Mast internal slides to secure wire bundle ... ?

[fmueller]

This years project is mast and spar TLC and re-config. ...

Actually had no idea there were/are two internal tracks to hold very small slides to secure wires. What I did know is that I had loose wires (for some reason) and annoying slapping noise. Turns out a boatyard who shall remain nameless (BWSRN ) simply "hung" a new VHF cable when I asked for a new one 4 years ago. (last time the mast was down) and I didn't notice right away. The older bundle (original ??) was properly attached to the mini track via these very small slides ...

I've read some previous threads and can't source slides this small - which are a bout 3/4" long, 1/2" tall and near as I can measure, 7/32 wide (caliper is still down on the boat as I post this).

Been searching for an hour ... no luck on the Sail Rite web space ... nothing this small ... these even seem small for a dinghy !!! Are they for furling rigs ?? I'd rather find new than harvest old - some of which broke on the way out (had to yank) or were broken. I'll tip the mast and flow WD 40 on the rebuild to avoid binding.

Any suggestions ??

thanks

Fred

(As a side note, one screw from a 4" cleat installed on my mast (aftermarket probably) partially obstructs the port-side internal track - something I would never have considered. Not the one in the picture - that view is from the mast end. I am thinking of working up a cunningham cleat/block arrangement; I'll have to keep in mind to avoid tapping into these internal tracks.)

[tjr818]

Try here:
https://www.rigrite.com/Spars/SparParts ... onents.php

I was able to get these several years back, they seem to still be advertising them.

[Paul D.]

I would stay away from using slugs inside the mast. They get dirty and jam. I had a terrible business pulling those out.

When we purchased Femme the wires banged incessantly even in calm anchorages. It was very annoying and I moved rewiring to the top of the list. When we rewired, I used messenger lines and after pulling all the wires out (the hardest and longest task due to the slugs) I bunched the wires and tied large plastic wire ties in bunches of four or five around the wire bundle every 15" with the tails sticking out in different directions in order to prevent the bundle from slapping inside. Then I pulled the bundle back through with the messenger lines. There has been absolute silence since and the lights and VHF work well, so this has been very effective. Note though that Femme does have exterior halyards. If I ever ran them internally, I think they would not mess up that plan as they would find their way down through the wire ties and they would reset themselves, stabilizing the wire bundle.

Possibly one could used the slides attached to a PVC pipe conduit and run that up and the wires through it but I've no experience with that method. That way though you could add and remove individual wires at leisure. In the wire tie method, they 'all in it together!

Hope this helps,

Good luck,

[fmueller]

Thanks Tim,

Don't know why I didn't look at Rig Rite - although I've never actually been successful ordering from them - the process was opaque.

those are the ones ... for sure.

Paul,

I've heard of the cable tie method and that's what I thought I'd be doing ... I'll just have to think it through now, and that assumes I can get Rig Rite to respond. The old bundle was hard to remove but mostly because there was an errant screw partially obstructing the groove the old bundle was in ... There was a pretty phenomenal amount of caked alu. oxide in the grooves and just generally all over everything ... makes you wonder about water ingress or condensation.


thanks

[Jim Walsh]

In the fall of 2018 I rewired my mast in prep for replacing all my electronics. All the light fixtures on the mast were upgraded to LED at the same time.
A previous owner had some of the wires wire tied to sail slides and used the slots in the mast o secure them. The sail slides were not evenly spaced along the length of the wires and large sections were just slapping inside the mast. I just removed it all.
I used electrical conduit with the flared ends and glued them together with PVC cement. My mast is 46’ long so it took three 12’ sections and one partial section. I had to measure very carefully to cut a slot for my steaming light/deck light and my radar wires to exit where needed.
The conduit is held in place every 18” (or less) with two sail slides attached to the conduit with two wire ties each and set at a 45° angle. A key tool for this job was a wire tie tensioner which applies an even pressure and snips off the excess at the same time. The entire section was preassembled outside the mast. It was slid into place with help because the whole section was droopy. I greased up each sail slide and inserted them into the tracks while my helpers fed the conduit into the mast. Just as insurance there is one 5/16” bolt through the conduit at the base of the mast which ensures no wires are subjected to any load bearing stress. The whole thing went off without a hitch and is much simpler to accomplish than to explain.
I just happened to have the correct size sail slugs so I didn’t buy any. All my remaining slugs were given away at the Northeast Fleet free raffle last year.

[John Ring]

When I rewired Tiara's mast (CD36) a few years ago I found plastic slides on Sailrite that were a little big, then just shaved the slider part down a little on a 1" belt sander. They slid into the internal mast track & held the wiring harness just fine.

John Ring
CD36 Tiara

[tjr818]

Sailrite vs Rigrite?? the choice is obvious.

[fmueller]

thanks everyone ...

I'm just not seeing the very small slides I would need on the Sailrite site ... maybe I'll just call ...

Fred

[wikakaru]

I think the slugs were probably a jury rig. Those slots don't look to me like they were designed for slugs, but rather to hold a tab on a conduit.

It's not the same fit as in your photo, but take a look here: https://lackeysailing.com/wp-content/up ... -42016.jpg

Maybe you could try splitting several different diameters and thicknesses of PVC conduit and PVC pipe and see if any of them, once split, have the right size and amount of "spring" for the cut edges to grab the two slots. Then you would have a permanent conduit inside the mast, which would probably be your best solution.

Or maybe this stuff would work: https://www.go2marine.com/trident-wire- ... duit-split

Or maybe someone knows of a source for the original conduit actually designed to fit those slots...