mast wiring

[Ardenfour]

does anyone have any suggestions of how to stop internal cables running inside the mast from slapping around with every wavelet? I'd like to tackle this without having to unstep the mast and while keeping the boat on the water. Drilling a hole in the mast near the top and filling with polystyrene beads from beanbag, etc. sounds fine in theory, til I visualise myself one-handedly trying to maneouver said bag with funnel/pipe/whatever 25ft up a swaying pole coaxing however many beads it takes to fill a mast.
desperately have to find a solution - chinese water torture doesn't have a look in!

Help

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[BrendanS]

There have been many posts on this in the past. Have a search. The most popular solution seems to be putting plastic ties on the cables, with three ties together with their legs sticking out at120 degree angles - this doesn't meet your criteria of not unstepping mast however!

<hr width=100% size=1>Me transmitte sursum, caledoni

 

[Jools_of_Top_Cat]

Don't know about doing anything useful with the mast stepped, but this winter when I unstepped mine I solved the problem for very little cost and leaving myself the ability to extract cables with very little effort. Filling the mast with polystyrene is ok until you need to add new cables etc.

I bought six 4ft lengths of foam pipe insulation from the plumbers merchant. Tie wrapping them around the cables at intervals and then feeding the loom back through the mast until they appeared at the bottom. This method is light, and it works. You can still hear a gentle thud if you are up against the mast, but basically the problem of slapping cables has gone.

It is wonderful.

<hr width=100% size=1>Julian

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[William_H]

If you have a pulley box for a spinnacher topping lift half way up the mast you may be able to remove that to enble you to hook the cables out to a point where you can put the cable ties around or put a loop of cord around them to tie them to the front or side of the mast through a small hole or through the area where the pulley box attaches. You may even be able to glue them to the side. At least your efforts will only be half height. If you don't have any holes in the mast halfway then I think you are stuck. Foam beads soundsdreadfull. Regards will

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