E-35-2 mast wires?

[exoduse35]

I am sure someone knows this one: how do the wires get to the mast on a 35-2? It appears that they would run under the corner moldings in the head and then out the roof, but it would suck to rip all that finely finished wood out to find it ran through the roof.
What is the best way to get additional wires up the mast? the p/o ran the vhf ant. up the backstay and mine is without wind instruments. Can these wires be run without major surgery? or without removing the mast?

And a semi related question: How can the wires to the interior lights be serviced? the starboard overhead light in the main cabin is missing and the wires for it are barely visible through the hole they once protruded through. and the wires to the head have no power however the ones in the main and front cabins work fine and should be on the sane circuit.
Is there any good way to repair/replace these wires?
thanks in advance, and sorry if I should have done 2 posts. Edd/Exoduse35

 

[robjpowell]

mast wires

Re Mast wires,
My 1976 35-2 has the mast wires appearing from a hole in the middle of the mast step (cabin top). I am currently rewiring the mast and have elected to install a gland beside the mast and to use that to access the inside of the boat. I will just cut off and seal the old wires as it was not possible to add to them or rewire them without removal of the liner.

Re Cabin lights,
I also had this problem and after a lot of checking worked out that the wiring runs in the headliner about 4-6in in from the outside edge and has a T to each of the light locations. It started in the galley and went up the stbd side to the V-berth then back down the port side. In my case I had a break between the stbd settee and the V-berth. I opted to let it be and add juice to the nav station in order to power that side (careful checking of resistance indicated a clean break, also helped by removing and sealing wires that would have gone from the stbd settee light forward and the stbd V-berth aft). This has so far, 3 seasons, been satisfactory. Again the alternative removal of the liner was not an option in my mind (time/money/result matrix). As for fishing the broken end all I could do was make an enlarged hole and judiciously solder on extensions. This is all covered by a replacement fixture.

Good luck

Rob Powell

 

[gareth harris]

I don't think it would be feasible to replace the mast wiring with it standing, as the original wiring inside the mast was held from swinging by some sponges, and then the hole for the wires through the deck was not large.

The wires run down through the deck inside the mast, and then above the headliner, when I dropped my mast I ran new wires, cut a larger hole through the deck to accomodate a VHF coax in addition to the lights and masthead sensors, and placed a piece of pipe through the hole to stop water entering the boat. I ran the wires down through the head and along the port side of the boat to the CB panel.

The wiring in the interior of the boat was not high quality, so it is common for it to fail to provide a good connection once it is 25 years old. It was also caught up in the deck resin in a number of places so it could not be pulled through. I ended up just running all new wiring to every electrical item in the boat, removing what of the old stuff I had access to and leaving the rest.

gareth
Freyja E35 241 1972

 

[windjunkee]

The wires do run through a hole in the coach top and then into the mast. I replaced the coax cable to the VHF antenna with the mast standing. It was challenging, but if you buy a fish wire it becomes much easier. We ended up buying the fish wire midway through the process. You can get a fish wire at any big box home improvement center. There are holes on the side of the mast at the base which you will need to use to help guide the wires or cable through the coach top.
Here is the way we THOUGHT it was going to work -- cut the old coax, lash the new coax to the old and pull the old coax down through the mast, directly into the head. Sorry, but there were too many things inside the mast to make that work. The lashing wasn't strong enough and, in any event, made the cable at the lashing too big to fit through much of the interior of the mast. The lashing got stuck and then broke.

This is the way it finally did work -- dropped the fish wire down from the top of the mast and caught it at the access hole near the base of the mast. We whipped a nylon "parachute cord" line to the fish wire and pulled it back up the inside of the mast. We lashed the parachute cord to the new coax, this time making the connection as slim as possible. We then pulled the new coax down the mast to the base. From there, we cut the connection and used the fish wire to feed the wire from the mast base through the coach top.

When we had the mast off after the ground transportation back from Puerto Vallarta, we replaced all the electrical wires to the various mast lights.

Hope this helps.

Jim McCone
Voice of Reason E-32-2 Hull #134
Redondo Beach, CA

 

[Howard Keiper]

There is only one way to rewire the mast....and it must be removed. The old wires run through a hole in the step and down the compression post and adjacent to it to the bilge. They are usually covered by facia so you can't see the conductors. The hole will easily accommodate enough wires to take care of lighting requirements and RG 8x for the radio. As the mast is being lifted, I like to cut the wires above the deck, not below.
Howard Keiper
Berkeley

 

[exoduse35]

carefull inspection of the compression post inside the head seems to show that the corner is false between the bulkhead and where the head door closes. however I have felt around under the floor and find no sign of any wires. There is a pirce of molding that runs along the floor of the bulkhead, to the sink cabinetry. I also do not find any wires in the sink area. This seems to be the logical place to have run the wires, and in any event the best way to run any new wires. has anyone removed theese two pieces? If so are there any tips to get them off without damaging them or the wall as both are varnished. Or is there a better way to get wires to the base of the mast?