Getting a messenger through mast

[wdonovan]

Yeah... so I need to get a messenger in the emast of my hunter 310. Mast is currently down but not where I can get to the ends right now. Otherwise I would have been able to survey the situation. Top has block on fitting. Bottom has block and port coming out the side of the mast. How is this normally done? Tips? Tricks? Help!

 

[31seahorse]

Hello wdonovan, Without pictures of your mast and its halyard arrangement here is what I think will work. If there are internal halyards in place now you might be able to attach two light/thin messenger lines to one halyard and pull those three lines (1 halyard & 2 messenger lines) up or down through the mast, whichever direction seems best. Then remove one of the messenger lines and attach it to something to prevent it from being pulled back into the mast. Finally, pull the halyard back to the original end of the mast by using the remaining messenger line. The messenger you untied and then secured will be in place for use and you can remove the messenger line from your halyard. NOTE: Attach the messengers securely by stitching them to the end of the halyard or by tying them and taping the knot close to the halyard so things do not get stuck.

 

[dlochner]

The mast head should come off, usually a few bolts. If the bottom is not open, then the fittings there should unscrew.

Get an Electricans fish tape that is longer than your mast and feed it through the mast or if there are conduits, through the conduit. Attach a thin line, mason's line works well, and pull it through.

Make sure to leave a string there for the next time.

 

[shemandr]

If you can rotate the mast so that other halyards are on the high side, and tighten the halyards to be taught, you can reduce the chances of getting the halyards crossed. Run the messenger on the low side. There may be wires in there too. Hopefully in a conduit but if not you have to be careful of them for the same reason.
I don't know where you plan to exit the messenger, or what is for, but I like exit blocks for halyards to be well above my head so that I can get my whole body weight engaged in a hoist.
If you run the messenger with an existing halyard, make sure you have enough tail or sew, not tape, more tail on so you don't pull the halyard tail into the mast and out of reach. I've done this, so I learnt - "You can't push a rope."

 

[wdonovan]

Wow. Thanks for these ideas. I would have not come up with these tips without help. Wish me luck.

 

[DougM]

Are you trying to put in an additional halyard, or instrument wiring?
Hopefully, if you are attempting to install instrument wiring, there is a conduit or two built into the mast.
If they are there, and original to the boat, the builder of the mast has left a messenger line already there inside the conduit. Use it to pull in the new wire plus another messenger simultaneously. Then you will have a spare for next time. The mast on my boat has two such conduits, one all the way to the masthead, and the other ending at the steaming light.
Sometimes there is room in the conduit even with wire already in it to get a fish tape through it.
Another trick is to tie a piece of light line to a cotton ball, and use it to inhale the thing through the conduit with a shop vac, then pull through a messenger and your new wire.

As for a halyard, Shemander has the method in the post above

 

[Ward H]

My 93 C30 has a wiring conduit, can't see Catalina going backwards and not putting one in the 310.
To check your mast, look for a string of rivets, spaced every couple of feet, going up the mast. The rivets would be holding the conduit in place. Mine did have the messenger line in the conduit.