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The exposed insulation of the wires at the base of mast of my 1978 Catalina 27 has gone bad - so bad that the exposed wires are shorting together. There are two main cables, one that goes to the top of the mast for the anchor light, and another that goes up to mid-mast for the bow light and etc. The cables are four wire and connected to a four pin connector that looks like a trailer connector. The main cable outer insulation looks good (it's rubber covering), but the insulation on the exposed individual wires is bad.
I did reinsulate the exposed wires with "liquid insulation" and tape. All wires check out with essentially zero resistance, except the mast head wire that still has a bit of conductance between one wire and ground (yes, I did remove the bulbs before checking the conductance).
Since the cables look good, plan B is to take off the light fixtures, get down to the cables and look for the problem. Any thoughts?
Plan C is to replace the cables. From the bottom of the mast it looks like the cables are in a plastic pipe/conduit. It is supported at the bottom by a T and screw in the mast. I don't see any other screws through the mast that would support this plastic pipe/conduit.
If I have to replace the cables, my guess is that one needs to take off the mid-mast light fixture and the top of the mast. Any suggestions?
Thanks.
Bob on the North Coast - where friends are performing the rites of Spring in the boat yards.
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- catalina27-talk: Rewire the mast - advice request Rspeers
