Pete — do you have conduit inside the mast, or are you pulling through the mast without? Based on your description of the “rat’s nest” you found, I’d guess maybe no conduit?
An electrical “fish tape” can be your best friend when doing this work. If you’re going to replace the mast lighting, you could probably get away with 16AWG wire for everything except maybe a common ground wire for some fixtures; if you have conduit, just pull out the needed length plus some extra off spools and get them all laid out nicely together, then pull the bundle up (or down) with the fish tape. With no conduit, you can either bundle ALL of the wires going up the mast together, splitting off the steaming/deck light and any other wires that need to come off at the spreaders; or you can use multi conductor wire with the needed number of conductors all bundled in a jacket. Put three cable ties with the ends left on every fifteen inches along the bundle, with the ends pointing out at 120° intervals; this will keep the bundle from slapping inside the mast. Speaking from experience, the best thing you can do is to get ANY miscellaneous junk, including old wire and insulation, out of the mast before you start. It doesn’t take much to snag on your bundle as you pull, causing a huge mess… Your fish tape can be your friend here, too, along with a powerful flashlight to see way into the mast. If you can remove your mast cap (mine is welded on…), that makes things even easier. — Fred Fred Street -- Minneapolis S/V Oceanis (1979 C&C Landfall 38) -- on the hard in Bayfield, WI :^( > On Apr 10, 2017, at 4:02 PM, kelly petew via CnC-List <cnc-list@cnc-list.com> > wrote: > > Hello Listers, > First, some background -- > Earlier this year, I had the mast extracted from Siren Song, my 30-2. The > rigger has completed his work, replacing the rod rigging and fittings, and > rebuilding my Harken furler. > Also, I just finished painting the mast and spreaders with a one-part paint. > > Now, I want to rewire the mast. Preparatory to the extraction, I labeled the > wires, marked fittings and blocks, and took MANY pics on my tablet. > I have removed the old VHF cabling, but I was unsuccessful in replacing it > with LMR-400 [.405" dia.]. For other 30-2 owners, I found [the hard way] > that it was too stiff and too big to fit. I could only get it about 40% down > the mast before it became hopelessly stucked. Therefore, I have removed it, > and re-ordered original type of cabling [rg-8x, .25" diameter]. > I was hoping to get the enhance performance from the lmr cabling, but it > won't happen, unfortunately. I will replace the vhf antenna. > > Now, I'm planning to replace electrical wires as well as light fixtures. > In doing a preliminary inspection, I found a "rat's nest" of wiring just > below the mast's exit hole, which lines up with the underside of the deck > when the mast is in the boat. It looks as though excess wiring was simply > pushed DOWN into the mast, and over time sagged further down [but still > beyond arm's length from mast's bottom]. > > Any "tips and tricks", including the best tools to use for re-wiring the > electricals will be greatly appreciated, i.e., extracting the old stuff and > installing the new. > > Fair Winds, > > Pete W. > Siren Song > '91 C&C 30-2 > Deltaville, Va. > > _______________________________________________ > > This list is supported by the generous donations of our members. If you wish > to make a contribution to offset our costs, please go to: > https://www.paypal.me/stumurray <https://www.paypal.me/stumurray> > > All Contributions are greatly appreciated!
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