Loose wiring conduit in mast

[mregan]

Dave
Good solution. On my previous C-30 the wires weren't even in a conduit, when I pulled the mast to route the halyards internally, I found the factory had stuck a large sponge (with a string attached) into each end of the mast.  At the top it was stuffed about 3' down, at the bottom another was stuffed about 6' up.  When I installed the halyards internally, I was able to keep the top sponge in place by cutting our 2 sections for the hayards to run through.  At the bottom, i pushed the sponge up below the halyard openings.  With the string on it, you could pull it down if ever needed.  Never had any slapping.  You could probably do the same on the 34 which might help the rivets from popping again in the future.

[KWKloeber]

Replacing my conduit with a larger size and rivetind it was tedious but easy by tipping the spar so the conduit nestled "into the groove" while pop riveting.  Went slow and deliberate, one by one and doubled the number.

One woulda shoulda that I didn't --- an occasional coupling will more than double the bite on holding w longer rivets.into the heavier wall section.  Securely fasten the top w/ additional\closely spaced rivets so flapping doesn't get a place to take hold.

Ken

[2ndwish]

Tackled this today with what I can only call partial success. Inspection of the rivets above deck revealed one at the middle halyard exit, one at the steaming light and one a few feet from the top. Not a surprise that it would pull loose. Started by removing the halyard exit plates to reveal large"ish" slots on the port and starboard sides. These were easily removed by drilling out the 3/16" rivets. With these removed it one can see what was going on. The conduit at this point of the mast was resting on the starboard side.  Drilled two new holes, one over the other, a foot apart, a foot below the lowest OEM rivet, on the port-side, front, inline with the old rivets. Used a long screwdriver in the port-side halyard hole to nudge the conduit to its home position, then used another long screwdriver on the starboard side to press the conduit against the mast. Then CAREFULLY drilled through the conduit. Riveted the conduit to the mast using the screwdriver on the starboard side to provide the necessary pressure. 3/16"x 1/4" rivets were long enough. Reinstalled the halyard plates and went to check on my work. Using a halyard I was able to seriously rock the boat. The difference was remarkable, but on the really big swings- noise could be heard from the upper part of the mast. Climbed back up, this time to the spreaders. There is no access there, but there is a pad-eye fitting for a spinnaker pole halyard. Removed the fitting and used a flashlight to try to get some view. The only thing visible was the jib halyard. Using a stiff wire, found the conduit on the port side in a forest of halyards. Tried to pull it snug, but it really resisted. I didn't feel comfortable riveting it since it seemed possible to foul a halyard. I assume the next higher rivet is also loose and that's  how it found its new position. The mast is much quieter and we can finish the season this way, but it will require dropping the mast to properly repair- next winter. Good time to paint the mast, change the sheaves, replace the wiring and the VHF antenna, anchor light, steaming light .....

[pablosgirl]

Well I finally got around to this project.  We are preparing for a trip to the Bahamas and the Caribbean and pulled the boat apart to inspect the rig.  The job was much easier than I expected.  After placing the mast on saw horses with the leading edge up, I looked up the mast from the base and found the the conduit was only attached at the bottom, at the steaming light and the top!  The attachment points are about every ten feet up the mast.  To repair, I drilled out the rivets at the spinnaker halyard entry and exit plates and also the other failed attachment points.  I fashioned a tool for pulling the conduit against the mast from a welding rod with 1.5" of one end bent at 90 deg.  I also had to knock the coating off the welding rod to get it to fit through the 3/16" rivet holes.  I simply inserted the welding rod bent end through the rivet hole near the center line of the mast.  I then oriented the bend to point either up or down the mast and then lowered the bend to the back side of the mast.  I then turned the welding rod 90 deg and started to fish for the conduit.  Once I had the conduit, I pulled the conduit to the leading edge of the mast and held it there tight while I drilled a new 3/16" hole into the conduit.  I then inserted the rivet through the hole in the mast and into the conduit and tightened the rivet.  I then added additional attachment points between the existing ones to give additional support.  This now works out to an attachment point every 5 feet or so up the mast.  The hole job took 30 minuets!  Now I feel that I could do the job from a bowsons chair on a standing mast.  I am looking to forward to quieter nights at anchor without hearing the conduit slap the inside of the mast!

[kh3412]

Ok old topic, but new problem to me. Last year at night when rolling at the dock got the dreaded banging from the mast. Had the mast pulled last fall to repair the mast step and had some time so decided to rewire the mast and switch to led lighting. Well found the bottom of the wire run loose in the mast but still attached further up. Did a search her and found lots of ideas on how to
re-rivet but came up with a different approach. Boat manufacturers join the top to the hull by glueing. So got a small tube of the devils glue 3m 5200 put a dab where the wire run goes and wedged in place with a wooden wedge. then went to the top and removed the mast head. Placed a small dab of 5200 between the wire chase and the mast so to keep the chase from moving and pulling out the rivets. Finally removed the steaming light and applied some 5200 between the chase and mast at the center point. Hoping all the horror stories are true and 5200 is permanent so this may work. Mast was left for a week without moving so it could setup. Launched boat, stepped mast and no noise so far.