outside outlets?

[adventres]

We had a great weekend in Poulsbo! We saw a few boats decorated with Christmas lights, which leads into, the girls want Christmas lights on the boat. We searched outside of the boat for outlets but couldn't find any. Where are the outlets on the outside? How are we to plug in Christmas lights? If no outlets, oh well, the girls will have to survive without it.
thanks,
Lisa
2016 R29CB
ADVENTRES II

 

[Bel Canto]

I ran lights through the closed door to the cockpit. I was very careful that the cord wasn't crushed or cut. My belief is that outside outlets are simply dangerous due to the amount of water that can get to them, whether waves, rain, or hose.

As an option, there are some lights designed for cars that operate on 12v. Perhaps you could find something that would work for you.

 

[Bruce Moore]

I was just looking around for lights for our downtown deck, and ran across these solar powered LED lights. Fairly well reviewed. Might be an easy and inexpensive solution for the boat.

Cheers,

Bruce

 

[JamesTXSD]

Having decorated boats a number of years for Lighted Boat Parades, I have found that 12v lights and solor powered LEDs were woefully dim compared to the the 110 powered lights. If you want some impact for your Christmas lights on the boat, you are going to need to plug 'em in.

We used a generator to power up the boats' electrical system, then ran cords for the lights out the helm window and the cabin door. (being careful to not crush the cords) Added advantage to that is being able to cut the power to the lights on the bow (that were powered by the cord run out the window) while underway to the judging area... and then again for the ride home.

 

[Gin]

On a 27, I can run an extension cord from the head (which is at the stern of the cabin) through the cabinet floor, into the starboard lazarette, and then thread it up in the stern corner (above the stereo speaker), where there is a lot of space between the hull and the cockpit liner (because it is part of the venting system for the engine). But on the 29, I'm not sure anything similar is possible.

So you could go to option B. When I'm just setting up the lights, or otherwise need a quick power cord in the cockpit, I run it from any of the easy-to-get-to outlets in the cabin, out the nearest window, and down the gunnel to the cockpit. You can close the window most of the way. If you want the window to keep the weather out, buy a piece of foam PVC pipe insulation at your local home depot, cut it the height of the window, split it open, and slip it on the window frame above the cord and close the window against it. Should keep it pretty weather tight.

Don't disappoint those girls of yours. Do the lights!

Gini

 

[adventres]

All great ideas! =) Since we just bought the boat a month ago, we are realizing that we still need to outfit the boat with other stuff. We will have to make a trip to the marina and check out the boats at the dock when we can (we live about an hour away from the marina). Until we decide to do lights, a wreath will be just fine for now. Thanks!!