Christmas Light Parade

[retclt]

The Christmas Light Boat Parades are right around the corner and we would like to participate in one this year. We need advice on all aspects as this will be our first experience in this kind of thing. I’m hoping some of you guys have done a parade and can give us some pointers on what to do . . . and not do. What are your experiences as far as attaching, rigging, amp draw, moving through the water lit, etc?

Current situation:
What I’d like to do is go all LED off an inverter and pack as many lights on board as possible for 2 hours of continuous light - no Generator. We have a Chrysler 26 (30 foot mast) with 4 golf cart batteries, a pair in each settee and a dedicated battery for the motor / nav lights in the cockpit lazerette. I figure I’ll have 200 amphrs in the parade budget. The temperature rarely drops below the 50’s for this area this time of year. I have not bought the inverter yet. I want to figure the power needed first. I currently use an 800W for the frozen concoction maker but that may not work here, we want a lot of lights. Can you pull a lot of juice out of a battery for 2 hours straight?

Thanks in advance!

Bob, Cheri, and kids

[Faster]

LED christmas lights use amazingly little power - as long as you are not making ice concoctions while you are on the parade the inverter you have should do just fine.

Keep track of your light budget as you add strings, don't overload the inverter/battery capacity you have.

Remember to keep your own night vision in mind as you decorate or you'll be running around blind yourself.

[Eleanna]

I would do a dry run before the parade to make sure you have what you need, havent seen a boat run out of juice in the parade yet might be imbarrasing