Wires Through Deck

Gary M · Post by **Gary M** » Apr 3rd, '06, 08:22

Here I am, back at the well of knowledge again!

I'm rewiring the mast on my CD22 for DC and VHF. I want the wires to go through the deck as close to the mast as possible, but I think I should avoid drilling through the mast support.

If I pierce the deck directly in front of the mast, how far away from the mast do you figure I should be?

What would be the best and cleanest deck fitting to use?

Any other comments? I think I have the rest of the project well in hand.

Thanks,

Gary

rtbates · Post by **rtbates** » Apr 3rd, '06, 08:39

I don't know the CD22 in particular, but in general I'd want to stay close enough to the mast so that the hole passes through solid fiberglass rather than the balsa core. On Seraph's, our 25D, mast wires the cabin roof exit hole is about 4" from the mast edge, forward and to port.

barfwinkle · Post by **barfwinkle** » Apr 3rd, '06, 13:19

Hi Gary

Here is a link to some pics of how I addressed this on board Rhapsody. The factory just drilled a hole and sealed it with caulk. I agree with Randy B to stay as close to the solid fiber glass as possible.

I completed this task several years ago and so far it works great. I think if I could find the next size up in conduit and fittings I would go to one inch ID stuff.

Fair Winds

http://www.rhapsodysails.com/mastwire.html

Gary M · Post by **Gary M** » Apr 3rd, '06, 22:19

Hey barfwinkle,

I like the way it looks too!

I've use this out door plastic conduit before and it lasts for ever out side in a residential environment.

I'm unsure of the thru-deck part of it. Its a 1 inch to 3/4 reducer and the conduit is 3/4 so is the hole through the deck one inch?

Does it thread on threaded pipe and then pulled tight with a plastic nut from underneath?

Is the mast support fiberglass, I guess I was imagining wood for the mast support. Who knows what a CD22 has but I could drill a very small exploratory hole and fill it later with epoxy if I didn't like what I saw. I was worried about drilling so close to the mast for structural reasons, but close is where I would like it!

Thanks for your help.

Gary

Kurt · Post by **Kurt** » Apr 3rd, '06, 22:50

I plan to implement a slight variation of Barfwinkle's solution. I'll use a small thru hull fitting to come up through the deck with the barb of the thru hull pointing straight up...then slip a piece to hose on the barb at one end and stick the other end of hose through a hole into the mast. Then run the mast wiring through the hose to a terminal block inside the cabin which will join the mast wires (DC & VHF) with the permanent wiring in the headliner.

barfwinkle · Post by **barfwinkle** » Apr 3rd, '06, 22:58

Hi Gary

I think you are correct in saying that the "nipple" in the deck is a 1" to 3/4" reducer. I cant honestly answer your question as to the hole in the deck. I do know that the conduit is 3/4" ID.

The 90° "gooseneck" at the mast is threaded into the conduit and for added leak proofing, sealed with caulk. I did find a "grommet" from O'Rielly's Automotive that fits it like a glove! It is part number 42317. Also, at the deck end, since I have trailered the boat in March and I may be doing so again in the near future, I used coax tape and covered it with white rigging tape to cover the VERY tacky coax tape, whick at least in my part of the world only comes in BLACK

If I was going to leave the boat at the same place for an extended period, I would use caulk at the deck as well. The coax & Rigging tape combination so far has worked well. The coax tape is quite messy

I hope this helps, and if you have other questions dont hesitate to ask.

fair winds

PS

Kurt where were you 3 years ago. Your method sounds really good. The only thing I would change in my setup would be to use 1" conduit if it is available.

bs

Kurt · Post by **Kurt** » Apr 3rd, '06, 23:15

Bill,
I stole the idea from Tim Lackey who so beautifully rebuilt his 1963 Pearson Triton Glassando. Everyone who reads this board should read what Tim has done with his boats. http://www.triton381.com/
Kurt

Gary M · Post by **Gary M** » Apr 5th, '06, 19:42

Thanks to all for your help, I'm narrowing in on a plan.

For whatever reason, I was thinking the mast support was fiberglass over wood, is it solid fiberglass? Are there no worries drilling a one inch hole so close to the mast and through the support?

Should I worry about a bronze fitting on an aluminum mast? If so I could stick with plastic.

Thanks,

Gary

Kurt · Post by **Kurt** » Apr 5th, '06, 21:25

Gary,
The deck area directly beneath the mast step on most Cape Dory's is steel cored fiberglass. The mast step bolts are threaded into said steel. Adjacent to the steel is solid fiberglass. Adjacent to the solid fiberglass is where the balsa core begins. The specifics vary among the different Cape Dory models. I plan to simply enlarge the hole drilled at the factory to mount a 1/2" thru hull fitting that will point up to accept a hose. NOTE: The thru hull goes in the deck, NOT the mast. A hose then goes over the thru hull and then simply sticks through a large hole drilled into the mast. The mast wiring will be fed through the hose....then the hose will be pushed into the mast and some temporary caulk can seal it until the next time the mast comes down.
If my description of all this isn't clear...let me know and I'll try to explain it in more detail
Kurt

Kurt · Post by **Kurt** » Apr 5th, '06, 21:38

I believe some Cape Dory's have the mast wiring deck hole in front of the mast. On others it's on the side of the mast. On others still it might come up behind the mast. Therefore, it's possible that the factory wiring hole could be drilled through the steel cored area of the deck or the solid glass area depending on where the hole is located. But I doubt any of the wiring holes are far enough away from the mast step to be drilled through the balsa cored area. Although when it comes to the way Cape Dory built boats over the years, almost anything could be possible (smile).

Gary M · Post by **Gary M** » Apr 5th, '06, 22:57

Thanks Kurt, very helpful.

I may have to rethink my plan.

My 12VDC wire that exists right now comes from below deck to inside the mast. The boat is equipped with a hinged step for lowering the mast and this step has a hole in the top and the bottom hinge, but the hole is not big enough to push the 12VDC plug into the mast, so the wire snakes outside the hinge, gets plugged in, then snakes back inside leaving the plug only exposed.

Maybe what I need to do is to enlarge the hole in the top of the hinge to accept both the 12VDC plug and the coax plug. Then enlarge the existing hole and rerun the wires.

This would make unstepping the mast a little more complicated then having the wires exposed were they can be disconnected before the mast is steped. I'm also unsure of how much I can enlarge the hole in the step.

Decisions, decisions. I hope to get down there this weekend, take some measurements and meditate!

Thanks, I appreciate all the help, it is important to me.

Gary

Kurt · Post by **Kurt** » Apr 5th, '06, 23:15

what if you were to eliminate the plugs on the mast wiring and just use crimped (and soldered) spade connectors on the ends of the wires? The wires might possibly feed down through hole in the mast hinge. Then you could install a terminal block inside the cabin near the mast step/hinge to accept the spade connectors

Oswego John · Post by **Oswego John** » Apr 5th, '06, 23:47

Gary,

... to run the wires through the mast hinge plate. Some people have a terminal strip on the cabin ceiling adjacent to the mast location. They crimp lugs onto the 12V mast wires.

They use a male/female plug for the antenna.. Both cables can be connected/ disconnected easily when stepping/unstepping the mast. All connections are inside, out of the weather.

This is not to say that Barfwinkle's method doesn't have a lot of merit. It's a great idea.

The hole in the mast hinge plate may be large enough as it is. It has to be at least large enough to pass the coax plug through. Pass the coax cable through first. Holding the coax cable against the side of the plate hole, determine if there is room for the 12V cable to also fit through.

If you think that there might be some cable abrasion when passed through the hole, they make plastic insert liners to protect the cables from wear. Measure the diameter of the hole and ask for a "Greenfield", or metallic flexible cable insert at any electrical supply house. ($.35)

If your hinge is made of quality stainless steel and you have to enlarge the existing hole, it can be done with a larger hole saw, but there are some special things you will have to do first. I suggest to measure first and if need be, we'll talk enlargement another time.

Good luck,
O J

gsd46 · Post by **gsd46** » Apr 6th, '06, 16:40

On my old boat I was able to purchase water tight 12 volt plugs to run the wires for the mast--came from Sea dog I think. On our CD 25 the wiring runs through the mast step and the connectors are inside the mast. I like this method because it leaves things uncluttered and the connectors are out of sight. This must have been the way our boat was wired from the factory. I installed a JRC radar on our mast and had to find a connector with 10 pins that was rugged and waterproof so we could plug and unplug the radar when we launched or retrieved our boat. What a pain it was to find the right connector to do this!!! Ended up getting something called an Amphenol connector from a local electrical supplier. This type connector has military applications and is expensive and ugly!! I used a 1/2 inch plastic through hull to run the wire through into the cabin--used 3M 5200 to seal it and it looks good.

Gary M · Post by **Gary M** » Apr 6th, '06, 21:02

Hi all, thanks for all the help.

John, I must be missing something. Your description sounds like exactly what I want but don't you have to seal the wires at deck level? Then when stepping the mast wouldn't you have to dig out all the sealant before you could pull the wires up from the cabin below? Or maybe you just pull on the wires and the sealant comes up easily, but then you would have to reseal them? Let me know, yours is the idea I would like to follow.

--------------

Originally I wanted my wires to exit the mast and run through the deck in a way that would alow me to disconnect the wires easily before stepping the mast.

Now I believe that I should redrill the existing hole which is in the mast step.

So I plan to redrill this hole from the center of the step to the cabin below. I only need 5/8th of an inch but may enlarge to 3/4 inch to allow for more room to spread 4200 at deck level.

Since my boat is equipped with a hinged step I will also enlarge the hole in the hinge to 3/4 or a full inch so it is possible to push all the connections through the hole and into the mast. I will tie wrap them together to prevent them form tangling the next time I want to pull them back out.

I'll use a tappered bit to enlarge the hole in the step, they work great.

I may use shrink wrap or rigging tape to protect the connectors or is that necessary.

The main disadvantage will be trying to perswade these wires back out of the hole when I step the mast in the future!

Once the wires are below deck they will probably be routed all the way to there destination with out a terminal strip. Unless I can figure out how it would be easy to disconnect them from below them pull them on through the deck. I still like this concept.

So what to you think. I appreciate it and hope I have time to start this project in the next couple of weeks,

By the way. This is primarily for a mast head antenae, I sure hope it is worth it!! I believe it is.

Gary

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Wires Through Deck

Wires Through Deck

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Rhapsody's Wire

I like your idea for Rapsody, how did.....

Okay, let's see if I can do this???

Is the mast support solid fiberglass?

another word...

I may have to rethink! Right now the wires..........

ANOTHER WAY...

Mast wiring through deck??

All right, here is Plan B....!