Wiring through mast

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R

Randy18540

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Jan 22, 2008
10
Oday 28 Wichita KS
I am installing a wind indicator along with a light to shine on it for night sailing. I don't know how to get the wiring from the top of the mast to the bottom. Please educate me.
Thank You in advance
Randy
 
J

justjon

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Dec 14, 2009
12
Cal 2-28 San Pedro
how about running the wire down the outside of the mast and wrap the mast in duct tape?
 
David in Sandusky

David in Sandusky

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Nov 8, 2007
1,590
Hunter 27_75-84 Sandusky Harbor Marina, Ohio
Tell us more

Our h27 is arranged so that the masthead light illuminates the windex.

Do you have a masthead light?

Could you run a messenger line on a halyard, then pull a wire through?
 
jsalley

jsalley

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Mar 20, 2007
500
Catalina 355 Kilmarnock, VA
Re: Tell us more

Easiest way is to use a long (50 foot) electrician's fish tape, which you can get at Lowe's or HD for under $30, and use it to get through the mast and pull the wire back. Obviously, you have to work at both ends of the mast so it needs to be either unstepped (easiest) or you need access to a cherry picker. I assume you have this planned anyway since you're installing the wind indicator at the masthead.
 
Paul F

Paul F

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Jun 3, 2004
827
Hunter 1980 - 33 Bradenton
If you are going up the mast to install the wind indicator, you can drop a light line messenger down with some weights on the lead end. A string of small bolt nuts work well. Then "catch" the lead at your access point at the bottom of the mast with a small hook. This method also works for installing a halyard when you do not have an old one to tie to.
 
RAD

RAD

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Jun 3, 2004
2,330
Catalina 30 Bay Shore, N.Y.
If your lucky you might have the same wiring set up that I had from ODay and that was standard SO cord (think black extension cord) with three wires inside a rubber jacket and only two wires were being used for the anchor light,I used the third wire as a positive and the existing anchor light ground for my tri color light installation

BTW my rig is a 1978 and yours is 79 so I would think there the same
 
DougM

DougM

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Jul 24, 2005
2,242
Beneteau 323 Manistee, MI
If the mast is down and horizontal , use a long fish tape. If your halyards are internal make sure that you don't get the wiring twisted around them. I don't know about your boat, but many have a conduit running inside the mast to contain the wires. The conduit also helps to keep the wire from slapping around inside the mast.

Another way, if you have the conduit present is to tie a small cotton ball to a piece of string and use a vacuum cleaner to suck it through the conduit, secure your wire to the string and pull it back through the conduit. Bring a messenger line along with it in case you ever need to pull the wire back out.

If the mast is standing, drop a piece of cord with about a foot of sash chain attached to it for weight. You can then either hook it as previously suggested, or snag it with a magnet.
 
sailingdog

sailingdog

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Oct 22, 2008
3,502
- Telstar 28 Buzzards Bay
do you have a conduit in the mast? Is the mast down or up?

If you have a conduit in the mast, just drop a messenger line down it. Use a bit of bicycle chain or some regular steel nuts as a weight, so you can use a magnet to fish the end of the messenger line out at the bottom.

If you have the mast down, using a fish tape is a good way to do it. Having a fish tape aboard isn't a bad thing either, since it can also be used to reeve lines in the boom and such...

Randy18540 said:
I am installing a wind indicator along with a light to shine on it for night sailing. I don't know how to get the wiring from the top of the mast to the bottom. Please educate me.
Thank You in advance
Randy
Click to expand
 
sailingdog

sailingdog

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Oct 22, 2008
3,502
- Telstar 28 Buzzards Bay
Yes, but the TackTick gear is a lot more money than a small masthead light and a windex.
 
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