You could just put simple battery powered dinghy lights up, but that
doesn't seem like a step forward.

Otherwise, you have to supply juice through wires, and since you have
a system that is probably 99% functional, it would seem to be
appropriate to track down the failing 1%. My guess is that the person
installing the lights forgot to finish the job and left the seal a bit
loose, allowing moisture to get in.

It seems odd to me that you went a season without even looking into
this; are they that inaccessible? And did they really ship a boat
without an anchor light?

Harlan Lachman wrote:
In article , tdw wrote:

Quick question first - are we talking masthead lights , i.e port ,starboard
and all round in one unit up top ?

That might be a better solution. But no! I have deck lites for port and
starboard and about a third the way up the mast a white steaming light.

I have a white light hanging on the rail on the stern.

No anchor lite but a switch on the panel.

If so I'd reckon there are a couple of obvious areas to be looked at. First
up you should check the size of the wiring up the mast. If it is undersized
you will have severe voltage drop problems and this will contribute to the
lack of reliability.

Secondly check all the terminals. It's quite possible
that connections are badly corroded and only occasionally making a contact
of any sort. You should have a connection box somewhere near the mast step.
If you rig up a test lamp and connect it to each connection in turn you will
at least know whether the problem is at deck level or up top. If it is the
connectors replace them with all brass units. Be careful cos amazingly
enough some brass connectors come with mild steel screws which of course is
a recipe for disaster.
Regards
tdw

These are all good suggestions.

Maybe I should fix what I got but I was wondering if there was a
replacement strategy which was sure to work.

harlan