Mast base wiring
With decked stepped masts it can be tough to lead the wires inside the boat but it can be done. I had to do this on my old C-30 and it made a big difference is the ability to trouble shoot.
This is how I do it on our current boat. All wires are lead into the settee next to the mast base (keel stepped) and then wired into junction boxes with terminal strips. All terminals are heat shrink crimp to eliminate or drastically reduce any faulty connections.
One other trick I always do is to leave an additional 5 feet of mast wiring at the base of the mast. This extra wire is simply coiled and zip tied to the wall of the settee lazarette when the mast is installed. When and if I need to cut and re-do the wires at the top of the spar due to UV I can do this a number of times before needing a full re-wire because I have left enough at the bottom to "pull up" giving me new fresh wire to work with.
This is before the mast is stepped so the mast wires are missing.
With decked stepped masts it can be tough to lead the wires inside the boat but it can be done. I had to do this on my old C-30 and it made a big difference is the ability to trouble shoot.
This is how I do it on our current boat. All wires are lead into the settee next to the mast base (keel stepped) and then wired into junction boxes with terminal strips. All terminals are heat shrink crimp to eliminate or drastically reduce any faulty connections.
One other trick I always do is to leave an additional 5 feet of mast wiring at the base of the mast. This extra wire is simply coiled and zip tied to the wall of the settee lazarette when the mast is installed. When and if I need to cut and re-do the wires at the top of the spar due to UV I can do this a number of times before needing a full re-wire because I have left enough at the bottom to "pull up" giving me new fresh wire to work with.
This is before the mast is stepped so the mast wires are missing.
