28' O'Day Electrical question

[AErcen]

Hello guys/gals.
Another new O'Day owner and a brand new sailor!! Bought the boat first and then decided to take up some sailing instructions. Just completed ASA 101 and plan to continue to learn. At the mean time I am having a lot of work done to my boat at a marina that is not as knowledgeable with sail boats as they are with power boats. Unfortunately they were the only ones around who were willing to do the work because other yards were either to busy or couldn't be bothered.

I am having to do most of the work myself and doing the research for work they need to do.

I am wanting to replace all the lights and wiring on the mast.I have made arrangements for a bucket truck to reach the top of the mast for wireless wind instruments and a new antenna as well as a new anchor light. My steaming light will also be replaced with a combo deck light while we are at it.

Where exactly do the wires coming from the mast exit at the bottom of the mast? My mast is covered with decorative rope inside the cabin and I see no openings. Before I unraveled all the rope, I thought I would as if there is a opening or a cover for all the wires to exit at the bottom of the mast so they can be re-routed to different places like the electrical panel and VHF radio etc.

Thanks for any help coming my way.

 

[Apex]

under the floor pan, in the bilge. you shouldn't have to remove the decoratvie rope, unless you are pulling the mast.

 

[AErcen]

Thanks for that. Tomorrow I go back to the boat, and I will look for the access. I think I have seen some wires in the bilge. I didn't follow them through to see where they went. Would the wires be normally free floating inside the mast or are they in some sort of a conduit?

 

[ENeedz]

I replaced my mast head light this summer. The existing wiring appears to have been installed in a conduit in the mast and exits through a small opening at the base. When I dropped the new wiring down the mast I had to drill a hole into the mast within the salon and run it down into the bilge. If I can get the mast u stepped this summer I will redo it to exit the bottom.
Send picks of what you are doing.

 

[Apex]

There is conduit within my mast. Only some of the wires were in there, the VHF not.

 

[AErcen]

So if I understand this right, the wires are coming out from the very bottom of the mast. Isn't the mast resting flush on top of the keel or something? I know I sound ignorant asking some of these questions because one would think I should be able to see the answers with my own eyes if I only looked. I am nowhere near my boat, so I am trying to learn as much as I can from those who have already done this before me.

I think I got the answer I was hoping I wouldn't get. There is no access plate or hatch or an opening at the bottom of the mast for wiring needs. I am hoping there is something there I can send a steel or fiberglass fishing tape to see what I can drag.

Is there a reason why one can not splice the ends of the new and the old electrical wires or the coax and pull it through?

I will do my best to get some pictures.

 

[Richard19068]

So if I understand this right, the wires are coming out from the very bottom of the mast. Isn't the mast resting flush on top of the keel or something? I know I sound ignorant asking some of these questions because one would think I should be able to see the answers with my own eyes if I only looked. I am nowhere near my boat, so I am trying to learn as much as I can from those who have already done this before me.

I think I got the answer I was hoping I wouldn't get. There is no access plate or hatch or an opening at the bottom of the mast for wiring needs. I am hoping there is something there I can send a steel or fiberglass fishing tape to see what I can drag.

Is there a reason why one can not splice the ends of the new and the old electrical wires or the coax and pull it through?

I will do my best to get some pictures.

I have a 31 but would guess it may be the same. The mast rests on a step above the keel in the bilge. There is a hole drilled in the mast just above the step where the wires come out. Take a look at the base of your mast in the in the bilge.

I fished a radar cable through that hole by dropping a weighted string from the hole I drilled in the mast where the radar got mounted. The weighted end of the string ended up at the bottom of the mast and I fished it out that hole with a bent wire. The top end of the string was secured to the radar cable and the cable was pulled down the inside of the mast and out through the hole at the base. So my fishing was from the top down. If you are replacing wire you should be able to use it to pull the new wire through.

Hope that helps a little.

 

[AErcen]

It helps out a LOT!! Thanks.