Add Docking Lights

[lastbuck]

I would like to add docking lights to my 230. I’m sure someone else has made the same decision. So what brand, model, etc did you find that looks the most like Cobalt original. Halogen or LED? What’s your preference.

[akorcovelos]

I'm sure BBP will chim in, but I have them and have never used them. If I didn't have them, I wouldn't be cutting holes in the hull to add them.

[tgrace98]

You can probably still order the original. But I can tell you the oem’s on my 262 and they were very dull. If I would of kept the boat I was going to put in LED bulbs. I boat a lot at night so they are very helpful. I’d just pay a professional to cut holes in the bow that size.

And if you get oem get the stainless steel ones. It’s just one of those things that makes a cobalt. A cobalt

[Ytmsn]

Tgrace I dont see how you keep from falling put of that?

Lasbuck if you get them get LED. The ones I had before were useless until I changed the bulbs. Now they light up the opposite bank!

And I would think long and hard about cutting two bigass holes in the bow. Do you feel confident enough to do it yourself? If you hire it done, what if they mess up?

What you'll gain is the traditional Cobalt look. But the benefit of lighting up your dock when you come in just isn't there when weighing the risk and expense for me. If you already had them, then yeah, change the bulbs. But I wouldn't add them.

[jma2@fuse.net]

Last year, I wanted to install docking lights on my Cobalt as well. While a dealer can install them, it would be quite expensive for something I would never use--I don't boat at night, my dock is lighted even if I were to dock at night, and I also have a 12v spotlight if I ever needed a light to dock. I thought about DYI, but after I cut a hole in my boat to install the flag, that was enough for me! Measuring to cut one hole was hard enough, and I couldn't imagine trying to cut two holes on the vertical angle of my hull that had to have exact symmetry. I agree with everyone else here that if docking lights are not OEM installed, then don't bother with it. Over time, I'm actually glad I don't have the docking lights. Anyway, if you are interested in OEM, here is a picture of what a Cobalt dealer would install.

IMG_8187.JPG

[gdane]

Last year, I wanted to install docking lights on my Cobalt as well. While a dealer can install them, it would be quite expensive for something I would never use--I don't boat at night, my dock is lighted even if I were to dock at night, and I also have a 12v spotlight if I ever needed a light to dock. I thought about DYI, but after I cut a hole in my boat to install the flag, that was enough for me! Measuring to cut one hole was hard enough, and I couldn't imagine trying to cut two holes on the vertical angle of my hull that had to have exact symmetry. I agree with everyone else here that if docking lights are not OEM installed, then don't bother with it. Over time, I'm actually glad I don't have the docking lights. Anyway, if you are interested in OEM, here is a picture of what a Cobalt dealer would install.


IMG_8187.JPG

The new Bug lights just don't look as good as the shark eye lights!

[Driller]

I boat mostly at night once the temp climbs here in the summer. My marina lights go out at 11:00 pm and although there is a timer switch to turn them back on (30 minutes) it does no good until I get my boat docked. I use my docking lights every night I'm out. I agree with the rest of the guys, if you don't boat at night they are not worth the expense. However, if you do they work a lot better than getting my hand held out and putting it back up every time I dock.

Definitely wouldn't try it myself, it would be a dealer install, but I'm not very confident when it comes to cutting holes in the hull.

[Big Block Power]

Oh my gosh you bunch of chicken Craps
It's only 2 holes. You screw up you throw some paste in there and it's all better.
Just do it.
I might have just deleted all my pictures I was using from my old 200 to my 220 that didn't have them. Yes you can buy the stainless steel ones and if they don't have led lights you can add them easy enough. Do you want little lights or the big lights. Prob little. It's all prewired. Plug and play and drill. We saw what the factory does and there edges are not prefect because they all get covered. So you will have a 1/8 of a inch to screw it up. How big are your ba___s?
Here's the diff from halogen to led.

[Big Block Power]

This is a 2007 232

[Ytmsn]

Yeah... whaadhevah...

If you do decide to do cut holes, here is how I would do it.
First, I'd put blue painters tape over the entire area. It's always a good idea to tape anyplace you're going to cut or drill into gelcoat and fiberglass. It's not absolutely necessary but not a bad idea either. Tape minimizes the chance of cracks in your gelcoat.
Next I'd get some butcher paper and tape it into place all the way around.
Then I would measure like 5 or 6 times. From the rubrail down and from the apex of the bow back to where the front of the light would be.
You can use your lights as templates to trace the oval. Line it up with your top and front mark.
Then measure the width of the flange, and trace another line inside your first.
Double check everything at least a couple more times to make sure its perfectly symmetrical on both sides.
Carefully cut out the inner oval with a razor. Mark this circle with a sharpie on your tape.

Measure it one more time, then drill and cut. Use a fine tooth blade on your jigsaw. And use a quality saw, not a black and decker. Be sure to use a facemask so you dont get fiberglass in your lungs.
Check the fit with your light. You may need to use a dremel to bevel or carve out the glass a tad.
Put the lights in and mark all the drill holes.
When you drill pilots in gelcoat be careful to use the right size bit. Too small and it'll crack when the screw is run in. Too large and it'll fall out. Have a couple or three bits on hand. Gelcoat is hard on bits, and they will dull quickly.

And BB is right, it will already be pre wired, so once they're in just plug them in.

Easy Peasy. Then the first time you turn them on, you'll be like "What the heck?" Just know that for some reason water absorbs light, so they literally only work (barely) to light up the dock when you're pulling in. Out on the lake it's hard to tell if they are even on.

But it looks cool!

[Big Block Power]

The only other good thing is I don't think they screw to your gel coat at all. They are tiny machine screws that hold them in and you put a nut on the back side of them. I'll post a picture of how I did a cleat on my crownline. It was easier and no cracks. They're well prob be a template with the lights. If you need help finding lights we can help spend your money on that. Like Yt said lots of dust. 3 tips. 1 you can have a helper hold a vacuum by where your cutting or 2 spray bottle with water in it and wet it down. 3 I can't find the picture sorry but I used a small drill bit and made drill holes all the way around and used a dremel and grinded between each of the drill holes so no chance of the saw catching and cracking the gel. Plus then I used the dremel to round all of the edges. It was plenty of work but it did the job.

[akorcovelos]

Trick I learned when I installed the tower on my old boat, run the drill backwards until you get through the gel coat. It greatly reduces the chance of cracking/flaking the gel, and also greatly increases the life of the drill bits.

[chasnaz01930]

Can somebody tell me where I can buy OEM stainless LED docking lights for my 2000 Cobalt 206? I have heard that Cobalt sells them with a kit including the hole saw or drill bit that is needed, but I don't see anyplace on the Cobalt web site where you can buy parts. Any help or advice would be much appreciated! Thanks.

[AsLan7]

Can somebody tell me where I can buy OEM stainless LED docking lights for my 2000 Cobalt 206? I have heard that Cobalt sells them with a kit including the hole saw or drill bit that is needed, but I don't see anyplace on the Cobalt web site where you can buy parts. Any help or advice would be much appreciated! Thanks.

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So glad you found us ch...30. These OEM style "can" lights will be very difficult to source. Most have been replaced with the Aqua Signal brand LED lights.

I would call your local Cobalt dealer and ask them about the OEM style. Sometimes they have some knowledge about other dealer inventories and can get them drop shipped.

Keep us posted and welcome aboard mate.

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