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Routing antenna coax through roof

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delliottg
Former Mainsheet C250 Tech Editor

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USA
4479 Posts

Initially Posted - 02/17/2008 : 16:36:29

OK, I know we've been over & over this, but I just spent <i>another </i>couple of hours with a friend's help trying to get a fish tape through the top of the cabin to the transverse tunnel. The furthest we got was maybe 2' in at which point it gets wedged so hard that we thought we were going to end up with a piece of fish tape permanently attached.

I tried going the other way as well, and couldn't seem to get through the stanchion bolt area. I suspect that's just because I couldn't et the tape around that corner, but that's not the real problem, it's getting in from the other direction.

So, how do you do it? Go through the corner of the upper light panel? That seems to be the most obvious place, and it was where we were able to get the furthest. We tried going from the breaker panel as well, but could only get up to the light panel easily.

David
C-250 Mainsheet Editor

Sirius Lepak
1997 C-250 WK TR #271 --Seattle area Port Captain --

Edited by - on

Nautiduck
Master Marine Consultant

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USA
3704 Posts

Response Posted - 02/17/2008 : 19:17:22

I went from the light fixture (the spot lights) on the starboard side by the mast area. Took the light out and then fished to starboard and a bit forward. Took a while but the tape finally came out beneath the team trim that melds the cabin lower and cabin upper. Forward of the fore starboard port. Then I forced the coax up behind the teak trim all the way to the panel. The coax is actually stuck behind the upper interior shell. I did not attempt a route that goes all the way in the cabin roof and I doubt there is one. Catalina routed their cabling up there while the boat was still being built.

Edited by - Nautiduck on 02/17/2008 19:18:41

delliottg
Former Mainsheet C250 Tech Editor

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USA
4479 Posts

Response Posted - 02/17/2008 : 20:15:03

Randy,
I tried that route as well, but poking up from underneath the trim up towards the stbd midships stanchion area. I've been contemplating a route down the side of the boat up under the trim then pop the cable out and up to the light/stanchion area, but I'd much rather have it as you say so it's invisible. I noticed that the power cable actually seem to be embedded in the fiberglass in the roof, so as you say, they did it while it was being built & they just got glassed in. Perhaps I've been envisioning what you guys did incorrectly all along. I'll try the poking through from the light/stanchion area down to the trim piece, then the rest of the run is cake from there.

Edited by - on

Al
Captain

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USA
269 Posts

Response Posted - 02/17/2008 : 20:34:56

<blockquote id="quote"><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica" id="quote">quote:<hr height="1" noshade id="quote">Took the light out and then fished to starboard and a bit forward. Took a while but the tape finally came out beneath the team trim that melds the cabin lower and cabin upper. Forward of the fore starboard port.<hr height="1" noshade id="quote"></font id="quote"></blockquote id="quote">

This worked for me too, but it took a lot of poking in slightly different places before it finally made it through. I may also have given up on the fish tape and used a wire coat hanger, since the diameter of the wire was much smaller than the head of the fish tape.

If/when you do get it through, be sure to leave a messenger line up there for next time (true for anytime you have to "go fishin'")

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Nautiduck
Master Marine Consultant

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USA
3704 Posts

Response Posted - 02/18/2008 : 10:50:38

I cut the head/hook off the fish tape. Otherwise it is much harder to get it through. Also, use a strong thin nylon "pull string" and make sure it is well secured to your coax for that final pull. I bought real electrician's pull string at a hardware store. Not expensive and you get a zillion feet of it in a plastic container. It does take some muscle to get through and you don't want to lose the string and start over again. Don't ask me how I know that.

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delliottg
Former Mainsheet C250 Tech Editor

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USA
4479 Posts

Response Posted - 02/18/2008 : 11:27:23

Sounds like maybe some pulling [url="http://www.polywater.com/dynablue.html"]snot[/url] is in order. It's another sunny, cold day in the PNW, so I'm headed out shortly to try this. Not sure if my local HW store is open if I need the lubricant since it's a holiday. Probably dish soap would work nearly as well, and I know Rita's got some of that on board already.

I already bought the reel of pulling line, something like 500' of nylon line or so. I've got two runs of it inside the mast now, one outside the conduit, and another inside of it. Handy stuff to have around.

Edited by - delliottg on 02/18/2008 11:30:57

delliottg
Former Mainsheet C250 Tech Editor

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USA
4479 Posts

Response Posted - 02/18/2008 : 20:02:55

Woohoo! Success!

It took me a number of tries to figure out where the hole was, then had to cut the tip off the fish tape to get it through as Randy suggested. I wasn't able to pull the coax back through no matter what I did, the hole was just too narrow, and the tape, pull string & coax was just too big around. I managed to pull the string off of the end of the coax a couple of times, finally I'd had enough.

Here's how I was finally able to get it done: I pulled out all the pull strings, then ran the tape through one more time. Once it was poking out beneath th teak trim (see second picture), I bent about a 1" hook into the end of the tape and squeezed it down as tight as I could get it. I took the end of the coax and milked it so that the core was pulled inside about 3" or so, then shoved the end of the tape into the exposed sheath. Using some of the smaller diameter pull string, I tied a [url="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Constrictor_knot"]constrictor [/url]knot above where the hook was in the tape inside the sheath to lock the tape inside the sheath. I trimmed the sheath to a point and used a tiny bit of tape to keep it aligned with the end of the fish tape. In the picture you can see the bend in the coax where the core starts again.

I gooped up the end with some dish soap and voila, it pulled right through on the first try:

For anyone trying to follow my footsteps, here's a quick run down:

Cut the end off of your fish tape so it's just as small as it can be.
Remove the starboard reading light just to the right of the mast support post.
Run the fish tape in from the light hole, aiming towards the front of the tunnel, to the left of the stanchion bolts if you're looking to starboard. Keep poking until the tape goes through, this takes a bit of finesse. Once it goes, you'll hear it run down between the inner & outer fiberglass panels. It'll probably hang up a bit just as it's trying to come out the bottom under the teak trim. I found that if you keep jabbing with the tape, it'll finally pop out. I used a pair of vise grips to grab it with and pull the rest of the way through. Use the procedure outlined above to pull the coax through if using pull strings won't work.

Once the coax is through, you can tuck it under the teak trim that runs from the galley forward towards the anchor locker. It's actually not under the trim, but under the edge of the fiberglass. The one tricky spot is right at the galley trim, there's a vertical piece of trim that is hard to get it around. I simply tucked it up as close as I could, then pulled it tight on either end.
Once as far aft as the trim piece goes, it's quite easy to route the coax up towards the breaker panel and/or upper light panel.

Edited by - delliottg on 02/19/2008 14:49:01

Tom Potter
Master Marine Consultant

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USA
1913 Posts

Response Posted - 02/18/2008 : 21:46:32

David,
I tell me about the wood on your cabin walls, is that something you did or Catalina? It's the first time I've seen that in a 250 and I'm very intrigued. Could you post some more pictures?

Edited by - Tom Potter on 02/18/2008 21:48:21

delliottg
Former Mainsheet C250 Tech Editor

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USA
4479 Posts

Response Posted - 02/18/2008 : 22:33:17

Tom,
Actually neither, they were in place when we bought the boat, I think the PO installed them, but not sure. They're foam strips that look like wood. I'm of two minds about them, they look nice but I don't really like faux finishes on stuff. I don't know much else about them.

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Nautiduck
Master Marine Consultant

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USA
3704 Posts

Response Posted - 02/19/2008 : 14:30:58

Congratulations David!

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bill bosworth
Navigator

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USA
172 Posts

Response Posted - 03/17/2008 : 05:28:38

David;
Just wanted to say thank you for your description, I followed your directions and ran the coax with no trouble at all. Belonging to this organization has payed off again!

Bill
C250 #134 Serendipity
On Beautiful Kerr Lake, N.C.

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delliottg
Former Mainsheet C250 Tech Editor

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USA
4479 Posts

Response Posted - 03/17/2008 : 08:50:13

Bill,
You're quite welcome. I realized there may be other folks out there, that like me, thought they understood what the process was, but really didn't. Once I had it figured out, I thought it was a good idea to document it (I do this all the time at work as well). That way folks who come along behind me can figure it out w/o lots of 'splaining.

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