]

Re: red or blue lights for lighting up the deck

Good information, I didn't know that.

 

[Frank Acampora]

Re: red or blue lights for lighting up the deck

However, remember that the port forward running light is red and same color deck lights if visible from the water may be confusing.

 

[sswright]

Re: red or blue lights for lighting up the deck

Hello, new guy here, I just bought an old boat and it has a red and a blue light on the bow, a guy told me that I would have to get ride of this because it's against the law to have a blue light it needs to be green, is this true? thanks Steve

 

[ziggy]

Re: red or blue lights for lighting up the deck

However, remember that the port forward running light is red and same color deck lights if visible from the water may be confusing.

i'm kinda thinking along them lines too. but i was thinking. blue lights are reserved for law enforcement only. don't know if the op wants to consider that...

don't know if anyone else agrees or not. but i did a fair amount of night boating this summer. i saw several boats that had odd lighting on them. this was confusing to me until i'd get close enough to distinguish what i was seeing. a couple i never did get close to as i didn't know what i was seeing so i steered clear.. on one, i later found out it was a small 2 man plastic boat with the red/green light pointing up and down + they had a hand held led flashlight that looked blue from where i was at. the blue was what kept me away. what let me see what it was is they sank it and walked it down the shoreline to where i was tied up at later that night..

agree too, red is easiest on the eyes for protecting night vision..

 

[ziggy]

Re: red or blue lights for lighting up the deck

because it's against the law to have a blue light it needs to be green, is this true?

yes. blue is reserved for law enforcement only...

edit... try sticking some yellow tape on the inside of the lens... i'd think it'd turn green...

 

[Bifflefan]

Re: red or blue lights for lighting up the deck

Id wonder about using red as it may confuse someone at night.
Blue is VERY bright at night. Depends on where you going to put them but they are VERY BRIGHT.
I have blue on my CB and at night i have to cover them up so i can see.

 

[steddy]

Re: red or blue lights for lighting up the deck

Hello, new guy here, I just bought an old boat and it has a red and a blue light on the bow, a guy told me that I would have to get ride of this because it's against the law to have a blue light it needs to be green, is this true? thanks Steve

I doubt it's blue. It probably used to be green, but it faded over time. I hear tell green permanent marker will solve that problem quick, easy, and cheaply.

 

[sswright]

Re: red or blue lights for lighting up the deck

I doubt it's blue. It probably used to be green, but it faded over time. I hear tell green permanent marker will solve that problem quick, easy, and cheaply.

it's funny you say that, 2 guys at work said the same thing and I took it off brought it to work to show them the blue light. all thay could say was how old is this thing?

 

[ziggy]

Re: red or blue lights for lighting up the deck

I doubt it's blue

i dunno, i've read about old boats that had blue instead of green for the bow light... if it fades, it'd just be light blue. i had a red side fade away on me. looked kinda red up close, but from a distance it looked white... red tape cured it.. paint or a permanent marker would work too i'd think..

 

[Knightgang]

Re: red or blue lights for lighting up the deck

Yes, red is commonly use by the military, but blue is also, especially for medics as you cannot see blood under a red light at night.

I would go with blue if it were me. It is a little brighter. As long as it is not flashing or a strobe, I do not think it would interfer with Law Enforcement. Also with blue, you would not need as much power for the lights.

 

[steddy]

Re: red or blue lights for lighting up the deck

Go psycadelic - BLACK LIGHT!!!!!!!

 

[NBE]

Re: red or blue lights for lighting up the deck

Yes, red is commonly use by the military, but blue is also, especially for medics as you cannot see blood under a red light at night.

I would go with blue if it were me. It is a little brighter. As long as it is not flashing or a strobe, I do not think it would interfer with Law Enforcement. Also with blue, you would not need as much power for the lights.

Red was used by the military for many years. In the 90s they (at least the Army) swapped over to the blue lense for night vision protection. Not sure if they are still using it as I retired in 1998.

 

[tashasdaddy]

Re: red or blue lights for lighting up the deck

the older boats, had BLUE lights, instead of green.

i use BLUE, leds on my deck and courtsey lights. you can see what you are doing, without harming night vision.

 

[SuzukiChopper]

Re: red or blue lights for lighting up the deck

How about yellow/amber or purple led strips? The purple would kind of suck but it would be kind of 'mood lighting'. Street lights, up here anyways, are all amber (reduces glare and draw less power) and are pretty easy on the eyes while still providing enough light to see. Would be less confusing too.

I would think that no matter what you chose, if it's visible to others on the lake and actually looks like a lit up boat, they'll steer clear of you. Just don't blend in to the background so you don't end up like the sailboat that got hit by the powerboat.

 

[Knightgang]

Re: red or blue lights for lighting up the deck

Red was used by the military for many years. In the 90s they (at least the Army) swapped over to the blue lense for night vision protection. Not sure if they are still using it as I retired in 1998.

I am still in the Army National Guard. Red and Blue are commonly used, depends on preference or unit SOP. Alot of interior vehicle lighting now is blue vs Red. There were issues with map terrain features that you could not see under a red lens and also the medic issue with blodd under a red lens. I am a combat lifesaver, so I use blue...

 

[mrdancer]

Re: red or blue lights for lighting up the deck

Intensity, or brightness, of the lights is more important than color when it comes to preserving night vision. Yes, red is easiest on the eyes, then turquoise green, then green, then blue, then etc. The great thing about red light is it doesn't put out much intensity for a given power, so the ambient light remains dim, which helps preserve NV. Green, however, puts out a LOT of light at the same power level, so can be bad for NV. Now, if you can lower the power level on the green to, say, 20% of the power you need for the red, then you can get better NV and save quite a bit of power. Problem is that it is very difficult to find low-power green LED lighting, most of it is too bright for NV.

In fact, almost all modern, commonly-available LED lights are too bright for NV unless you can find some that run at low power, or maybe find some older LEDs that are still available at your local chain store. One light I can think of is the little keychain light called Photon Freedom. You can replace the two CR2016 batteries with one CR2032 battery to cut power in half, then the UI also allows you to ramp down the power even more. But it doesn't serve the purposed of deck-lighting...

Visit candlepowerforums for a while and you will see that low-power, dim LEDs are in as much demand, if not more demand, than high-power bright LEDs. So much so, that major mfrs. are starting to offer multiple modes on LED flashlights, with a high level anywhere from 50-200+ lumens for low-light conditions and a low mode of around 3 lumens for use in dark conditions and for preserving NV.

As far as military, they are now using mostly IR or yellow/green w/ 100% IR filtered out where NV goggles are used, depending on the situation.

To the OP, I'd stick with green light, and try to find the dimmest ones available. You may have to add some sort of diffuser over the lights to physically dim them and retain your NV.

 

[Mike Robinson]

Re: red or blue lights for lighting up the deck

the older boats, had BLUE lights, instead of green.

How old of boats had blue instead of green running lights? Do you know why this was so Tash?

I've been around some pretty old boats and I've never noticed that.

 

[ezmobee]

Re: red or blue lights for lighting up the deck

My '66 had a red/blue bow light on it when I got it.....