Enlightening yacht innovation

Inductive technology

BGB SILS, a British lighting manufacturer is to introduce a new light mounting method using electromagnetic induction, to revolutionise underwater lighting for yachts.

Typically to install underwater lighting at the moment, yacht owners have to decide whether to go through the hull, which creates a large hole, or to get it surface mounted at the expense of water penetration.

The new Submersible Inductive Lighting System has been developed so that installing underwater lights no longer requires drilling. The company is now in the testing stages of development before releasing it to the public.

SILS operates by having the primary unit (the housing for all the inverter electronics and communication control) on the inside of the yacht, lined up with the secondary unit (the luminaires and drive circuitry) on the exterior of the yacht. Both units are positioned in place by marine grade adhesive.

James Tupper the company’s sales and marketing manager said he has received a good response from the yachting industry, “All feedback has been 100% positive, from CEOs of major boat manufacturers through to captains, marinas, shipyard owners and even our competitors. In the early days of development back in 2012/13 we visited Sunseeker to show them an initial concept, the feedback they gave us inspired us to continue development and gave us the confidence to continue the investment in the R&D.”

As with any state-of-the-art technology, a great deal of investment has gone into developing it, however it aims to be price competitive to the higher end thru-hull lights currently on the market.

The new system will be released on the market once full testing has been completed in late summer 2016.