wiring inside an in mast mainsail mast??

[Robin]

We need to swap out the old Raymarine SL70 radar and ST30 wind instruments on our new boat and are going to go with all new Garmin NMEA 2000 stuff including a new garmin 4210 or 4212 plotter/display.. anyhow we were told by the previous owner that the cables are run in a conduit inside the mast and pulling out old cabling to replace with new may not be as easy as it might be thought. since there is a large part of the cross section of an in mast furling mast that is empty even of halyards, can cables usefully be run straight Down inside there Instead of inside a special internal conduit?? That way might enable the new wind transducer and new radome cabling to be done with the mast still in situ (as in afloat in her berth) and the mast not having to be removed. I know there is potential for rattling cables if rolling in an anchorage but then ear plugs are cheaper than hiring a crane to unstep/restep the mast. The boat is a 1998 Beneteau Oceanis 36CC with a Sparcraft in mast furling mast (boat was made for THE USA market so maybe different from EU models, even though the boat was built in France and shipped over here.

 

[cmedsailor]

. since there is a large part of the cross section of an in mast furling mast that is empty even of halyards, can cables usefully be run straight Down inside there Instead of inside a special internal conduit??

Yes, they can. A very large part of the sparcraft mast (I believe I have the same mast on my Ben361; is it the mast with a second separate track for a try sail?) is empty and separate from the "in mast mechanism compartment". All cables and lines (why you say halyards don't run from there. Where are they?) run through there.
And yes they do make some noice from rattling but you just get used to it!

 

[Talulah]

I've had no problem replacing cables including Radar cable in the conduits whilst the mast is in situ.
Selden Mast with in-mast furling.
Use the old cable to pull a mousing line through.
Requires 2 people. One to feed the cable in whilst the other pulls the other end out.
Make sure you use some oil (baby oil) to lubricate the new cable as you pull it through. Makes things much easier.

 

[Robin]

Yes, they can. A very large part of the sparcraft mast (I believe I have the same mast on my Ben361; is it the mast with a second separate track for a try sail?) is empty and separate from the "in mast mechanism compartment". All cables and lines (why you say halyards don't run from there. Where are they?) run through there.
And yes they do make some noice from rattling but you just get used to it!

yep there are two halyards running inside but the spinny one is all external. yes it does have a track in the extrusion for a trysail like yours.

I suspect the teeth sucking from the folks here is a prelude to a higher quote for the job, that is par for the course for Florida marine businesses.

 

[nigelmercier]

Make sure you use some oil (baby oil) to lubricate the new cable as you pull it through. Makes things much easier.

I use talcum powder, oil attracts dirt.