Attaching a VHF antenna to the mast

edbawden · Jun 13, 2009

Hi Mikko

I did a similar job on my previous yacht a Moody 27 a year ago.

I spent quite some time with my legs wrapped around the jib of a crane whilst leaving both hands free to drill top of mast for fixings and attach the antenna. An atempt by my nephew to assend in a bosun's chair then up the crane both resulted in him not feeling safe. Both were safe, but he is a rock climber used to holding onto something that will not move, whilst I am used to climbing scafold that moves.

The cable needs to be well supported at the mast top. The whole weight of the cable will hang on this top support and any edge that it is on will cut into the cable over time. I would prefer to keep well away from any possible abraison caused by sheets, so would go for an independant entry.

The most reliable installation is the one with the least number of connections. So running a continuous cable from the antenna to the radio is best. However when you want to take the mast down you will need to feed the cable out from the hull. On the Moody we ran the cable through a stuffing cable gland for a water tight seal into the cabin, then had an in line connector just inside the cabin. The advantage of this is that the connector is kept in the dry inside the cabin so is less likley to give problems, but we can disconnect easily when we bring the mast down. The cable route inside the cabin was long and dificult. For the Vega if you can keep the cable route simple then do not use the connector, but run the cable direct to the radio.

Hope this helps
Ed

To: AlbinVega@yahoogroups.com
From: kbobsky@...
Date: Sat, 13 Jun 2009 08:23:06 +0000
Subject: [AlbinVega] Attaching a VHF antenna to the mast

Hello there,

I'll continue to pick the collective brain of this fine group, this time on the subject of how to attach a VHF antenna to the mast of my vega, and running the coax cable down the inside of the mast and into the cabin.
As the mast is currently up, so I've been thinking about either getting up there in a bosun's chair, or moving the boat next to a mast crane and attaching the antenna from there.
So, any tips? Do I have to make a new hole in the top of the mast for the coax, or can I use the hole that's already there for the sheets? What about inside the cabin, have you used a two-part cable, where the coax inside the mast just comes out of the bottom and is then connected to another cable that runs to the radio itself?
Mikko

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vega1860 · Jun 13, 2009

First, I strongly recommend you take the mast down and work on it a
waist level.

You will probably have to make a new hole to run the cable. Cover it
with a small cowl vent to keep water out.

A connector where the cable goes through the coach roof works fine on
our boat. Without it removing the mast is much more difficult, obviously.

Fair Winds,

Chuck Rose
SV Lealea, V1860

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ovenyaas · Jun 14, 2009

Mikko
We innstalled a COAX Cable for the VHF on our Vega a couple of years ago. The mast was down and initially we tried to install it with the mast lyiing down. That didn't work because the cable was to soft and did hit screws and cables inside the mast.
We carried the mast to a steep hillside where it was liing at 45 degrees angle and we fed the coax from the top and down. The coax fell down the mast by its own weight. The Antenna is installed on a bracket on the side of the mast and the cable goes through a hole on the side through a rubber gasket. BUT the coax makes a lot of noise inside the mast when it swings back and forth. So we have to take down the mast ant pull out the coax tied to a rope the and arrange some polystyren tube arond the cable to reduce the drumming of the cable to the inside of the mast.

OveN

j.hunter9999 · Jun 15, 2009

Mikko,
Our mast is filled with some kind of foam, probably polystyrene, from the bottom up to about 1/3 of the mast. I didn't have to run the VHF, but I did try to run some other wire for the anchor light. I ended up using electrical fish tape and forcing it down the side from the top.

The VHF is attached about 12 inches from the top to an "L" bracket. The cable terminates at the step to make removing the mast easier. So, when we step the mast, we hook the cable from the base of the mast up to the cable that runs to the VHF.

Take care,
Jack

stevebirch2002 · Jun 15, 2009

Hi All

I had the same problem so came up with a way that works for me. Luckily I have steps that fit in the mainsail luff groove. I climb up the mast with some fishing line and a small lead weight that fits in the hole (If no hole then you will have to drill one). Someone satys in the forecabin with the cover off to allow access to the bottom of the mast. Person at teh top feeds the weight into the hole whilst it is attached to the fishing line and feeds it down using gravity and a bit of uppy/downy movements. When it reaches the bottom the person in the forecabin reaches the wigth, ties on a mouse line and person at the top pulls up the mouse line, this is attached securely to the VHF (RG58) cabled so that the forecabin person can pull the cable down the mast and through the gap at the base of the mast- Voila!!! Works for me quite a few times, think I changed or installed 2 or 3 VHF aerials and cables on Vegas during the 1998 IFR at Hoo Marina using this method (as well as a wind instrument).

Stevie B

wxt8981 · Jun 15, 2009

Hi Steve;
you always have great ideas that do the job!
I used an electrical (stiff) wire to pull the antenna wire. My son went up on the bosun's chair, he had the antenna wire + some 1/4 inch line. Why the line? Once the electrical wire and the antenna wire were down, I attached about every 10 feet a styrofoam cup and my son pulled the line + wire back up.
This method also workes with the mast down.
Wilhelm, V-257