Looking for ideas >>>> VHF Radio on a O 222

Sunbird22358 · Feb 3, 2009

Well, you could always mount a standard 8' whip antenna at the stern. I friend of mine did that on his O'DAY 20. The other option is to double-check your mast, I didn't think O'Day filled the masts on their larger boats with foam (styrofoam, not foam rubber), I know my DS II has foam stuffed up the mast, but it actually is a square-shaped foam piece, leaving a channel forward of the foam. If you feed a stiff electrician's snake up the mast (or down?) it should be able to pull the coax past the foam. It may require removing the masthead and or tabernacle plate from the mast, but would be worth trying. In the long run, the whip on the transom might be an easier solution. A neighbor of mine used to have a 222 and he had a LORAN whip mounted at the stern.

Joe11688 · Feb 3, 2009

Chuck,
I was wondering if you could tie a strong tag twine to your mast light duplex wire from the top of the mast. Then pull the wire out from the bottom and attach the coax and electric wires together to the twine and pull it back up? You don't have a steaming light 2/3's up the mast, do you? Maybe if you can lube the wires, they will go in pretty easy. The telephone and power companies use a clear lube specifically for running wire through underground duct work. They have also used mineral oil, but I wouldn't use that. If you know someone who works for either one of those companies who can get you a little of that stuff, I'm pretty sure that you could get both of those wires through the mast. All you would need outside of the coax connectors would be a through hull connector for your coax connector. I bought mine at CE Beckman in New Bedford Ma. I also bought the screw on cap. http://www.cebeckman.com/ The only that could complicate this job would be the steaming light connection, but maybe not. It's just a thought, and you know me,----I'm always thinking of solutions. In the first pic, the coax thru-hull fitting is the one in the front. In the third pic, you see a small bracket mounted on the bulkhead for a bell, just to the left of the bull horn. My VHF Mic fits nicely in this small holder and this works out great for being able to use my radio while sitting in the cockpit. The radio in the second pic is a Standard Horizon Voyager that I bought new back in 1987 and it's still kicking. It has an intercom, PA, scanning, weather, and 40 channels expandable to 55. It' been a great radio and works just as well as the day I bought it. The other pic shows the Shakespeare Stubby antenna mounted on the mast. The higher up that you can mount your antenna, the better reception. I also have a Hummingbird hand held which is good in a pinch, plus an auxiliary short stubby antenna for my main radio, just in case I lose my mast again.
Ahoy!
Joe

OdayDave · Feb 7, 2009

Dwyer yes; Foam no!

Chuck,

I have the Dwyer mast, but I had no problem feeding coax cable up the mast. I did feed some pvc pipe up the mast to serve as a channel for the cable (and if I recall I had to feed two separate pieces from each end due to the thru-bolt at the tangs just below the spreaders). Anyhow, I'm not sure how the foam got put in, but it wasn't in my mast (mine is the 1985 version). I would want that antenna up high to maximize range. Note I also have a splitter for the antenna cable inside the cabin so that I can use it as an antenna for the stereo. Nothing like an antenna 30 ft. up to get great range on the radio. So if possible think about sliding a piece of PVC along the inside of the mast, perhaps aft or bow-edge of the mast and then put the coax inside. By the way, don't forget to run a messenger line inside the PVC so you can include other cables at a later date (e.g., masthead 360 degree anchor light). That is on my to do list for this spring.

Good luck,

Dave
O'Day 222

Joe11688 · Feb 8, 2009

Re: Dwyer yes; Foam no!

Chuck,
Dave is right. The conduit is the best way to go. I'd like to be able to install a conduit in my mast if I could secure it in there somehow.
Joe

OdayDave · Feb 8, 2009

Re: Dwyer yes; Foam no!

Joe and Chuck -

I took two pieces of pvc (3 inch if I recall) and fed them from both ends. I think I had a connector on the one fed from the top and then cut out a notch in the connector so that it would slide over the through bolt for the tangs for the lower shrouds, and left enough room on the connector so that the other end fed from the bottom would fit into the end that now extended below the through bolt. I then used pipe wrap for the bottom and top few inches of the PVC (i.e., top and bottom) to keep it in place without rattling around. I did string a messenger line and I also rewired the steaming light so it went into the PVC up to the midpoint of the mast. It has worked well, and I really don't hear any cable slap when the boat rocks around at anchor.

Right now I use the little Davis portable LED light, pulled part way up the mast (along the lower shroud) using a halyard when at anchor, but I would rather have something at the top. So I need to look into options for anchor lights. I have heard that LED's are a good way to go so I'm thinking of going that route.

Dave
O'Day 222

Sunbird22358 · Feb 8, 2009

Sounds like that foam rubber was inserted to stop the wires inside the mast from banging around as the boat rolls. I wish I knew what we did right on our old CAL 21, we installed a wire for the steaming light (just above the spreaders) and a VHF antenna coax (at the masthead) and never had any problem with either wire banging the inside of the mast! I once had a small trimaran (9' loa) and in my delusions of granduer added a tricolor nav light (homemade) at the masthead, the wire inside that 11' aluminum mast clanged constantly........go figure!

Joe11688 · Feb 8, 2009

Re: Dwyer yes; Foam no!

Dave,
My biggest problem is that I have internal halyards, and I think that my steaming light wire connections got broken by one of the halyards. What are you using for conduit? 3/4" PVC? I think that I'm going to try to do something with my lights this spring. I need to mount a new Jib Halyard sheave block in my mast anyway. I'd like to get my mast lights working again. Not that I'd use them very much, but they're on my mast, and they should work if I ever need them. It's too bad that they don't make a flat spring type of metal clip that would fit inside a mast, that's horse shoe shaped with a round notch for the conduit. Do you remember those metal clips that you used to put on your ankle to keep your pant leg from getting caught in the bicycle chain? Only, this clip would be designed to open outward instead of closing inward. I don't know,--it's just an idea. In one of Don Casey's books, he talks about installing a metal pipe and drilling holes into the mast for rivets to hold the pipe in place. I'm not too crazy about that idea.

OdayDave · Feb 10, 2009

Re: Dwyer yes; Foam no!

Hi Joe -

It looks like it is 1.25 inch diameter (1 inch interior). I initially thought it was 3 inch. Since my halyards are external, I don't have the same problem that you do. One option could be to remove the bolt on the tangs, put a single piece of PVC, and then drill a hole through the PVC where the throughbolt is located. Then re-insert the bolt/tangs for the lower shrouds. That would secure the PVC and keep it from shifting vertically. Then you would need to secure the PVC away from the halyards, and against the bow side of the mast where the steaming light is located. You could perhaps pack some foam at the base since your internal halyards would exit above the base. I'm not sure how to do it at the masthead. Perhaps some chalk since it needs to not interfere with the halyard exiting at the masthead.

I also read the recommendation in Casey's book about drilling holes in the mast, but unlike most of his ideas, I didn't like that one at all. I don't like drilling unnecessary holes in the mast.

Anyhow, this is one option that you might think of trying.

Dave
O'Day 222

Joe11688 · Feb 10, 2009

OdayDave said:
Hi Joe -

It looks like it is 1.25 inch diameter (1 inch interior). I initially thought it was 3 inch. Since my halyards are external, I don't have the same problem that you do. One option could be to remove the bolt on the tangs, put a single piece of PVC, and then drill a hole through the PVC where the throughbolt is located. Then re-insert the bolt/tangs for the lower shrouds. That would secure the PVC and keep it from shifting vertically. Then you would need to secure the PVC away from the halyards, and against the bow side of the mast where the steaming light is located. You could perhaps pack some foam at the base since your internal halyards would exit above the base. I'm not sure how to do it at the masthead. Perhaps some chalk since it needs to not interfere with the halyard exiting at the masthead.

I also read the recommendation in Casey's book about drilling holes in the mast, but unlike most of his ideas, I didn't like that one at all. I don't like drilling unnecessary holes in the mast.

Anyhow, this is one option that you might think of trying.

Dave
O'Day 222

Dave,
My mast has slots for "T" ball fittings. The only tang on my mast is the one that I installed for my fore stay when I added the furler, and it's riveted to my mast. So, getting a conduit into my mast without any obstructions probably wouldn't present a problem. Being able to secure it in there, would be a problem. My Jib Halyard exits the mast somewhere near my mast winch above the goose neck fitting, so I could secure the conduit pretty easy near the goose neck and near the Tabernacle. I would need to split the conduit near the steaming light, or cut a slot in it to get at my wires. I'd still have to be able to secure it somehow in that area, and there lies the problem. I still think that some kind of a spring clip could be designed to fit in a mast to hold the conduit in place. I don't know why some manufacturer hasn't thought of that yet, or maybe they have, and we don't know it. Thank you for the info, Dave! I'll try to come up with something toward the end of next month when I uncover my boat.
Joe

Joe11688 · Feb 10, 2009

Ahoy there, Chuck!
I'm sorry if I hijacked your thread. Have you come to any decisions yet? I'd like to be able to run a conduit in my mast for my wires, but in a way, I'm not too keen on removing my Tabernacle from my mast. It's screwed in place, and once I disturb those screws, they're going to have a tendency to work loose unless I use a thread lock cement on them. I'm not even sure whether the wire isn't dipped with one of the halyards. Let me know what you come up with.
Joe

Joe11688 · Feb 11, 2009

Lucky Bum said:
Well Joe,

Can't do much till I also uncover '' Getaway ". My thinking is to maybe use the exisinting Anchor light wire as a messenger and either pull a another wire or at least a fish tape back through. Seems when I replaced the 360 degree anchor lightlast year, it's wire was a shielded one and so I will look into getting some of the buttery slippery stuff and try to pull back the coax + the anchor light wire.

Did I tell you I was able to find a used 2 stroke 6 HP Evinrude? Craig's List Hampton Va. If not I'll start another thread.

It sounds like you have a plan, Chuck. Actually, you could get away without a conduit. I really think that my mast needs a conduit because I have two halyards inside it. I don't think that I would have a problem with broken wires in my mast if I never added that steaming light. I'm sorry that I ever had it installed. For the very few times that I've used it, I've come to the conclusion that it's not worth having. At least, my mast light had always worked up until those wires came loose at the steaming light.
Yes. I remember you telling me about the 2 stroke 6 hp Evinrude outboard. Those are very dependable engines. I dread the day that I'll have to buy a 4 stroke engine. This 1999 Johnson 8 outboard is everything that my old one was, and I'm going to try to take good care of it so that it will last me a long time.
Joe

Joe11688 · Feb 17, 2009

Lucky Bum said:
Well Joe,

Can't do much till I also uncover '' Getaway ". My thinking is to maybe use the exisinting Anchor light wire as a messenger and either pull a another wire or at least a fish tape back through. Seems when I replaced the 360 degree anchor lightlast year, it's wire was a shielded one and so I will look into getting some of the buttery slippery stuff and try to pull back the coax + the anchor light wire.

Did I tell you I was able to find a used 2 stroke 6 HP Evinrude? Craig's List Hampton Va. If not I'll start another thread.

Chuck,
The telephone underground crews in my area used a clear cable pulling lubricant called Polywater. I'm sure that if you ran into some power company or telephone guys doing wire pulling in manholes in your area and asked them for some, they would give it to you. 8 oz. of that stuff is about all you would need for your wire pulling. You may be able to use dish washing detergent too, I bet. Don't use Mineral Oil. It's bad for the neoprene jacket on wire.
Joe

Joe11688 · Feb 18, 2009

Lucky Bum said:
Joe,

Thanks for sharing your experience. I will check out the next lineman I find. Or at least think to use dish washing soap. I am lucky to have an old farm kitchen sink hooped up in my garage and keep a bottle of Dawn there.

Hey Chuck!
That's my favorite dish washing detergent on my boat! Great minds think alike.
Joe

Joe11688 · Feb 18, 2009

Lucky Bum said:
Joe,

I have found that Dawn eats up oil and grease really well. Plus it is friendly to your hands..

It does a great job on my dishes on board too. I've been using that stuff on my boat ever since I've owned it. I even wash my boat with it. Think spring, Chuck!:dance:
Joe

Looking for ideas >>>> VHF Radio on a O 222

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