Can anyone tell me what I need for a bulb or complete light for my anchor light on top of the mast on a 84 O'day 28'. The light does'nt work, and I would like to have the proper equipment before I go up the mast, so I only have to go up there once. I may even consider changing it to a LED if I could find something that will work.
Anchor Light
- Thread starter Beajae
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I just put a 2 nautical mile Atwood light on my mast about three weeks ago. It cost about $15 at Wal Mart. It was pretty straight forward, pull the mast cap (make sure where you drill the holes for the mounting bolts does not conflict with the cap being mounted back on) drill the holes for the bolts. I did not want to do this with metal screws, plus I had to remove the cap to run the wire. It was one of the easiest modifications I have done.
Sometimes the metal contacts in the socket and the two metal contact surfaces of the bulb need cleaning. I had to use my Dremel Tool with the wire brush wheel to clean the bulb metal contact and the socket contacts just last week on my bow light.
I would bring some fine sandpaper and a volt/ohms meter up the mast with you and check for continuity of the bulb and power to the socket. I cleaned the contacts real well and sprayed some Radio Shack Tuner Control cleaner & lubricant on it and it worked like a champ.
I bought my boat new in 1986 and never had to replace a bulb and I've done a lot of night sailing through the years. I keep spare bulbs on board but I've yet to use them. Sometimes the electical contacts get enough green corrosion that will cause a poor electrical contact. I even removed the wires from the contacts and scraped them a little with a knife and stuck them back in. I've found that a Dremel Tool is one handy tool for anyone who owns a boat.
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