Working with VHF cable RG 213

[chrisings]

Good day forum folk,

This weekend is mast work, since it is still un-stepped from winter storage. Going to replace my VHF antenna cable with RG 213 (let's not make this about my cable choice, I know, LM 400 and all that but I got this stuff cheap and it's a lot better than what's there now). So, the current cable looks like RG 58U at least it's a small diameter like 58U and it exits at the mast head through a hole drilled in the side of the mast. Clearly I will need to drill a larger hole and find an appropriate sized grommet. Any tips, comments, tricks etc to working with this larger, less flexible, cable? IF you have a larger VHF antenna cable how does it exit at your mast head? Here's a photo of my test fit for the new mast base conduit (PO had used just a hole and an entire tube of silicone) . When trying the fit of the cable I already learned that it is not happy making bends.

 

[jssailem]

Chris.... You are correct about the stiffness of 213. Will not take a bend which makes getting a drop line an issue.
I went with LMR400 just for that reason... But free or cheap is always a consideration when dealing with your boat.
I used a piece of hose to help form a drop loop then a straight shot into the boat.
My mast is like a street light pole so there is room to get the coax bend in the drip loop. Here is what my mast base looks like.

I have 2 small diameter straight Aluminum pipes running through the base large enough to carry the cables. Then I attached hose to the pipe so that I could get a bend and extend the height of the pipe to reduce the chance of water building up in the mast. Lastly I made sure that the weep holes in the mast base are clear.
The hold wire ends in the middle were abandoned, replaced by the new wiring. I have lights on mast, Nav lights on the mast head, radar cable, and VHF coax running in the mast.
Here is a shot of me and the base of the mast, wires stuffed in the base awaiting hoist to the boat.

Hope it helps.

 

[Bill Roosa]

Also make sure that any hole you drill through the deck into the mast base should extend about a inch or so above the deck so that water from the mast will not come into the cabin but drain onto the deck through the weep holes in the mast base (tabernacle)

 

[Kermit]

View attachment 135761
Hope it helps.

Don't let the Boat Babe see this picture. She might get all jealous and stuff.

 

[chrisings]

Thanks for the input folks! Ran the wire up the mast last week and it went far easier than I could have hoped for. Now to run the wire inside the boat to the radio, hopefully next weekend.