Ping came into my possession with the standard factory lighting. Since I bought her with an eye to doing the Newport to Ensenada race which involved a night offshore, I was concerned that there was no red lighting in the cabin. If someone had to hit the head on the mid watch with the existing lighting, one of two bad things would happen. If they switched on the factory fluorescent light, their night vision would be ruined. If they left the light off... well, you can figure that one. Also, since a 115nm race requires some night navigation, the white light at the nav station would cause the same problem... sort of.
The solution was to install
three red/white combo dome lights below. I put new ones next to the factory
fixtures at the nav table and in the head, and replaced the light in the galley.
I tapped off the existing lights' wiring to add the new fixtures, and simply
replaced the existing unit in the galley.
Is this overkill? Probably, since I only do one night race a year. But it does preserve my night vision when I'm anchored out away from the lights of the city and I want to see all the stars after a trip below.
Things I'd do differently: Get one of the gooseneck red lights for the nav station.
Cost: US$30.00
Time: Less than an hour