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Catalina/Capri 25/250 Sailor's Forums

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Mast Wires

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frich
Captain

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USA
418 Posts

Initially Posted - 05/09/2002 : 07:36:42

Splash down this saturday and I have found out my mast lights do not work. The mast has been stepped and I am wondering if I should go ahead and replace the wire inside the mast.

I have tried to pull on the wires at the mast and and the light near the spreaders with no success. Is this a tough job to snake new marine wire up the mast?

Thanks

Frank Rich
84 C25 SK

Edited by - on

Champipple
Master Marine Consultant

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USA
6855 Posts

Response Posted - 05/09/2002 : 08:07:29

<BLOCKQUOTE id=quote>quote:<hr height=1 noshade id=quote>

Splash down this saturday and I have found out my mast lights do not work. The mast has been stepped and I am wondering if I should go ahead and replace the wire inside the mast.

I have tried to pull on the wires at the mast and and the light near the spreaders with no success. Is this a tough job to snake new marine wire up the mast?

Thanks

Frank Rich
84 C25 SK

<hr height=1 noshade id=quote></BLOCKQUOTE id=quote>

Before you get ahead of yourself, are the bulbs okay?

Duane Wolff
"The Flying Wasp"
C-25, #401 std,sk
Chief Measurer C-25/250 national Org.
<img src="http://im1.shutterfly.com/procserv/47b2dc20b3127cce9cd2f45b211a0000004010" border=0>

Edited by - on

frich
Captain

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USA
418 Posts

Response Posted - 05/09/2002 : 15:18:42

Duane

Bulbs are all new, wire was disconnected at the foot. I now have continuity but the wire doesnt look good.

Splash down this saturday and I have found out my mast lights do not work. The mast has been stepped and I am wondering if I should go ahead and replace the wire inside the mast.

I have tried to pull on the wires at the mast and and the light near the spreaders with no success. Is this a tough job to snake new marine wire up the mast?

Thanks

Frank Rich
84 C25 SK

[/quote]

Before you get ahead of yourself, are the bulbs okay?

Duane Wolff
"The Flying Wasp"
C-25, #401 std,sk
Chief Measurer C-25/250 national Org.
<img src="http://im1.shutterfly.com/procserv/47b2dc20b3127cce9cd2f45b211a0000004010" border=0>

[/quote]

Edited by - on

jm
Captain

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Canada
290 Posts

Response Posted - 05/09/2002 : 15:58:54

Frank - the preferred (i.e. easiest) method of re-wiring the mast is to join the new length of wire to the end of the old, and pull it through. Best accomplished with the mast being horizontal, at ground level. You'll find the wires tend to grab and snag on the various machines screws holding various parts to the mast, and you may want to back them out to perform the wire pulling process. If you don't want to drop the mast, then either way, your going to have to go up top. (either to make the splice/join to the old so you can pull down the new, or suspend yourself up there to pull the new wire up.) If I had to do this job with the mast stepped, I'd rather pull from the deck level - unless you're a lumberjack capable of doing the tree-topping event - then it might be a walk-in-the-park to do it up top.

Edited by - on

tapinkham
1st Mate

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USA
36 Posts

Response Posted - 05/09/2002 : 16:21:22

Frank,

I have an 83 and I just finished pulling all the wires out
and replaced them. I had a HECK of a time getting the wires
out as there were pieces of foam attached to the wire. The
foam was spaced every couple of feet for noise prevention I
assume.
I'm not sure if your setup is the same but I will tell you
I don't think I could have done this with the mast stepped.

Good luck and thanks for the tip on the sheaves. THey were
shipped today.

-Tim

Edited by - on

jm
Captain

Members Avatar

Canada
290 Posts

Response Posted - 05/09/2002 : 16:24:54

I had that same foam - actually i think it was neoprene because it was still in pretty good shape - I didn't offer this info up in my previous post because I thought it was just the DPO that installed it - sounds like it might be a Catalina OEM job !

And your bang on - it didn't make the job any easier. To replace it, I used the foam pipe insulation pieces (3 ft) and put them on every 8 feet or so - still had a heck of a time getting past the spreader area. There is a compression 'post' I didn't want to mess around with in that area.

Edited by - jm on 05/09/2002 16:44:19

Edited by - on

Champipple
Master Marine Consultant

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USA
6855 Posts

Response Posted - 05/09/2002 : 17:21:59

Keep in mind that if you use the old wire as a snake when pulling, depending on how the original wire was run, It could be tied off at the steaming light.

I would recommend dropping the mast and starting from scratch, however keep in mind the 3 prong deck connector that was originally on the boat are tough to find, which means rewiring all the way around!!!

DW

Duane Wolff
"The Flying Wasp"
C-25, #401 std,sk
Chief Measurer C-25/250 national Org.
<img src="http://im1.shutterfly.com/procserv/47b2dc20b3127cce9cd2f45b211a0000004010" border=0>

Edited by - on

Derek Crawford
Master Marine Consultant

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USA
3323 Posts

Response Posted - 05/09/2002 : 18:30:12

Duane - I just bought a new deck connector - Cat.Direct only had 4 prong. My wires are 3 in number....they told me "just leave one hole unused."
Derek

Edited by - on

Champipple
Master Marine Consultant

Members Avatar

USA
6855 Posts

Response Posted - 05/10/2002 : 08:15:41

<BLOCKQUOTE id=quote>quote:<hr height=1 noshade id=quote>
Duane - I just bought a new deck connector - Cat.Direct only had 4 prong. My wires are 3 in number....they told me "just leave one hole unused."
Derek

<hr height=1 noshade id=quote></BLOCKQUOTE id=quote>
Yes, but try connecting that three prong on your deck to the four prong coming off the mast! Doesn't work too well!!! and when you take the one off the deck you have about 2 inches of wire to work with if you lucky...

DW

Duane Wolff
"The Flying Wasp"
C-25, #401 std,sk
Chief Measurer C-25/250 national Org.
<img src="http://im1.shutterfly.com/procserv/47b2dc20b3127cce9cd2f45b211a0000004010" border=0>

Edited by - on

Derek Crawford
Master Marine Consultant

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USA
3323 Posts

Response Posted - 05/10/2002 : 12:20:04

Duane - I have a 3 prong on both mast end and deck end...one of the wires corroded off at the deck portion of the connector and it's going to be great fun (!) to connect splices to install the new connector. Why Catalina had to scrimp on wire is beyond me. How much can an extra 3" of wire (x3)cost?
Derek

Edited by - on

jm
Captain

Members Avatar

Canada
290 Posts

Response Posted - 05/10/2002 : 17:00:09

Don't forget, Frank's the same guy who used a piece of copper pipe for a thru hull. I bet he's lurking on this board having a good chuckle right now ! Can't complain though - he put me into a sailboat, and it's not a Grampian or a McGregor !

oops. did I say that out loud ?

Edited by - on

Bristle
Admiral

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USA
834 Posts

Response Posted - 05/10/2002 : 22:01:40

JM: They did change to plastic, flush-mount thru-hulls by 1985 (my vintage)... But I can't explain why they started with those scary to-hulls. A C-25 next to mine in the boatyard has them, and I hope to be able to talk to its owner about them.

I'm trying to solve the mast light problem too--if I need to, I'll just run new wires between the panel and the mast, routed similarly to those for the cabin lights--or through the bilge and up inside the head area. I don't know why they ran them between the liner and the coachroof to begin with, and see no need to perpetuate that mistake.

Dave Bristle, 1985 C-25 SR-FK #5032 "Passage" in CT

Edited by - on

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