Wiring in mast

[BillyBudd]

Hi Mates! The 20' mast is about ready to go together. 8-sided hollow, I'll split it after it sets up with epoxy (a saranwrap trick learned here on the WBForum), then add stiffeners and wires for the anchor light that'll be at the top. My first thought was to lay the wires (12ga. stranded copper, auto store bought, not tinned) in the epoxy. Then, seeing a photo Bob Smalser put up, getting some light weight plastic piping, epxoying it to the stiffeners within, and using that as conduit. Good for wire changing. But will it rattle and all that? Wife suggests maybe some flexible plastic tubing. Mast facts: max. o.d. = 4", min. o.d. = 2.5", Length = 20'. Staves 0.8" thick before shaping. Replacement thoughts, some years down the line, have me thinking of having wires that can be pulled. Almost finished with boat! Next season: on the water. Suggestions?

[Dayton Eckerson]

PVC pipe works well as conduit and won't create any noise. Always a good idea to put in a few extra wires just in case. Strongly suggest you reconsider going with untinned wire -- false economy unless you work for less than $.25 per hour.
--Dayton Eckerson

[Gary E]

Are you sure you MUST have a light up there?
Do you plan on spending the night out there is such a small boat?

Most small sailboats do not, they use a light mounted on the stern, but if you really need the light higher or the stern mounted light is a glare, hang it from the halyard while anchored.

Who gona go up to the tippy top and change the bulb? little kid maybe?

Then again, put the wires in and you can say "your wired" smile.gif

[ssor]

Nylon cable ties set in clusters of three on the conduit with the tails spaced 120 degrees will center the conduit in the mast, allow some movement and prevent any rattles. Just don't cut off the tails. smile.gif
Edited to add: masthead anchor lights look alot like stars or lights along shore. A light on a halyard, a little above head high, lights the sails and rigging.

[ 10-13-2005, 01:19 PM: Message edited by: ssor ]

[Jay Greer]

PVC is my own material of choice for wire conduit in masts. I have used spacer doughnuts cut out of 5/8" closed cell foam to keep the PVC in place. Drain holes are a must plus large saw tooth edges for extra drainage.

[Don Z.]

Originally posted by Gary E:
[QB]Are you sure you MUST have a light up there?
Do you plan on spending the night out there is such a small boat?

Most small sailboats do not, they use a light mounted on the stern, but if you really need the light higher or the stern mounted light is a glare, hang it from the halyard while anchored.
QB]Ummm COLREGS? Sailboat under power requires a...?

Alternate method of lighting for a sailboat, not under power... if you want to use one bulb instead of three is...?

[ 10-13-2005, 02:02 PM: Message edited by: Don Z. ]

[Bruce Hooke]

Regarding rattling inside PVC goes, I think you'll find that if you don't go wildly oversize with the PVC then the natural stiffness of the wire will keep it from having enough "slack" to shift from side to side and rattle as the boat rolls. I have been on a boat where there were unrestrained wires inside the aluminum mast and the noise was REALLY annoying, especially in a basically quiet anchorage with just enough roll to knock the wires back and forth every couple of seconds! I certainly would plan for being able to pull new wires at some point in the future.

Regarding the need for lights...if you are just talking about an anchor light then I agree with the other folks who have said that you are probably better off with a light you hang up in the rigging. On the other hand, if you will regularly be underway at night then there are some big advantages to a masthead light:

1. You only need one bulb so you use less electricity, or you can use a bigger wattage bulb and get more range. On a boat that does not have a motor that can generate electricity the electricity budget can get very tight.

2. There is no risk of the lights being hidden by the sails.

3. The partial way around the blanketing issue is to put the lights right at deck level, which really gets them down close to the water. With an anchor light you can go for an ideal intermediate position. On the running lights you obviously cannot do this, so while there is the risk of the stern light looking like a star if it is at the masthead, I would rather take that risk than take the risk of the lights not being seen because they are too low.

4. Most really small boats do not have a bow & stern pulpits, which are often good places to mount "deck level" lights, so you are stuck with the ones that mount right on the deck (or with "fancy" solutions like mounting them on the shrouds, where they WILL be blankted by the jib in many cases, or rigging up some sort of pole mount). The lights that mount right on the deck are mostly junk in my experience.

HOWEVER, there is one big disadvantage to tri-color masthead running lights, which is that they are not legal if you are under power. So, if you are going to be under power at times then you need to figure out some way to get port, starboard and stern lights somewhere down close to deck level plus a steaming light partway up the mast.

Keep in mind that (as I recall) slow speed boats under 7 meters LOD are just required to keep a white light handy that they can show in time to avoid a collision, so a bright flashlight may be all you need in the way of running lights. If you will be sailing in really busy waters then it would still be wise to have proper running lights, but if you will mostly be in more remote areas (or only very rarely sailing at night) then it becomes less of an issue.

[Figment]

Originally posted by ssor:
Nylon cable ties set in clusters of three on the conduit with the tails spaced 120 degrees will center the conduit in the mast, allow some movement and prevent any rattles. This is overkill, I think.
A single sturdy ziptie has the effect of holding the cable against the side of the mast. Spacing 2 or 3 feet apart is sufficient to prevent noise.

I agree with Dayton regarding the untinned wire, though.

I further agree with GaryE. For such minimal occasional use a light on a halyard is much better bang for the buck.

[Bob Smalser]

Never untinned wire.

Even in trucks and machinery that live out in the weather.

If you've never had to make an emergency repair on old wiring too corroded to solder, then I recommend it.