"Roger Long" wrote in message
...
"Capt. JG" wrote

Another thing to keep in mind is that while I always confirm my bow
lights work before I leave the dock, there's no easy and sometimes no
safe way to confirm they're on underway. I cannot imagine leaving the
helm to go all the way forward in less than ideal conditions or asking a
less experienced person to do so to confirm the bow lights are on.

If I look just at the right place, I can see the reflection of my running
lights on the pulpit from the helm. It just occured to me that I may not
on the new LED lights. Of course, I won't worry as much about whether LED
lights are burned out, one of the reasons I converted to them. A trick
used on some airplanes is to glue or attach a small tab of plastic to the
light. It will pick up the light and make a little spark of light that can
be seen from the cockpit. It should work on a boat.

--
Roger Long

I wouldn't be as concerned about a bulb going as I would about the rest of
the connection. I had a situation where my steaming light was out, so I
thought bulb. Replaced the bulb, and it worked fine. Then, a week later, was
out again. Hmmm.... had a local guy climb the mast (not my thing unless it's
an emergency) and clean the connection. The light lit. Then, two weeks
later, it was out *again*! Finally, I pulled off the access plate near the
maststep and found a very flakey looking connection. Fixed that, and it's
been working ever since.

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"j" ganz @@
www.sailnow.com