Taking a poll...changing bulbs in the mast

Maine Sail · Dec 8, 2009

BobM said:
(a) Do all of your mast lights function?
(b) Have you ever had just a bulb burn out?
(c) What can we all do to avoid this merry go round in the future when we break down and rewire our masts.

Thanks in advance.

BobM

A = Yes

B = Yes

C = LED fixtures that are of a good quality and designed for the purpose and not just replacement bulbs for existing fixtures. Also tinned marine grade wire and adhesive heat shrink crimp connectors. I am convinced that the cycle frequencies that set up on a spar on a windy night have vibrated more than their fair share of incandescent anchor light bulb elements to failure.

D= Make sure your wiring at the mast base is clean, easy to understand and protected.

woodster · Dec 8, 2009

as you know by now .....i am in the start of a refit on my S2 9.2......i am going to rewire the mast and replace all the lights with the LED'S......in that process i am going to hang the new wire on a spool inside the mast along with securing the wire inside so it will not slap the mast walls ...i am also going to splice the wire that leads out of the mast where need be (spreader lights and streaming lights ect) by spliceing above the exit holes and heat shrink the connections so the wire is sheading water and not drinking water .......i may use armorflex tubing to coushion the wire from the inside of the mast i know this is a lot of work but i feel that i am doing all of this to have something to enjoy in the long haul and keep the up keep to a low level...not sure all this will work but i have to give it a go....and suggestions are welcome

regards
woody

Manny · Dec 8, 2009

Lets see...

(a) Do all of your mast lights function? - Almost. I rewired my mast a couple of years ago when I had it down. The critical lights work (the anchor and steaming lights) but for some reason the foredeck light keeps failing. I haven't been able to get someone to haul me halfway up the mast to diagnose. I also rewired the antenna.

(b) Have you ever had just a bulb burn out? - No but I had the steaming light fixture disintegrate.

(c) What can we all do to avoid this merry go round in the future when we break down and rewire our masts. - I'd say good quality wire, good quality fixtures, good bulbs, and decent tight connections. I think well made LED fixtures may be the way to go.

Manny

RAD · Dec 8, 2009

(a) Do all of your mast lights function? - yes I rewired my mast years ago when I had it down and installed new tri color with anchor.
and I installed new antenna cables for vhf and fm
(b) never had a light burn out yet
(c) The solution is LED and last winter I attempted this with a borrowed bucket truck and the basket would not articulate as I went up so I never got to the top and I only got to the steaming light which I replaced that bulb but the fixture is a piece of sh.. cause its a combo fore deck/steaming and the fore deck portion has never been reliable so this winter I'll attempt this project again.....don't know why I just didn't do the bosuns chair over the summer and finish what I started

Nice junction boxes MS

Patrick17430 · Dec 8, 2009

DR. LED Warning. Garbage !

The only lights I've ever had go out were LEDs. Dr. LED to be exact. Design flaws made the anchor light short out on its own body and DR.LED does'nt want to here about it. So buyer beware. Ive had issues with other LED products that broke easy from him as well. He dont care..

Allan Frey · Dec 8, 2009

I've also had Dr. LED fail after a few dozen hours of use.

tommays · Dec 9, 2009

Don't waste time on old wire

Or old fixtures do it once and go sail for 20 years

kloudie1 · Dec 9, 2009

Right now, only my foredeck light is burned out. Anchor light and steaming light work very reliably. Anchor light burned when hit by lightning several years back. Steaming light has never failed. Foredeck light burns out fairly often with very low use. Foredeck and steaming fixture is an Aquasignal 25 series unit. There is a live-aboard a few slips down who is a small, thin guy who I can easily winch up in a bosun's chair. I believe that quality LEDs and wiring are the right answer.

DougM · Dec 9, 2009

I haven't had a light burn out yet, the boat has been used for 5 seasons.
Even though I don't have a problem with going up the mast in a bosun's chair, I would just as soon avoid that fifty foot trip.
My mast is down this winter, so in the spring I wil probably replace the anchor light and steaming light with LEDs. I was going to just replace bulbs since I have spare incandescents anyway. HOWEVER , I have one minor problem in that I cannot figure out how to get the lens off the steaming light anyway. It appears that the fixture is pop riveted to the mast and that the only way to get it apart is to drill out the rivets.
This is an original equipment installation on a Z-spar mast aboard a Beneteau 323, and it is not corroded.

Like Maine Sail I have really good junction box connections at the mast base, so that when the mast has to come down, everything ocmes apart easily, and goes back together without a problem.

jsalley · Dec 9, 2009

Maine Sail said:
A = Yes

B = Yes

C = LED fixtures that are of a good quality and designed for the purpose and not just replacement bulbs for existing fixtures. Also tinned marine grade wire and adhesive heat shrink crimp connectors. I am convinced that the cycle frequencies that set up on a spar on a windy night have vibrated more than their fair share of incandescent anchor light bulb elements to failure.

D= Make sure your wiring at the mast base is clean, easy to understand and protected.

Nice junction boxes - I'm assuming your mast is keel stepped. Mine is deck stepped with the wiring run through the compression post to the bilge, so have multiple disconnects accessible through one of the access holes in the mast base. Wish there was a way to keep these vulnerable connections out of the weather. Thoughts?

Bob S · Dec 9, 2009

The one advantage of removing the mast every year is it's easy to work on when it's sitting on saw horses.

A: No- I haven't sailed at night too often but the last time I did I noticed my steaming light was out. Something I will address before she's stepped this spring.

I had the same problems with Dr LED failing after sitting out the winter. Also had problems dealing with them. He can't care, he has too many of them failing.

B: Yes

C: I bought a new Hella Anchor light that is completely sealed that I hope to get many years from. I will replace the steaming light fixture and rewire. After 15 years I guess it's about time.

Bob, I take it you store your boat with the mast up. Maybe next time you might look at having it dropped for the winter. Did you get your head sail off. Winter is coming early!

Moody Buccaneer · Dec 9, 2009

MS has it right. Do not try to save money on mast electronics. Best wire, marine grade connectors, and attention to routing all result in a system that should be very reliable. If you have an older boat with no conduit in side the mast for the wire harness, add one. Strain relief on the harness is a big consideration too. 40-50 feet of wire is heavy, the connectors were not designed to hang the wire from. If you select the right fixtures and go LED you can safely reduce the diameter of the wiring and save weight where it matters most.

The only incandescent light on my mast is the deck lamp, everything else is LED and it has been stone reliable. The light at the top of the mast is a combo tri-colour/anchor light LED. Only 2 18ga wires are needed, reversing polarity changes the operation from tri-colour to anchor and the anchor light function is on a photo diode so it turns itself on and off at dusk and dawn. The weight savings over the old fixtures and the wire needed to limit voltage drop was significant.

What came out of the mast was lamp cord with big wads of foam tied to it ... If I ever have to mess with lights and wiring on this mast I'll be surprised.

Stu Jackson · Dec 9, 2009

Mast lights

All of ours work. It wasn't the bulbs, it was the fittings, not the mast wiring, ON THE FIXTURE itself. The wiring in the mast was fine, regardless of its composition, it was the tiny connectors in the fixture. We took the opportunity to replace the lens at the same time. We'd replaced our old Perko useless dome anchor light with a Davis mega lite years ago. I've replaced the bow and stern lenses, too. They all work, and you shouldn't go out without them working. It's easy to get on the boat at night and check them out, then repair what's not working. Until the LEDs become reliable, I'll pass.

Larry14133 · Dec 9, 2009

Just the bulb

It realy was just the bulb in the mast head otherwise they all work.

TimCup · Dec 9, 2009

Answers, and a note for Maine Sail!

A- yes, they all work NOW, though connections aren't 100% reliable. Damn demons..

B- No, never had a bulb burn out unless I touched two wires together while still connected to power

C- don't you like going up the mast? where's your sense of adventure?

Maine Sail, a question-

I'm assuming those junction boxes are out of weather, tho I noticed you installed grommets where the wires enter, I assume for "insurance". I'm surprised you didn't run the wires down below the boxes, then up, creating a "drip loop" to keep stray water out. Are the extra loops too sloppy a look for you?

cup

Maine Sail · Dec 9, 2009

TimCup said:
Maine Sail, a question-

I'm assuming those junction boxes are out of weather, tho I noticed you installed grommets where the wires enter, I assume for "insurance". I'm surprised you didn't run the wires down below the boxes, then up, creating a "drip loop" to keep stray water out. Are the extra loops too sloppy a look for you?

cup

Not for water protection but rather chafe protection... The top wires are coming from inside the boat, when the mast is in, the mast wires do come in from the bottom and there is a drip loop. the grommets are just to prevent chafing on the j-boxes..

TimCup · Dec 9, 2009

duh...

makes sense...

cup

Bob S · Dec 9, 2009

Pat's ticks, hummmm, tempted. Watching them hasn't been too much fun lately. I do love my Patriots :dance: but we're heading north to Loon. I rented a condo for the ski season. My other passion.

i know the feeling. Winter came way too quick and I barely got mine covered before the snow came.

Taking a poll...changing bulbs in the mast

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