Whats in the mast?

David Hampson · Post by **David Hampson** » Wed Oct 11, 2006 12:28 pm

I have just taken my 26X out of the water for the winter and have lost the wind vane of the top of the mast! Plus the cap what held the vane in place. Firstly can you buy new caps for the top of the mast?
Secondly if I was to buy one of those NASA marine electronic wind speed / direction meters will I be able to get the wires down the mast easily?
Thanks for your help and support

David

Tony D-26X_SusieQ · Post by **Tony D-26X_SusieQ** » Wed Oct 11, 2006 12:44 pm

There is no cap on the X mast and the mast is hollow so you will not have any problem running wires.

waternwaves · Post by **waternwaves** » Wed Oct 11, 2006 9:34 pm

Hollow enough to have several very vigorous wasp nests.........

SPC Paul · Post by **SPC Paul** » Fri Oct 13, 2006 6:09 am

Just a note for strange things to find in your mast....

When I was attempting to run the wire to my masthead VHF antenna, I found not only wasp nests (long abandoned by their builders, thankfully) but also some type of mushrooms/fungus. It seemed to be similar to the type of fungus you see growing on trees that looks like little "steps". Whatever it was, it was quite a pain to remove. I ended up just pushing the garden hose down most of the length of the mast, and I also used a length of heavy gauge house wiring to help remove the bigger pieces.

Anyone else had the problem of mast mushrooms?

Jared

Post by **NiceAft** » Fri Oct 13, 2006 9:29 am

Jared,

The fungus you described as the "type of fungus you see growing on trees that looks like little "steps"", tends to grow on the north sides of trees. Just for the heck of it. If your boat was slipped, or trailer sat for awhile, was the fungus inside of the mast on the north side of the mast? I'm just inquiring now. Just in case I'm ever on a quiz show!

Ray

Duane Dunn, Allegro · Post by **Duane Dunn, Allegro** » Fri Oct 13, 2006 9:51 am

My X mast has a cap that is factory installed. It's a flat black aluminum one pop riveted in place. My wires exit from a hole about 9" below the top of the mast.

Remember to put cable ties with uncut tails on the wires about every 24" to keep the wires from slapping inside the mast.

Bobby T.-26X #4767 · Post by **Bobby T.-26X #4767** » Fri Oct 13, 2006 9:58 am

Duane Dunn, Allegro wrote: Remember to put cable ties with uncut tails on the wires about every 24" to keep the wires from slapping inside the mast.

i didn't believe it until until i heard the slapping one night.
so i did what Duane suggested.
great fix!

Bob T.
"DaBob"
'02X w/ '04 90-TLDI & '06 2.5-Suzuki

AWKIII · Post by **AWKIII** » Tue Oct 17, 2006 6:03 am

A McDonalds bag with Egg McMuffin wrappers inside.

ALX357 · Post by **ALX357** » Tue Oct 17, 2006 4:56 pm

......

....from lunch break at the MacFactory.

marsanden · Post by **marsanden** » Sat Oct 21, 2006 3:03 pm

Duane Dunn, Allegro wrote:
Remember to put cable ties with uncut tails on the wires about every 24" to keep the wires from slapping inside the mast.

forgive my poor english, but i dont understand what does it means. can u explain with other words this suggest?
Thank you wery much

David Mellon · Post by **David Mellon** » Sat Oct 21, 2006 4:05 pm

The cable ties act as a spring inside the mast. They are plastic and self locking. They can be found in the electrical supply area of any hardware store.

Duane Dunn, Allegro · Post by **Duane Dunn, Allegro** » Sat Oct 21, 2006 4:14 pm

Cable Ties, often also called zip ties or tie raps are plastic strips used to bundle cables together. At the end of the strip is a slot you put the tail of the ties through then pull tight. The strip itself usually has a ribbed side that engages with a tooth in the slot.

http://www.cabletiesplus.com/

Normally after you have cinched the tie around the bundle of wire you would cut off the excess. In this case you want to leave the excess sticking out. When you pull the wire or wires into the mast the excess will work like a spring of sort and push the cable tight to the inside mast wall and hold it there. This will stop it from moving side to side inside the mast and making noise. It seems like a small thing, but on a quiet night out at anchor the noise can seem very loud. I would use 8" ties.

marsanden · Post by **marsanden** » Sun Oct 22, 2006 4:22 am

Duane Dunn, Allegro wrote: http://www.cabletiesplus.com/

Thanks to you and David Mellon.
Sometime its difficult to find the tecnical translation.
In those cases a pic is wery helpfull.

Chinook · Post by **Chinook** » Sun Oct 29, 2006 3:53 pm

I'm sure there are several approaches to fishing wire down the 26X mast. You can't just shove most wire in there without having things ball up part way through. When I installed my VHF radio I needed to run antenna wire up through the mast for a masthead antenna installation. I ended up buying a couple 10 foot long pieces of 3/8 " pvc water pipe, along with a coupler. It was easy to slide the plastic pipe down the mast. I slipped the antenna wire into the water line and it fished through it without hangup, and I was able to push things the few feet further and out the other end.

Moe · Post by **Moe** » Sun Oct 29, 2006 4:18 pm

Click on image to go to link

We also used the Duane Dunn cable-tie method and it worked like a champ.

--
Moe

MacGregorSailors.com

MacGregorSailors.com

Whats in the mast?

Whats in the mast?