STARBOARD SIDE INSTALLED

The OEM rubber sleeve was tight. Very tight. So, I put it in a 10ton hydraulic press, upside down, and pushed the sealed beam foglight out. The sleeve is sealed, with only tiny holes for the wires to go through, so I drilled it open with a 1" hole saw.

The 4.5" lamp fitted perfectly inside the sleeve and 1" hole was large enough to install the bulb. I used the rubber cap on the wire to seal it; another tight fit but now it's really watertight.

I made the trial installation with a 50W ballast, to make sure there won't be any heat issues - 100W ballasts may run a bit hot sometimes. I also have 70W quick startup, 3G+/4G digital ballasts that would be ideal (they don't heat up much) but unfortunately I only have four and I need them for another project.

I could have gone for fog light lamps to keep original beam pattern, but the cutout is very low, it only illuminates water/dock right in front of the boat so the modified high beam pattern is much better for what I have in mind. Additionally, the beam is just about as wide as the tube where it goes through the hull so that maximizes light output very nicely.

I'll see if I have time to modify the other one before the end of the season. This time I just got the inspiration, started working on it and didn't have a camera at hand in garage.

47 minutes before the fireworks start so it's time to go. I have a camera with me so I'll try to remember to take beamshots while I'm at it.

Yes, post pics!

Sorry, no usable beamshots. :(

Never got out of the boat, it's docked bow to the buoy and the ones I took standing on front deck were just... illuminated water.

I also realized that the lights are aimed low. I mean really low. While you can see reflectors at distance because of spill and reflections, the beam is aimed just 50ft or so in front of the boat. I'll probably have to do something about it, having 'driving lights' of sorts is tempting...

Missed this ealier...

Basically, it IS a fancy washer. The reflector is aluminum so I wanted to make sure there won't be corrosion problems like there would have been if I used a plain steel washer. The screws I used are aluminum, too.

As a sidenote, I took a close look at some of the pictures I took earlier and it seems the docking lights are installed with sealant and eight screws. I think it won't be difficult to change the angle - the old screw holes must be sealed with a fiberglass filler, sanded and polished. The tube holes in the hull seem to have some room for adjustment. I'll look into that when the boat is out of the water next month.