Mast rewire
- Thread starter SailorShaggy
- Start date
While the mast is down, it is a great time to check all of the wiring as well as the shelves, rigging, lights and anything else at the top of the mast…VHF antenna and wiring, windex, wind anemometer, spreaders, deck lights, to name a few.
Nice boat…
Enjoy,
Greg
Nice boat…
Enjoy,
Greg
When I had my rig down for standing rigging replacement, I also replaced all of the old wires. I used Ancor 4-strand cable for both the top of mast and mid-height lights. With four strands at each location, I could attach up to 3 seperate circuits by using one for a common ground.
Just a word of warning on using LED masthead lights if you have a masthead VHF antenna (like most of us). Many of the LED lights will interfere with VHF reception if they are too close to the VHF antenna. OGM (Orca Green Marine) used to have this problem, although they may have fixed it. An easy way to check and avoid this problem is to take a handheld VHF and place it next to the LED light you are considering while the light is energized. (For example, if you are able to get to a chandlery that has the light on the sales floor, you can hook it up to one of their 12V starter batteries and place a handheld VHF next to it. If there's no static or interference, you're good). Good luck.
www.marinebeam.com.
All of their LEDs have been tested and will not interfere with other electronics. Great tech support also. I bought a cabin light from them a couple of years ago. It arrived with the bulb shaken loose. I called them and the guy on the phone said yes, he installed the bulb himself and must of screwed it up. Sent me a new fixture and return label for the old one.
I've used their products for all of my cabin LED fixture upgrades and deck/mast LED fixture upgrades.
And yes, run new wiring while your doing the work. Will probably never have to worry about it again.
All of their LEDs have been tested and will not interfere with other electronics. Great tech support also. I bought a cabin light from them a couple of years ago. It arrived with the bulb shaken loose. I called them and the guy on the phone said yes, he installed the bulb himself and must of screwed it up. Sent me a new fixture and return label for the old one.
I've used their products for all of my cabin LED fixture upgrades and deck/mast LED fixture upgrades.
And yes, run new wiring while your doing the work. Will probably never have to worry about it again.
jssailem
SBO Weather and Forecasting Forum Jim & John
- Oct 22, 2014
- 23,392
How did or do you get the wiring out of the mas?. I have roller furling and the channel for the wires is tight. And after 25 seasons the wires are stuck together and won't move.
Then test the old wires for Impedance and short circuits.
Inspect the wires, inside the cabin at the base of the mast. There should be an inspect plate cover.
Jim...
After mast was removed it was very evident the roller furler is bent/dented. lower spreaders broke off as well. Waiting on inspection so I have not attempted to remove anything. May end up just replacing
For me, when I had my mast down to do a complete replacement of the standing rigging, it was a no-brainer to replace all of the wiring in the mast. On my Catalina, this was made easier because the OEM wiring was typical automotive primary wire which has much thicker strands than does the Ancor wire and is not tinned. I liked using the 4-conductor cable for the additional protection from chafe.
no the wind storm in April blew my boat off its jackstands! broken rudder, bent keel, bent stanchions, now bent roller furling ... the band keeps playing!
Now I remember that event. April 8, 2023 = Private Messaged Date.
The bent keel reminded me.
Jim...