LED technology has come a long way over the past decade. Even over the past 5 years! We upgraded all our lighting from amp-hungry incandescents to LED lights back in 2013. At that time, we contemplated putting lights in the hanging lockers but didn’t because of cost and hassle. We tried some battery-powered LEDs for a few years. They were never very bright and when the batteries started to get low, they would dim way down. Now, 6 years later, you can get a whole roll of LEDs on Amazon for about $12. It was kind of a no brainer to install them in the hanging lockers at this point.
12V LED Strip Lights (16.4ft) Warm White
We bought a 16-foot strip of warm white LED lights on Amazon. They have an adhesive back, can be cut to length and are bendable. There are a bunch of different brands. We just picked the one with the best reviews. I could link some here, but they’re all about the same and the link would eventually quit working.
In order to customize the strips we also bought a set of strip connectors and brackets. These allow you to reconnect the pieces once you cut them. You can make right-angle turns with the brackets. In the big hanging locker (Jeni’s) We ran the strip lights around the entire door frame (sides, top, and bottom) and partially outboard toward the back of the locker since it’s deep and has a shelf in the back. In the smaller hanging locker (Rich’s) we ran them just around the door frame (sides and top only).
To wire the LED strips into the 12-volt system we used an existing run of wire that previously went to a carbon monoxide detector in the V-berth. The detectors last about 5 years and when it expired we replaced it with a battery-operated one. The wire already went through the hanging lockers so it was a breeze to clip the wire and attached it to the LED strip lights.
The switch we used is a magnetic Reed switch we got from Fry’s Electronics. Typically they’re for door and window alarm systems. We bought the rectangular ones (they also come tubular shaped) and mortised them into the door latch. So now when the doors are opened, the lights come on.
It was a pretty simple, quick, and inexpensive project to do (not something we can usually say about boat projects). And it makes a HUGE difference when rummaging through the hanging lockers.
