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Random Quote: You know it's good when she starts cavitatin'.
As an FYI, I started a search a short while back for some underwater lights to aid in catching bait as well as that cool aquarium effect for the kids at night. I ended up going thru the Imtra Fiber Optic lighting system (wasn't impressed) as well as looking at a couple other guys. A guy on a board in San Diego ended up steering me to these guys (also in San Diego) and I'm more than impressed with the system and the effect.
Attached is a link with some photo's I took last night and some further comments.
The lights I installed were the 110V system with the Titanium housings, which adds to the price. They have a SST housing (I believe 316L Stainless), which will save you a couple hundred bucks per light, which is also a good choice. They are (or have) released a DC system which if they are built anything like the 110V set-up will be killer for trailable applications or a good choice for those not wanting to rely on their genset or inverter.
The lights are installed beneath the waterline, so it does require a haul out (which you could schedule with other work). The installation at the yard I went to included the thru-hull work and the electrical (mounting the ballast, adding a lighted switch and running the wires), which ran me about $800.
The lights were the tough part as they aren't the cheapest things to buy and ran about $2,400 apiece. The price might seem high, but compared to the other two systems I looked at, they are more than competitive and in the case of one system I bought earlier...... which I returned as I was really disappointed with the workmanship and the quality (for even more money), the system put out by Deep Sea is more than impressive. From the moment you receive and open the box, you know you're looking at a professional piece of work.
Once I actually get my refund from the 'other' guys, I'll post some pics comparing the two products as well as some comments.
Yikes, $3k for underwater lights. And I thought I had a habit that needed treatment.
Out of curiousity, how does your setup compare to a hydroglo stick? I've heard good things about them, though they aren't built in. Still for less than $300, thats a pretty big difference.
You might want to look closely at both companies. My nieghbor installed the lights from Underwaterlighting in his Viking and you can see a difference between the two set-ups. The lights on my installation were brighter and whiter. The Titanium Thru-hulls sold me as well as the craftmanship when I looked at the set-up.
I believe Deep Sea also sells direct and there is some good technical information (as well as a manual) on their web-site. www.deepsea.com that will help you in your comparison. One point that impressed me after the installation was how easily you could see the lights still penetrating the water during the daytime. They are about half again as bright as daylight.