So, the wiring in the bow pulpit started going bad. Evidently, the jobber who made it up did not use tinned wire. Workked well enough for 26 years, so no complaints. Well, the wire goes up from a hole forward on the pulpit, makes a U turn, goes aft, makes a hard turn into a wiring channel, goes through the deck and finally connects near the windlass to the wiring run that returns to the switch panel. Well, I limped along, cutting the wire back to "good" metal until I ran out. So, I tried using the old wire as a chase, but no love.
I ultimately had to replace the wire by soldering it to new wire and jacking the pulpit up to gain access to the channel end. I used a 1x3 about four feet wide, a scrap board for the jack and an old bottle jack to lift the pulpit out. It was only necessary to lift out the aft port side, although I was prepared to remove it all.
I found that I could not pull the new wire through forward to aft. Instead, I soldered the aft end to the new wire also, forming a loop. I then pushed up about 1 1/2 inches of new wire into the channel aft and pulled it down forward . This worked until all was through the channel. (BTW, I used no. 18 wire with a cover since I have LED lights and that's plenty.)
So, the next step was to reset the pulpit. It, of course, was a PITA. What worked was to use my 4X1 preventer (basically a vang) attached to the top rail and pulling down to the cleat. I then used a rubber mallet to whack the pulpit leg until it dropped into place far enough to get a nut back on.
Lots of trial and error in this process. Next time I'm on the boat, I'll connect the lighting. Back hurt too bad to finish and I wanted a Martini too much.
I ultimately had to replace the wire by soldering it to new wire and jacking the pulpit up to gain access to the channel end. I used a 1x3 about four feet wide, a scrap board for the jack and an old bottle jack to lift the pulpit out. It was only necessary to lift out the aft port side, although I was prepared to remove it all.
I found that I could not pull the new wire through forward to aft. Instead, I soldered the aft end to the new wire also, forming a loop. I then pushed up about 1 1/2 inches of new wire into the channel aft and pulled it down forward . This worked until all was through the channel. (BTW, I used no. 18 wire with a cover since I have LED lights and that's plenty.)
So, the next step was to reset the pulpit. It, of course, was a PITA. What worked was to use my 4X1 preventer (basically a vang) attached to the top rail and pulling down to the cleat. I then used a rubber mallet to whack the pulpit leg until it dropped into place far enough to get a nut back on.
Lots of trial and error in this process. Next time I'm on the boat, I'll connect the lighting. Back hurt too bad to finish and I wanted a Martini too much.
