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This is a recap of what I mentioned in another post but it should have an independent posting of its own for possible reference to anyone facing a similar issue.
I’ve done my best to seek and cure any errant noises on Orion because they drive me nuts. It’s the intermittent ones that are most vexing as they are not consistently producing a sound. A few days ago a sound popped up on Orion while in the Gulf Stream. The Gulf Stream was unusually nasty, I described it via inReach text to my son as being in a washing machine riding a roller coaster. It was difficult just moving around in the cabin but using my fingertips I was able to feel the source of the low pitched squeak. It was a piece of trim capping a partial bulkhead where the trim met the molded headliner. I figured I’d have to listen to it until I made port. After a few more squeaks I took a drastic step to attempt an immediate interim fix. I jammed the blade of a putty knife into the offending gap. The noise immediately stopped!
Now that I’ve made port, proper remedial action will take place. All I need to do is increase the gap the width of a hacksaw blade, then I can put a bead of caulk there so it’s not a visible gap.
Here’s what I did to, hopefully, end the annoying squeak. First I went to a hardware store and bought a mousetrap…nah, just kidding. I used a hacksaw blade to remove a slice of the trim where it makes contact with the headliner. Due to space constraints I was working with just the blade, with one end taped up as a sort of handle. Then I slowly worked my way through the trim until I had removed just over 3/64”…how would I know that, because I measured the slice, calipers belong on a boat. The hacksaw blade is 1/32” thick so the gap is now 5/64”. Not much at all but I didn’t want it to stand out, just work.
Once I’ve made the trip back in a few weeks I’ll know if I was successful.
Just a follow-up to my original post…removing that thin slice of trim did cure the squeak! And I certainly gave it a thorough test. My trip back home from Bermuda took a week, and four of those days were in big seas and associated winds.
Wow. I just assumed all boats rattle and squeak. If Orion and Far Reach can be so quiet that evan a little squeaky trim is noticed then I have so much more work to do. Leoma is so rattley and noisy especially around the engine housing. Oh well. I have plenty to work on for the rest of my retirement. Its a healthy hobby
When I haul out at Ensenada in December I will unstep the mast, maybe put a tube in the step for the wires and find a way to silence the noisy wires inside. Now there is a foam piece that is supposed to help but its not very good
JD-MDR wrote: ↑Jul 13th, '24, 09:23
Wow. I just assumed all boats rattle and squeak. If Orion and Far Reach can be so quiet that evan a little squeaky trim is noticed then I have so much more work to do. Leoma is so rattley and noisy especially around the engine housing. Oh well. I have plenty to work on for the rest of my retirement. Its a healthy hobby
When I haul out at Ensenada in December I will unstep the mast, maybe put a tube in the step for the wires and find a way to silence the noisy wires inside. Now there is a foam piece that is supposed to help but its not very good
Several years ago I ran conduit inside the mast at the same time I replaced all my electronics and all the wires in the mast. My mast section has two sail slug tracks which run inside parellel and adjacent to the mainsail track. I bought the proper sized slugs and bound them to the conduit with Ancor cable ties, two for each slug. I used Super Lube on each slug, fed it in a foot or less and went through the same process until the 40+ feet of conduit was fed completely into the mast. The slugs being at an angle to each other allowed me to secure the conduit against the inner wall of the mast snugly. Then I ran the necessary cables in the conduit. It sounds a bit more complicated than it actually was, it went smoothly but I admit it was a great relief once completed.
Of course modern masts have integrated wire chases.
Listening to wires slapping inside the mast is a thing of the past so the project was well worth the effort.
This screen shot shows my mast section and you can see what is described as the internal sail slide tracks clearly.
My mast is a Spar Craft 330. It has two separate full length tabs running inside the mast. Their purpose is to support a PVC conduit which serve as a wire chase. You take very light PVC which you rip a slit in lengthwise and then run them down the mast slipped over the tab. Wires are then run inside. Very similar to what Jim describes. Only never had any wires in my mast until I added the steaming light this spring.
When I built the mast I installed a full length conduit on one tab in case I ever wanted to install an antenna or a mast head light on top of the mast. I never have. When I installed it I secured a full length messenger line in the conduit. Since the steaming light is only halfway up the mast I installed a second shorter conduit on the remaining tab only as long as necessary to accept the wire for the steaming light.
I can't imagine having wires whipping around inside the mast.
Attached photo I took the other day with an endoscope. In the photo you can each of the conduits.