Getting To The Wires

[Me and Boo]

I am in the process of rewiring my mast, near by lightning strike did damage, and I want to run new wire inside my Catalina 30 from the deck to the control panels. What do I take off the compression post to access the wiring? Or do I have to use a fish to go from the deck to the bilge?

Also, is there enough room to add a triplex cable, TV antenna cable and one duplex cable through it, or do I have to run those through to the ceiling and have those exterior instead of to the bilge and back?

 

[rbmcintire]

Have you had the mast pulled?

 

[Me and Boo]

Have you had the mast pulled?

The mast is on stands while I rewire it and replace halyards.

 

[foolproof]

I re-wired my boat, and couldn't get at the wires. You see, when they built the boat they put the wires between the laminations, embedded in the wood core. It made for a clean installation, but after 30-some years the wires have deteriorated to the point that they are no longer any good. As a result, I had to completely replace all of the wires with new tinned copper wire. Of course, I couldn't put it back where it belonged, so I ran them behind the stringers on either side of the saloon. Not as tidy as when it was new, but I had no choice.

When I did my boat I ran new wires from the new location at the nav station, up to where the wires exit above the compression post. I used that slit plastic conduit you buy at Home Depot to tidy up where the wires ran between the hanging locker and the post. On deck, I cleaned up the wire hole and pushed the wires through, then sealed it all up with 3M 4200. I then layed aluminum tape over the opening to help seal everything up just a bit more. So far no leaks, and all of the mast lighting works!

 

[rbmcintire]

I ended up removing the aft-most teak board of the compression post. Ours was screwed and glued, so it's a bit of effort. I removed the teak screw plugs and VERY carefully got the screws out without stripping the heads. Along the glue seam, I used a new, and very sharp, putty knife that was a good balance of sturdy, and thin. Tapping it with a hammer all the way down the length of the post, I worked a very clean separation between the glued boards. I ended up inserting a multi-tool saw (like a Fein/ Dremel/ Rockwell) into this crease to open it further where it was more stubborn. Inside our post was a 3/4" pvc conduit that ran the wiring down to the bilge. If you go to my profile here, there's a few pictures that show it and the "water line" that I discovered, indicating a water ingress issue from the mast and down the wiring.

I ended up running our wiring through the teak block that holds the dining table to the bulkhead and over into the port settee. Some teak molding hides it. On the other hand, do a search in this C-30 forum to find where Old Skool Neil ran his down behind some teak corner trim, inside the shower. Likewise, Twice Around redrilled his deck conduit in a creative manner in order to relocate the wiring and improve its accessibility. I would definitely advise to leave an extra 20' of wire (lighting, vhf, wind sensor, etc) coming from the bottom of your mast, and to locate the interior "junction" point (like a terminal block) somewhere you can troubleshoot from fairly easily.

Rob

 

[Me and Boo]

Thank you.
I was thinking life would be easier if I just drilled the holes through the deck at the step plate, ran new through deck connectors, and hid wires and cables that snaked along the ceiling to the stbd, and to the control panels.

 

[jrowan]

To: Fool Proof - I always wondered where Catalina had run / hid the wiring that goes through the cabintop. Since its not visible it has to be embedded in the core of the laminations.

To Me & Boo: My P.O. wired a new stereo overhead, near the inner edge of the main hatchway, I guess so that the volume can be adjusted from the edge of the cockpit / companionway. He used a teak conduit trim to run the wires for the radio in this channel.
It looks good & blends in where the overhead of the cabin already has teak handrails installed. I have also run wiring behind the teak trim which covers the interior hull to deck joint in the cabin. If the wires are small gauge they can be concealed there, but you have to use plastic wire retaining clips to hold them in place. Everyone's always concerned about asthetics, but its more important to have working & safe wiring then for everything to be pristine. Besides with a 30 + - year old vintage boat, most of us gave up on a pristine image a long time ago! Just be careful & thoroughly waterproof the wiring penetrations through the deck around the mast base, as this is of course a crucial structural area that you don't want to cause core rot in from a drilled hole, etc.