[Public-List] Where to run wires from the mast into the boat

Wed Nov 2 04:21:39 PDT 2011

I completely agree with Brooks on this...they are the only thru-deck 
connectors that I have found that don't leak.

Mike Lehman
~~~_/)_/)~~_/)~~~

-----Original Message----- 
From: brooks.glenn at comcast.net
Sent: Wednesday, November 02, 2011 4:37 AM
To: pat nolan ; Alberg 30 Public List -- open to all
Subject: Re: [Public-List] Where to run wires from the mast into the boat

Hi all,

I've have had really great success mounting four blue sea terminals, each 
drilled separately through the deck. I put two each side of the mast mount. 
They don't leak, ever. When I pull the mast, I unscrew the top of each blue 
sea fitting from its base, leave it attached to the wire, disconnect the 
wires from a terminal block in the cabinet down below behind the head, and 
lift the four pigtails and mast off the boat. Never need to cut a wire end 
or replace an electrical connector.

I also successfully ran the rectangular plastic coated, marine two strand 
wire through Blue Sea's rubber grommets, with no drips. I drilled slightly 
smaller diameter holes in the rubber grommets and let the little plastic top 
mount conform the rubber holes to the wire shape. Works fine. Also ran two 
wire harnesses through one grommet to limit the number of deck fittings, and 
wrapped the two coated wire sets back to back with tightly wound electrical 
tape to create a generally rounded shape that sealed perfectly inside the 
grommet.

I will say I am not found of these older, chrome platted deck connectors 
that are on some of our boats - the kind with little brass electrical 
corroders, I mean, connectors, pressed into the metal base. On Dolce, the 
knurled up caps, that marine distributors tell you with a straight face to: 
" screw onto the base to keep the water out", proved to be little miniature 
petri dishes. They fratricidicly killed more wiring ends every summer than I 
could replace; perpetrating nearly continuous electronic scandal and 
confusion with first one thing and then another at the masthead; all 
summer - every summer. My newly installed tricolor light worked randomly , 
and my spreader lights where mostly decorative. I soon found I needed to 
burn both the masthead lights and my old cabin side running lights to ensure 
enough illumination to run at night. When I finally switched to the Blue Sea 
mountings, everything worked all the time - even had the affect of soothing 
the late-night moaning-shrie
k-angst sounds emitted by other boat crews who were out of the water.

So now I have two sets of running lights. When I sail at night and see some 
poor sloop run up to mooring with only one set of running lights burning, 
and often even less then one, I think Awh, you poor sap: you've still got 
those shiny metal connectors on your deck.

Anyway, hard to go wrong using these Blue Sea gadgets, they really work.

m: "pat nolan" <pnolan33 at yahoo.com>
To: fongemie at gmail.com, "Alberg 30 Public List -- open to all" 
<public-list at lists.alberg30.org>
Sent: Tuesday, November 1, 2011 4:13:06 PM
Subject: Re: [Public-List] Where to run wires from the mast into the boat

I'm thinking of a dorade box for the head vent . Should be simple to make a 
pipe for wires inside of it ...?

________________________________
From: Jeffrey <fongemie at gmail.com>
To: Alberg 30 Public List -- open to all <public-list at lists.alberg30.org>
Sent: Tuesday, November 1, 2011 5:44 AM
Subject: Re: [Public-List] Where to run wires from the mast into the boat

Thanks Guys,

I should explain my setup a little better. The hole that goes through the
mast beam into the cabin has a stainless pipe through it. You can't see it
from the inside, but it does stick up a couple of inches above the mast
step. It appears to be well sealed and with some extra goop around the
outside it never leaks.

Here's a picture
https://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/Isu-4ned3Hyg_BhlVi-qIQ?feat=directlink

I'd be happy to keep this setup, except there's no extra capacity for more
wires, and I need to clip the terminals of half of the wires to remove them
all when we pull the mast. It would never work if I added one more wire.
The Blue Sea Clam thing looks good, but only for one or two wires? I've
seen a boat where someone made a little candy-cane shaped fitting (could
have been a plumbing item) that led the wires into the cabin, complete with
drip loop. It looked a little gaumy, but could accommodate quite a few
wires.

Thanks for the input guys, love hearing what everyone else does.

On another note, we brought the boat home last Wednesday and I barely got
her covered before 15 inches of snow fell over the weekend.

-Jeff

On Tue, Nov 1, 2011 at 8:37 AM, John Riley <jriley at dsbscience.com> wrote:

> ALL fittings or screws that pass through a cored surface should be
> drilled oversize, the hole filled with thickened epoxy, then proper size
> holes drilled in the epoxy "plug." This is modern construction
> practice. If the fitting leaks, it leaks INTO the boat, but not
> sideways into the coring.
>
> Also, as mentioned, chamfering or beveling the edge of the hole before
> bedding helps TREMENDOUSLY, so make sure to do that around any screw
> holes as well before bedding.
>
>
>
> James Allocco wrote:
> > Jeff,
> >
> > What concerns me is water migrating sideways thru the whole and rotting
> > the bean or the wooden fillers between the fiberglass.
> >
>
>
> -- 
> John S. Riley
> S/V Gaelic Sea
> 1972 Alberg 30 #521
>
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-- 
Jeffrey Fongemie
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