[Public-List] Frustrating Mast Wiring Issue on Alberg 29

[Mike Lehman]

Maybe...acetone would disolve the foam...it would make a big mess, but easy
to clean up. Better than trying to stuff conduit through foam

On Wed, Jun 22, 2022, 3:59 PM George Dinwiddie via Public-List <
public-list at lists.alberg30.org> wrote:

> Bill,
>
> Ugh! Foam in the mast--how awful!
>
> I can't imagine anything in the mast that you're likely to damage other
> than the existing wires. The mounting bolts for the winches and
> spreaders should be rugged enough.
>
> I think as you try to punch through the foam, you're probably getting
> more and more resistance. I wonder if you could fasten a garden auger
> bit onto the end of your length of conduit, and using that to drill into
> foam blockages and then pull out bits, a little at a time. Just a
> thought, and not something I've done.
>
> BTW, an easier way to keep the wires from slapping inside the mast is to
> put a trio of plastic wire ties around the wiring bundle at intervals.
> Put the tail of one wire tie into the hole of the next, and leave the
> tails long. They'll push against the mast and hold the wires relatively
> still against the side.
>
>   - George
>
>
> On 6/22/22 12:31 PM, vinegar joe via Public-List wrote:
> > Sorry to bother the Alberg 30 folks, but I'm hoping someone here will
> have some insight into this aggravating problem.
> > I've got a 1985 Alberg 29, keel stepped mast with a tricolor light at
> the top of the mast and a combo deck light - mast head light just above the
> spreaders.  The combo light had been dead for a couple of years and when I
> removed it I discovered that the wires were completely shot - it appeared
> that a glorified extension cord had been used and the end of the wires just
> barely exited the one inch hole in the mast behind the light - when the
> brittle wires were trimmed, they now were just inside the hole.  A gentle
> tug on the ground wire broke it and it is no longer visible.  But it gets
> the worse - the prior owner (I hope not the builder) inserted expanding
> foam a various spots along the mast (wherever access allowed) and so
> there's no budging of the wires even if you wished.  Additionally, the
> wires have been snaked up the aft side of the mast behind conduit that
> encloses four halyards so any attempt at fishing some of the wire out has
> to take place on the opposite side of where the
>  li
> >   ght is mounted.
> >
> > I decided I would try to drive a run of metal conduit inside the mast
> and through the various layers of expandable foam with hopes of perhaps
> snagging it up by the light to run a snake line back down to the base of
> the mast.  The conduit was driven through the first layer of foam (at about
> 4 feet - no idea how it was delivered at this level) without too much
> problem, but at about 6 and 1/2 feet I encountered what I sense is a metal
> plate that seems to completely close further progress.  However, I cannot
> see what I'm hitting.
> >
> > Are further efforts to reach the level of the light by conduit a waste
> of time? Does anyone know what I'm hitting?  I fear I may damage the mast
> or other wiring with further efforts.  If so, what is the most tasteful and
> solid way to run wires on the outside of the mast?
> >
> > Thanks for any help/ideas/suggestions.  I want to go sailing!!!!
> >
> > Bill Zellman
> > s/v Vinegar Joe
> > Milwaukee
> >
> > 'The universe is a big place, perhaps the biggest.' - Kilgore Trout
> --
>   ----------------------------------------------------------------------
>    When I remember bygone days                         George Dinwiddie
>    I think how evening follows morn;            gdinwiddie at alberg30.org
>    So many I loved were not yet dead,           http://www.Alberg30.org
>    So many I love were not yet born.                          also see:
>                 'The Middle' by Ogden Nash     http://idiacomputing.com
>   ----------------------------------------------------------------------
>
>
>
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