in mast furling drilling

Apr 10, 2010
36
Catalina 310 166 Dartmouth, Nova Scotia
Have a catalina 310 #166 2002 vintage with in mast furling. I would like to add wires going to the spreaders for wi fi antenna and a tv antenna. May even add another wire going to the masthead for ais or another light. With the in mast furling I am loathe to drill into the mast to run wires externally. Also I am not sure if I can run the wires in the mast as there may not be enough room or capacity for them in the allotted area. Also getting them from the deckhead inside to the power panel or other control circuit.

Has anyone done this before, please advise as I can use any and all advice. thanks.

The title may not be succinct but hopefully will get your attention.
 
Feb 26, 2004
22,759
Catalina 34 224 Maple Bay, BC, Canada
Have you asked yourself how they got the power up to the anchor light and the VHF antenna? Have you looked?
 
Apr 10, 2010
36
Catalina 310 166 Dartmouth, Nova Scotia
Yes, my concern is getting power/wires from inside the mast to the spreaders. Also unsure of how to get the wires from mast step on deck to power panel. On my previous catalina 30 it was reasonably straight forward, on the 310 not so much.
 

meb135

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Nov 17, 2012
92
Hunter 33 Shediac Bay
If your mast is from Selden then the interior of the mast will be divided by a piece of aluminum from top to bottom. The forward section is for all the wiring and there's plenty of room to run additional wires in there.
I'm assuming other brands would have the same setup.
Marc
 
Apr 10, 2010
36
Catalina 310 166 Dartmouth, Nova Scotia
So if I am careful I can drill a hole in this forward section and get the wires out to the spreaders. Just leaves the mast step concern for running wires. Thank you for your response.
 
Feb 14, 2014
7,399
Hunter 430 Waveland, MS
Get your brand name mast go to their site, with the mast dimensions. They will have a cross sectional view of the inside. There is a "wiring channel" that will be on there forward side of the mast. so you can only drill into that channel very carefully or you will cut other wires.
Jim...
 

meb135

.
Nov 17, 2012
92
Hunter 33 Shediac Bay
So if I am careful I can drill a hole in this forward section and get the wires out to the spreaders. Just leaves the mast step concern for running wires. Thank you for your response.

That's correct. I ran additional wires and installed pad eye's for my whisker pole without any problems.
I have a selden mast and that's the configuration. If you're is different then you may want to consult the manual to make sure it has the same divider.
 

pk104

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Jun 30, 2009
207
Catalina 310 Atwood Lake
91683386-A6C5-4C4E-B1A0-5FA593A321D5.jpeg
I have haul 104 with furling main. Mast made by Charleston Spar. Here is a picture from the bottom of the mast.
 
Apr 10, 2010
36
Catalina 310 166 Dartmouth, Nova Scotia
Thank you for the mast photo, greatly appreciated. Have contacted Charleston Spar for specific directions as to how to proceed. Thanks again.