Wires in mast

[David Revill]

I need to pull the mast on my '81 C30 to fix the dampness in the cabin top. I have an antenna cable and wiring to the spreader and masthead lights that don't have junctions as they exit the cabin roof under the mast. Is it likely that I will see a join in these wires buried somewhere in the mast or will I need to cut them myself?Any help appreciated.

 

[Echo Gulf]

Expect a junction

Having stepped masts on a varity of boats, I can't say I every ran into one that didn't have some sort of junction in the wiring at the base of the mast. Even if you had to cut the wires, most chandleries or marine suppliers carry connectors that can be installed to alleviate this problem when you reassemble the mast.

 

[Steve L.]

Just revuilt my mast too

I just did a complete restore job on my '86 Cat 30' SR mast about 2 weeks ago. There were 2 cables running up the internal PVC tube. One 2-strand cable to the masthead for the anchor light and one 3-strand cable to the midmast for the running/deck light. Both of these were spliced to a 4-prong male/female connector at the base of the mast. When the mast is unstepped, you should be able to grab the loose wiring at the mast base, locate the connector, and pull the 2 halves apart. Good luck.