antenna and light secured to the mast

[Ray Murray]

I have an old typhoon that I recently purchased and I want to mount a VHF Antenna and mast head light to the mast.

The easiest way is to drill holes and secure with s/s self tapping screws but I'm concerned about the ropes inside the mast caffing against the pointed screws.

Should I use rivits or tap the screws and use machine screws??

Your thoughts...

[Bill Goldsmith]

I would avoid the self-tappers altogether. They may save a couple of minutes on installation, but immediately begin the process of galvanic corrosion and cause a mess of corrosion after a few years. Not to mention the sharp points on the inside of the mast.

Drilling and tapping takes a little longer but results in a superior installation. Use Tef-gel or Lock-tite on the screws and you minimize or eliminate corrosion, plus you get a flat screw, not a sharp point on the inside.

I unstepped Loonsong's mast two years ago and replaced all the self-tappers with tapped machine screws, eliminating several nascent points of corrosion. I did the same with Second Chance back in '98. This will extend the life of the aluminum masts on our CDs.

Bill Goldmsith
CD32#2
Loonsong

P.O. CD27#173
Second Chance

[Will Wheatley]

When I first got Suzi Q the VHF antennae was run outside the mast to the masthead and the wire was taped to the mast. It was the kind of duct tape that looks like metal on one side and you have to peel the back of like a sticker to apply it. It was on every three feet or so and held up fine for a year or so. I stopped using that system when I rewired the whole mast a few years ago. You still have to use screws for the antennae mount but the tape thing is an alternative to drilling for the wire brackets.

Happy Sailoring~~~~/)~~~~

[Steve Laume]

For fittings that will not see and extreme amount of stress such as you are talking about simply pop riveting them to the spar should be fine. Drilling and tapping is not that much more trouble either. A good hand held VHF would save you all the trouble and wieght aloft of an antenna on your TY. A PO of our TY had mounted an antenna and did a pretty nice job of running the cable inside the mast. Nice that is untill we tried to sleep on the boat with a slight wave action. That cable kept banging inside the mast right over our heads and made an incredable amount of noise. We have a good hand held and pulled the cable right out of the mast with no regrets. Best of luck, Steve.

[Bill Goldsmith]

I would have some reservations going all-handheld, unless the boat will be sailed very close to shore or close to other yachts (and backup batteries are aboard). Although most Typhoons probably stay close to shore, I am reminded of Winthrop's solo offshore voyages in the Gulf of Mexico!

Your radio horizon for a handheld (assuming 6 feet above water) is only about 3 miles. Add to that the radio horizon of the receiving set and that is your range. Putting a vhf antenna at the top of the mast increases your radio horizon significantly--but even more importantly increases the number of receiving sets you will hit.

Add the fact that installed sets have 25 watts of transmitting power while handhelds have 5 watts at high power.

I'm not trying to be critical of the decision to go all-handheld, as that is a personal choice; rather, I wanted to express my opinion that the ship's radio should not be given up without due consideration of the benefits.

Check out the link below with a radio horizon calculator.

http://www.qsl.net/kd4sai/distance.html

Bill

[Steve Laume]

The radio horizon calculator is very interesting. Assumeing you wanted maximum range and were able to stand by the mast of a still floating Typhoon you would probibly be about 8' off the water. I figured a 30' hieght on the other end. That gives a range of 12 miles. If you get your TY antenna up around 20' it gives a range of 14 miles. It just doesn't seem worth the trouble for 2 miles of range to mess with mast wireing. We mostly used the radio to call the launch and to give us that warm fuzzy feeling that if we got into any really bad situation there may be some chance to call for assistance. In Fishers Island Sound range does not seem too critical in the sailing season as there are a lot of boats around. I originally got the radio for winter sea kayaking and the prospect of raising anyone but another member of our group seems dubious. A Block Island trip was as far as we got in the Typhoon and enven then we probibly could have raised another boat if need be. If you are planning a bunch of offshore trips or plan to be the first to circumnaigate in a TY you might want more radio power. The hand held, on a TY with limited battery power, is just another way to follow the KISS principle which makes those boats so much fun. Whateer works, Steve.

[Didereaux]

I use 'Nut Rivets' for such applications, last useage was for the small cheek blocks for my lazy jacks. You will find these in good hardware stores and fastener outfits. They work like this.

They are installed with a pop rivet tool that has the adapters for it (try Harbor Freight, they carry these tools they are heavy duty green w/lot of adapters about $16). The rivets are hollow and when installed you use normal SS machine screws (upto 1/8" I believe) I usually use #6-10 x 24 or some such for most apps.

Oddly Harbor Freight does NOT carry the actual Rivet Nuts, so I get them at Northern Tools...go figger!

Anyway the tool, the nuts and an assortment of regular pop rivets are almost an essential on a boat, at least I think so.

[winthrop fisher]

Hi...
just lay your mast down flat and go 3/4 of the way up your mast and put your light right there, you can drill two 3/16 holes and put screws or rivets, but the screws are so small it will not matter or weld with a lighter, you get these ones from a marine stores for $12.50 for a set, cheap but works and that is what they are for.
to run the wire use fishing weight round and line and at the deck use a perko light kit for water proof tight plug $15. there is only one.

as far as the mast for a vhf an antenna go to a marina store and ask for a sail boat vhf antenna that will cost you around $45 and thirty feet of wire sold by the foot.
while the mast is laying down take the L bracket and drill two 1/4 holes at the top of the mast and mount the bracket with the lighter kit and thats it.
to run the wire in the mast take a fishing lead weight (round) and fishing line and roll it down on the inside of the mast,
don't for get to pull the wire thought the top of the mast and down to the bottom,
at the bottom of the mast step to the side drill a hole into the mast a 1/4 inch and pull out all the extra wire,
then drill a hole 1/2 in to put the deck fitting and in place for the wire on both sides, this fitting goes through out your deck and into the boat,
you are all most done.
go inside the boat and cut the wire the right size lengh from the mast base to the radio and use wire ties to hold the wire up and out of way and screw it in to the radio, and thats that.
it sounds hard but it is pretty easy to do, just take your time.
if you have any question just ask.
i will give you a list of parts you will need.
winthrop

I have an old typhoon that I recently purchased and I want to mount a VHF Antenna and mast head light to the mast.

The easiest way is to drill holes and secure with s/s self tapping screws but I'm concerned about the ropes inside the mast caffing against the pointed screws.

Should I use rivits or tap the screws and use machine screws??

Your thoughts...