Well, I can BARELY tolerate those flourescent RV lights over the galley and the nav desks, but having one over the dinette was too much. I felt like I was in a hospital operating room!!

Yes, I know (all too well) about current consumption, but enough is enough!

I went to my "supplier" (Home Depot) and noticed that those neat halogen under-cabinet lights ran off of 12 volts ..............uh, .......A/C.

A/C, DC .............. what's the difference to a light bulb? Nothing, I say.

The 20W bulbs that came with the lights were too bright and consumed too much current for me (see?). I ordered some 5W replacement bulbs from WM (they were the only place I could find them less than 10W). These consumed very little current (relatively) and put out a considerable amount of light.

My options, then, were a 20W bulb and a dimmer (a big waste of current). Or multiple 5W bulbs. I opted for the latter.

Here is my new dining light. There are three lamps, each with 5W bulbs. Two switches control them, one on each end of the teak board.

Switch one on.

 

Switch two on.

 

Oh, and I can also have switch one AND two on at the same time for even more light (and more current).

The beauty part of the light is that the wiring for the switches and the multiple lamps is contained entirely on the back of the teak board. There was still only the +/- 12V connection to be made behind the ceiling panel!