VHF Antenna
Tom I also wish I knew if there was a conduit in the mast. Last year when I put in my VHF and antenna into my H23.5, I dropped a piece of coax down the mast without taking off the caps at either end. I used a small diameter cord with about a 3' piece of small diameter chain fastened to the end for weight. While on the roof of the house, I dropped the chain and rope down from the top of the mast through a hole in the top cap. I had drilled a small hole in the side of the mast near the bottom, and when the chain was adjacent to the hole, I hooked it with a small wire and pulled it out. Also put a rubber grommet in the hole. Then I pulled a length of RG-8X back up to the top. After the coax was in, I soldered connectors on both ends. RG-8X has a little better loss characteristics than RG-58, but is almost the same size. Then beside the mast in the top of the deck, I drilled a hole to hold female pannel mount coax connector. They have them at any Radio Shack store. This is the type that you have to solder to on the back side. The connector is held down with 4 small screws after sealant is applied. The hardest part was snaking the coax through the ceiling between the liner and the deck. Good place for an electricians fish tape. I brought the coax out of the liner at the cover on the bottom of the port winch, and mounted the VHF on the ceiling nearby. When I take the mast down to trailer the boat, I unscrew the connectors at the base of the mast and screw in a rubber duck antenna into the pannel mount connector. That way it keeps water and dirt out of the connector and I can still use the VHF to get a weather forcast while rigging. The mast does make some noise, but it did before I added the coax. I don't know if it is the electrical feed to the masthead or halyards. If there is a conduit inside, it would definately be better to route the cables there. Craig Nelson S/V Cool Change NA0P
