Raymarine Windvane on Hunter 29.5

[Elie]

Hi Guys,
I'm thinking about adding a Raymarine windvane on top of the mast to interface with my Raymarine P70 autopilot.
Has anyone done this? I'm wondering how difficult it would be to run a cable down the mast? I would ideally like to do this without taking the mast down.

Also is there a weight limit to climbing the mast? I'm 210 pounds and concerned about the raked, backstay-less mast supporting my weight!!

 

[whatfiero]

Running cable down mast tough to figure out how to get into cabin without removing or at least picking up mast 1 foot or something because there is a water tite seal under there but on your second question yea mast rigging will hold u up just fine straight up mast very little load compared to wind loads of thousands of pounds but gonna be tricky for u to get up there use at least two lines and one for safety

 

[jssailem]

considering same. Have mast down. Running line in conduit may over croud lines. My decision is to go with wireless when ready to install. Perhaps next year.

 

[markwbird]

I have done this but I took the mast down for other reasons. I am not sure you will be able to do it without taking the mast down. You need to not only run the cable down the mast but it has to enter the cabin at the base and be sealed against water intrusion. I doubt you can do this properly with the mast up. Also, the mast should have no problem holding your weight.

 

[Tim22]

Just finished doing this on my 1998 Hunter 310. The wire runs down a conduit in the mast which keeps it clear of the internal halyards. Fortunately there was a fish line already running through the conduit so all I needed to do was attach the wind transducer cable and pull it through. The mast was already down so it was fairly simple.

Tim

 

[Elie]

nice Tim, do you have a separate screen for the wind monitor? or did you integrate it into the autopilot screen? you have a pic of your setup? thanks!

 

[Tim22]

Hi Elie
So far all I have done is mount the wind transducer on the mast and run the mast wiring. I am waiting to launch on Friday after which I will put the mast up and finish the install. I will be using a separate screen (I60) for the wind and still have to fish the wire through the hull to the console.
It was pretty easy to run the cable in the conduit because of the existing fish line and I would be reluctant to run it outside the conduit for fear it would tangle with the internal halyards.

Happy to send photos when the job is finished!!

Tim