Top of Mast

[lehighsail]

I have been having issues with my wind instrument, speed and direction, and my VHF radio. I think that the problems are at the top of the mast caused by seagulls. I have attached pictures of the Selden mast both port and starboard and would appreciate it if the parts that are present can be identified as well as any parts that are missing or disconnected. What do I need to replace or service? I have some more pictures if needed.
Thanks.

 

[dlochner]

It's pretty obvious. The antenna is missing the whip, so you have no VHF antenna. (#3)

The Windex is missing the vane. (#1)

The wind sensors are turned 90° sideways. (#5)

I'm not sure what the disconnected wire is for. (#4)

Edited to reference the numbers on the updated photos.

 

[Scott T-Bird]

Hello Stu! I hope you are well. I can't tell what that white bracket is that is mounted on the arm facing aft. Surely it's for some kind of antennae and it appears that the black coax cable that is disconnected probably served whatever was there and is now missing. As Dave says, the VHF won't work without the whip, so it seems that needs to be replaced (the white coax cable is still connected to the base of the antennae it seems). The windex needs to be replaced. The wind transducer looks mounted correctly to me ... I don't see what would be 90 degrees off. The arm appears to be pointing forward. The transducer cable appears to be in place, but it could be a bad connection. I'm having the same problem with mine.
Bring her to Mariners ... they can go up a lift to make repairs.

 

[kloudie1]

The disconnected wire probably went to an old GPS "mushroom" antenna that would have screwed onto the threaded base halfway between the mast and the end of the bracket.
EDIT: Scott beat me to it..

 

[lehighsail]

Thanks for the info. I have updated the picture and labeled parts with numbers. Make it easier for me by referring to the parts by numbers. I don't know what any of the parts are having never seen the top of a mast up close.

 

[sail sfbay]

Nice photo of the top of the mast. Until you check instrument connects you will not know what has to be replaced. The Raymarine wind transducer on my Hunter 386 failed after a major wind storm so had to climb the mast and replace it.

 

[dlochner]

I don't see what would be 90 degrees off

The wind sensor (#5) is pointing in the right direction, towards the bow. However, the cups and vane appear to be vertical and not horizontal, i.e., the working end of the sensor is twisted on the arm. The cups should be on the bottom and horizontal, the vane on top pointing into the wind.

 

[Scott T-Bird]

1 used to be a windex ... the arrow and directional arms are missing!
2 is an unknown antennae base - probably GPS as kloudie says - the disconnected black coax cable was probably connected to it. You should probably find it at the bottom of your mast and see if it is connected to anything.
3 is the base of your VHF antennae. It looks like a Shakespeare vhf antennae. It's weird that the whip is missing. It looks like there is actually a cap over the threaded connection for the whip. I'd probably just get an entire new antennae rather than just a replacement for the whip.
5 is your wind transducer ... it looks fine to me but there may be something wrong with the cable connection.

I don't see number 4 ... am I missing it? Perhaps that is what you intended to label your anchor light. Speaking of your anchor light, it looks like it is a combo anchor and tricolor running light. Is that correct? Do they work?
edit - make that combo anchor and steaming light? The rear section of the upper light appears to be shielded. Do you have a steaming light mounted halfway up your mast or is that your steaming light at the top?

 

[Scott T-Bird]

The wind sensor (#5) is pointing in the right direction, towards the bow. However, the cups and vane appear to be vertical and not horizontal, i.e., the working end of the sensor is twisted on the arm. The cups should be on the bottom and horizontal, the vane on top pointing into the wind.

It looks to me like cups are on the bottom and vane on top. I'm not seeing what you see, I guess. The photo is taken from ground level looking up, I assume ...

 

[dlochner]

I don't see number 4 ...

#4 is the black wire which looks like a coax connector for a tv antenna.

 

[Scott T-Bird]

#4 is the black wire which looks like a coax connector for a tv antenna.

Oh... now I see it. When I enlarge the picture, it cuts the number off. Yes, I assume the cable is for whatever antennae is missing from the bracket.

 

[dlochner]

It looks to me like cups are on the bottom and vane on top. I'm not seeing what you see, I guess. The photo is taken from ground level looking up, I assume ...

On the second photo, with the numbers, look at the vane. The pointy end appears to be pointing down and the the top of the unit can be seen.

 

[Parsons]

Looks like the cable is just standard TV coax with an internal connection (oxidizing). I cannot guess what was mounted at #2, but perhaps these go together? Perhaps a TV antenna?

I suggest going up the mast, or better yet sending someone else, to straighten the wind sensor, install a new Windex ($40), install a new VHF antenna ($70), and remove that cable so it does not foul something else. While you're up there, you might consider if the bulbs in your masthead light are LED.

 

[FastOlson]

If the base loading coil for the VHF is older, it might be a model with the ss rod embedded down thru a seal at the top. I used to have one like that for many years, until the ss rod somehow fell out (upward and out, which seemed odd) and landed on my side deck. Time for a new VHF antenna....
Time to renew all the stuff at the top, and pull some new low-loss coax, too!

 

[dkinzer]

install a new VHF antenna ($70)

If you anticipate adding an AIS transceiver in the near future, spend the extra to buy an antenna that will work well for both marine VHF and AIS. The manufacturer of the AIS transceiver that I installed recently recommended the Shakespeare 5250-AIS antenna which happens to be on sale at the moment on Amazon for under $70 (normally about $110).

 

[Ward H]

@lehighsail Looks like everyone already answered your questions. I think the wind transducer looks OK. If it is twisted you'll need to replace it but I don't think so.
Sounds like your on the right track.
I like @Scott T-Bird s idea of bringing it to Mariners and use the man lift. I know you're not climbing the mast and your instrument guy isn't climbing the mast.