Hole in deck for multiple cables

Sandy said:
Lots of deck glands on the market.

Why anybody needs GPS aerials these days is beyond me. All the kit onboard with GPS capability, VHF, AIS, chart plotter and mobile phone all work below decks.
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Perhaps some of us are still using old equipment with no internal aerial?

And my fairly new Matsutec 33A AIS transponder has an external GPS aerial.

- W
 
webcraft said:
Perhaps some of us are still using old equipment with no internal aerial?

And my fairly new Matsutec 33A AIS transponder has an external GPS aerial.

- W
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Doesn't always need an internal GPS antenna, most modern external GPS will work below decks, the Matsutec almost certainly will, worth a try. Some older stuff will need to be on deck.
 
PaulRainbow said:
Doesn't always need an internal GPS antenna, most modern external GPS will work below decks, the Matsutec almost certainly will, worth a try. Some older stuff will need to be on deck.
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What internal 'external' aerial do you suggest for the Matsutec? I don't want a plague of plastic mushrooms down below.

- W
 
webcraft said:
What internal 'external' aerial do you suggest for the Matsutec? I don't want a plague of plastic mushrooms down below.

- W
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The mushroom that you have will work below decks if in Fiberglass , metal may cause more interference, only one mushroom needed if you can get a data link from it to other devices
All my GPS work inboard a cabin house.
 
webcraft said:
I have two GPS aerial cables currently feeding through the aft deck to two separate GPS aerials. At the moment the cables seem to pass through some sort of mastic bodge splodge.

One of the aerials is faulty and I am going to replace it. There is also the possibility that in the very near future I will want to run a third cable through the deck for a pushpit-mounted AIS aerial.

What do the team recommend for a neat and leakproof way of running multiple cables through the deck? The initial hole needs to be big enough to get soldered on plugs through, as I would prefer not to have to resolder them. It would also be ideal if the arrangement permitted cables to be changed/added/removed in future with relative ease.
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I had pretty much the same requirements on our solar arch (several cables, possible further changes/additions). I solved it with a single DG30 deck gland through which I put a plastic cable conduit (the corrugated stuff, I got a UV stable variety, in grey to match the stainless). The conduit goes up and ends underneath a solar panel. I considered plugging/gooping the end after installing the cables, but never did and it never let any water into the locker below. All the cables run through that conduit, and you can simply add/remove them. Plugs up to the size of the conduit will also go through, although below deck the cables are joined in a protected box in my case.

I noticed the other day that this is also how outboard rigging tube is solving a similar problem for boats with big outboard engines.
 
MikeCC said:
That's the one. One slit from hole to edge to pop the cable in. Of course you only need to put one connector through at a time. If only doing 2 of a possible 4 remember to space the holes suitably. A 30mm may do if only 3 cables expected.
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+1

I used one (of an earlier design) to pass three wires through on previous boat. You take out an individual wire by removing the rubber bung and taking the wire out its slit, the connector then passes out of the bigger centre whole of the main fitting. Much better to have the connections below deck.

https://www.indexmarine.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/Index-Marine-Waterproof-Gland-Installation-Guide-2-2.pdf
 
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I find the Scanstrut glands work best although they are more expensive than those from Index Marine. Anything that need a hole drilled through the rubber is a PITA in my experience.
 
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