Results

The original lenses on our test boat had become clouded over the years, and were observed as being "washed out." At 2 NM, the green light looked white and at 3 NM, white looked "reddish" according to some observers. As expected, by simply replacing the 11-year-old cloudy lenses with new lenses, observers reported that the lights could be seen much better. The white light benefitted the most with a new lens. The red and green were greatly improved too and the color was truer at all distances.

Next, we replaced the fixture with the new lenses with a brand-new red/green combination LED fixture. We selected a readily available fixture that used a single red and a single green LED bulb behind a clear lens. Various manufactures have stated that a white LED bulb behind a colored lens is not recommended. (Typically, navigation light fixtures use a traditional white filament bulb behind colored lenses.)

At close range and up to ½ mile, the LED lights looked brighter and crisper, with some commenting that the white light looked somewhat blue, almost like a fluorescent overhead street lamp on shore. At greater distances, testers agreed the white LED sometimes got lost in the backscatter, but up close without the confusion of backscatter, the white LED light had a distinctive look. This is due to how LED lights are made—a white LED bulb doesn’t emit the same type of light as a traditional bulb, and the light doesn't appear as 'warm' or natural as a traditional bulb.