Mast wiring - what type?

[mattonthesea]

I've got the mast down and am re-wiring it. But I wondered, given the inaccessibility and exposure to harsh conditions, whether there is a best practice and type of wire to use.

The new tri-light cam with 30cm of wire. What's the best type of connection or device to use? The hole in the mast is less than 1cm across so I'm not sure how to make sure that the weight of the wire inside does not undo a thin connection.

Thanks

 

[PetiteFleur]

You must used 'tinned copper cable', then you won't get any corrosion. Not sure what make your tri-light is but with Aquasignal you wire directly into the terminals in the base. If you have wires coming out of your lamp then I would solder them to the incoming cable with shrink wrap covering the joint and wrap the whole connection area in self-amalgamating tape. This should make it waterproof. From memory I used 1.5mm sq. 3 core tinned copper cable from Furneaux Riddall & Co Ltd. - 30m for about £40. Other suppliers are available(I've used ebay as well).

 

[pvb]

As well as using tinned cable, be sure to provide some sort of strain relief at the top of the mast. Some people use rubber-lined P-clips to support the cable.

 

[johnalison]

My masthead wires come out through a grommet. They then form a loop which is attached to the mast, providing cable relief before they pass into the light. If I were rewiring, I would used tinned wire, but there are plenty of boats like mine going around happily without for many years, provided the ends are taken care of.

 

[nemodreams]

Bear in mind if you keep all your masthead stuff led - the volt drop is so much less of an issue - and generally you can use lighter gauge wire. Anchor and sailing light can share neutral - they are not on together. So a three core can do nav and anchor - just one run to top.
Also - think hard about how high you really want your steaming light ? - check the col regs - they can go quite low. Saves a trip to the spreaders when it goes duff !

When I did mine ( pre led days ) I modified the top unit so the entire lights anchor and nav were fixed with a lug and one wing nut. The cable is attached with a Belkin inline - so if up the mast I can unscrew belkin - unscrew wing nut and bring the whole thing down for overhaul.

 

[BelleSerene]

As well as using tinned cable, be sure to provide some sort of strain relief at the top of the mast. Some people use rubber-lined P-clips to support the cable.

This is critical, unless you can open the light box, wire your cable into it and support the cable at the grommet. Otherwise as PVB says, your solder joint will be suspending an entire mastlength of cable, and the union will last just long enough for you to have got out sailing...