lacing up the cable bundle for the mast. pics. just sharing.

Apr 25, 2017
195
pearson 26 holland mi
hey guys. Q&A is over for at least one part:









so thats where i'm at. half way down the mast. Cabling for top light, n2k for wind sensor, vhf, wifi cat5, and the wiring for the steamer/decklight.

6in spacing on waxed twine lacing with 8 turns minimum each and 3 ft spacing on the track peices to hold it to the inside track of the mast. i'm incredibly optmistic that it'll do fantastically and i'm excited to start putting the mast together.

I'm taking the mast head to my dad's shop probably sunday to start the plan for putting it on the mill and drill/tap for each of the peices. sadly the mast itself can't go orwould it fit inside so we'll be hand tooling that for the new clamshell exit points and bracket mounting.
 
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DougM

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Jul 24, 2005
2,242
Beneteau 323 Manistee, MI
I don’t really mean to be a critic but you lost me, why are you bundling that way?
Simply using tie wraps would have been sufficient. Looks good but every six inches is overkill.
A simpler way may have been to lash the tabs to a pvc conduit, Then pull your cabling, leaving each cable separate so that if one needs changing in the future, it can be pulled back and replaced.
 
Jan 19, 2010
12,362
Hobie 16 & Rhodes 22 Skeeter Charleston
I don't understand what the sail slides are for.
 
Apr 25, 2017
195
pearson 26 holland mi
I don’t really mean to be a critic but you lost me, why are you bundling that way?
Simply using tie wraps would have been sufficient. Looks good but every six inches is overkill.
A simpler way may have been to lash the tabs to a pvc conduit, Then pull your cabling, leaving each cable separate so that if one needs changing in the future, it can be pulled back and replaced.
No, by all means, critique away!

I'm basing the methodology on the lacing styles done in old ships. with the wax string method i can get the wraps very tight and also attach the slides accordingly. By putting the frequency so often when i route my halyards internal to the mast i minimize the amount of "slop" in my cable bundle to serve as a snag.

With the slides in i can attach the cable to the inner track and therefore bypass the conduit entirely while also eliminating slap.

I can appreciate the complication with replacing a single cable in the bundle and i'm struggling to reconcile that giving my process. I really want to avoid a conduit that goes to the steamer, and another that goes to the mast head. It leaves extra stuff outta my mast, lowers my weights, ... yeah. there's cons. sure. i dunno. i'd love to see a discussion about it.
 
Jan 1, 2006
7,039
Slickcraft 26 Sailfish
The slides stump me because I am not aware of track being on the inside of the mast. Ive sailed on a P26 but I've never had a look inside the mast. The track would have to have been developed into the original extrusion. Sounds expensive for Pearson but evidently they did it. Someone I know put a PVC conduit in his Ranger 23 mast and riveted the conduit to the mast (Or vice versa). I was considering doing that on my Ranger 29 but didn't quite. A lot of trouble to prevent slapping. I used cable ties and a swimmie instead. And, I thought the rivets would be abrasive and wear the wires. But you could make a mast PVC track by cutting a groove in the PVC pipe and attaching it to the inner wall of the mast. A lot of trouble but I guess it could be done. I don't know what you would do if the sail slug got caught on a rivet end.
 
Oct 26, 2008
6,043
Catalina 320 Barnegat, NJ
I simply cut a hole in the conduit where the steaming light and deck light wires come out. But, I can also see the point of securing the wires and raising them on an inside track. That just might be a nice slick way to do it. Good Luck! You've put a lot of thought and work into it.
BTW, I'm not entirely happy with the conduit. First, I don't like all the rivets. Second, I don't know how long the PVC conduit will last. After 20 years, the original one was entirely disintegrated when I changed it out in 2006. And third, when I added a spinnaker track and the internal lines for halyard and topping lift at the front of the mast, the conduit was in the way and had to be shifted.
 
Mar 1, 2012
2,182
1961 Rhodes Meridian 25 Texas coast
I've worked on several boats that ha a track on the inside of the mast. A very handy thing. My 21 footer did, and when I built my 35 foot tri in the late 70's, that mast had it
 
Oct 24, 2010
2,405
Hunter 30 Everett, WA
What you are doing has worked well in aircraft since WW2. Low chafe and low chance of coax damage (Cable ties easily damage coax due to putting too much point pressure on the cable and compressing the dielectric inside.) You should be congratulated for your excellent work. In theory, the robustness of design minimizes the need to pull in new wires. In the old days, I've laced many cables on aircraft. In fact, in the 727 days, United Airlines didn't allow any plastic ties when we sold them new aircraft. These days most folks use cable ties. In the aircraft industry, they are installed with tools to keep them from over tightening, which is the most common amateur issue.

Ken
 
Apr 25, 2017
195
pearson 26 holland mi
I simply cut a hole in the conduit where the steaming light and deck light wires come out. But, I can also see the point of securing the wires and raising them on an inside track. That just might be a nice slick way to do it. Good Luck! You've put a lot of thought and work into it.
BTW, I'm not entirely happy with the conduit. First, I don't like all the rivets. Second, I don't know how long the PVC conduit will last. After 20 years, the original one was entirely disintegrated when I changed it out in 2006. And third, when I added a spinnaker track and the internal lines for halyard and topping lift at the front of the mast, the conduit was in the way and had to be shifted.
Thank you sir - the rivets also irritated me for chafing and such. I don't want to drill holes in my mast any more than i want to in the hull of my boat. I'm debating wether or not to run my halyards internally cause eventually they gotta come out again! lol.
 
Apr 25, 2017
195
pearson 26 holland mi
What you are doing has worked well in aircraft since WW2. Low chafe and low chance of coax damage (Cable ties easily damage coax due to putting too much point pressure on the cable and compressing the dielectric inside.) You should be congratulated for your excellent work. In theory, the robustness of design minimizes the need to pull in new wires. In the old days, I've laced many cables on aircraft. In fact, in the 727 days, United Airlines didn't allow any plastic ties when we sold them new aircraft. These days most folks use cable ties. In the aircraft industry, they are installed with tools to keep them from over tightening, which is the most common amateur issue.

Ken
Genuinely, Ken, Thank you.

I'm a blacksmith and craftsman. I have a true love for the old way of doing things - its often overlooked because of age or effort but is for reasons like you pointed out, still superior. I found the instructions for this approach on an old navy warship page. The running lacing method didn't sit well with me with lock stitches every 6 inches. It'd have been quicker but my method allows me to keep my bundle very tight, free of twists, and stable.

I'm putting a bit of tension on the whipping, enough to set it but i'm trying not to deform the casing material on the cable bundle's individual cables.

With this approach and using the strain relief loop in the mast head i should be able to 'hang' the bundle from the mast head, and the "sail slides" holds it in place. It shouldn't move much at all and be free of riveting approaches while keeping me from having to put conduit up the mast and add weight i won't need.

I'm glad to know that the process i'm following - which i've only ever whipped rope ends in the boyscouts - is warranting a compliment from someone who has professional experience doing the same.
 
Oct 26, 2008
6,043
Catalina 320 Barnegat, NJ
Ok, I wasn't aware of this technique. My Kenyon mast has the track for this and now I know that the slides are compatible. Hmm, my mast is down right now and I am running a new n2k cable for wind sensor. This would be a time consuming project and I don't want to wait too much longer to put her in the water .... maybe next time?
 
Apr 25, 2017
195
pearson 26 holland mi
*nods* I have about 3 hours into mine but i'm being hyper critical... and watching tv with a beer nearby. hahah. it'll take me 5 hours total to lace and tear down the old. I'm guessing less than an hour to get it fed back through if i throw some 3in1 oil down the track first ... i expect the effort to outlive my ownership of the boat. Saves me from having to take the mast down later anyway :)
 
Apr 25, 2017
195
pearson 26 holland mi
I'm totally open to suggestions? It might not need anything... i'll try with nothing first at least. just don't want to jam it up half way down and get screwed ... it would not come out easy .... heh.