Most of us have already converted our halogen/incandecent lighting to LED including myself however for those who have not here are some tips.


Early on LED lights were cool white only, some like it but I find it too white with almost a blue tint to it, the early versions of warm white were rather green in effect and looked ok but a little odd. Point is both did not do well in light color in comparison to halogen which is just right IMHO.

Fast forward 8-10 years and many alternatives have hit the market. My favorite is the silicone encased type I always try to purchase the dimmable type as even if you do not have a dimmer you may want to add one somewhere down the road. Do not assume they are dimmable, read what you are buying and make sure the description says dimmable. To be able to dim LED you do need to have a PWM (pulse wave modulation) dimmer that is. Sounds fancy but can be had for a few dollars on eBay.

You do not need to purchase LED bulbs at the Marine store and pay $15 each. The can be had for more like 75 cents each which is on the expensive side since I just bought a pack of 50 @ 66 cents each delivered to Canada. Most are available in 3 or 6 watt. 3 is more than enough IMHO. https://www.ebay.com/itm/G4-Led-Bulb-Di ... 2749.l2649

Most common bulb type on boats is by far the G4, bi pin 12v style. Usually found in the overhead lighting as in the link above. There are also others such as festoon but one needs to be careful are there are quite a few lengths out there so measure yours before you order anything.

Courtesy lights tend to be mostly T10 also referred to as 168 or 194. Problem here is finding the right color and brightness. The ones I have now are quite nice but I tend to experiment so Just bought 20 of these to try out. Unfortunately by the time I get them it may not be until spring before I can report back. https://www.ebay.com/itm/10pcs-T10-194- ... SwImRYSShU

Would love to hear about your experimentation and results.