mast electrical connector question

Oct 21, 2015
73
Catalina 22 Lafayette, IN
I have a (new to me) 1987 C-22. The previous owner indicated the various mast lights no longer worked. The deck connector from the mast was no longer there so I was unable to check. After the season ended, when I took down the mast, I jumped power to each wire going up the mast, and the appropriate light lit up....so that's good! Unfortunately there was no power at the socket located on the deck. I decided to remove the deck connector, and discovered that all the wires but one (the ground) had worked loose or frayed. I checked power at the wires and they all have power! The problem is that the wires are frayed and there is almost no length of any wire long enough to re-connect to the deck connector. I tried to gently pull them a little (all I need is 3/4"or so), but they won't budge. Inside the cabin I can see the wire going up through the deck, and there is slack in the cabin. Is the mast step/compression post "squeezing" the wires? And if so, could I temporarily remove the post (the mast is currently down), pull some slack up and reset the post? Or as a 2nd alternative, could I pull the wires all the way back into the cabin, splice 6" to each wire and rethread them back up to the deck? I'm not sure how long and narrow the hole is from inside to outside, and I hate to make things any worse. If any of you have any thoughts or suggestions, fire away! I'm all ears......thanks
Mike
 
Nov 19, 2008
2,129
Catalina C-22 MK-II Parrish, FL
Might be some sealant holding onto the wires. As far as I know, the compression post is not removable on the new design boats, but there is no reason to remove it because of fairly easy access to the wiring that is run up inside of the compression post. Using marine grade wire, which is normally tinned, I would probably have enough wire to run to a new deck fitting, (available at West Marine and other outlets, it's not Catalina specific). I would solder the wires, then cover the connection with heat-shrink tubing.

Might be a good time to also inspect and reseal the mast step. The boat is 30 years old and the sealant might have dried out over time. While the mast is down I would also inspect the halyard sheaves at the masthead. If they are the white plastic ones, they too will probably need replacing. Every white plastic sheave I've seen was cracking and some starting to crumble. Catalina Direct sells new ones that are made from a better black plastic made from UV stabilized material. With the mast down, check the halyards while you're at it, and the standing rigging for meat hooks. Take advantage of the situation and do some preventive maintenance for a carefree sailing season.

Don
C-22 14371 204.jpg
 
Oct 21, 2015
73
Catalina 22 Lafayette, IN
Already bought the new sheaves and halyards :). I will re-bed the mast step.......good idea.....thanks..... Planning on doing all that (and more) when the weather warms up and we get ready to sail.
I did pull out a lot of sealant from the decktop side of the wire, but still couldn't pull any more wire through.......even though I do have that same droop of wire inside the compression post that you show in your picture. Maybe I will go attack it again.....
And what do you think? If I can't pull any more wire up would I be better off pulling whats left of the wire back in to the cabin, splicing it, and running the newly-spliced wire back up to the deck?
Thanks
Mike
 
Nov 19, 2008
2,129
Catalina C-22 MK-II Parrish, FL
Mike,

The factory didn't always use tinned wire, So if it was my boat, I think I would splice a new section of wire rather than pulling up on what might be left at the thru deck junction.

Don
 
Mar 20, 2015
3,094
C&C 30 Mk1 Winnipeg
I concur with Don.

I not only re-bedded the mast step, I lined the mast wiring outlet's hole with epoxy, and did the same with all the mast step holes.

The bottom of the deck connector hole is just exposed wood coring.
Easy for water to get in and rot the core, unless you seal it with epoxy.
Once I had pulled the wires back down into the cabin, I just put a container under the hole, and smeared thickened epoxy into the hole on deck.
The excess ran out the small wiring hole at the bottom, thereby lining that hole too, while allowing the cables to still go through.


It's easy for water to run down into the deck connector, when the mast is not plugged in, so I bought a better connector, that is metal, has a gasket for when it it connected, and has a screw on cover for when it is not in use.

https://forums.sailboatowners.com/i...purchase-and-refit.171757/page-3#post-1227488
 
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