Mast wiring strain relief

[lillia28]

Again , thanks for the suggestions.
asdf38, that dorade box looks great. As not THAT expensive compared with new Dri Plugs, which are about +/- $50.00.
I am planning on all LED bulbs, except the deck light, but figure on using the original gauge wire for strength. I was also planning a loop at the top for extra wire wire ties to hold the weight. I saw this originally on sailing anarchy, but using braided dyneema, and running the wires through as a soft conduit. I thought the dyneems was overkill, and thought about the webbing. I am sure things will come up during installation.
Lou

[asdf38]

Originally Posted by lillia28

Again , thanks for the suggestions.
asdf38, that dorade box looks great. As not THAT expensive compared with new Dri Plugs, which are about +/- $50.00.
I am planning on all LED bulbs, except the deck light, but figure on using the original gauge wire for strength. I was also planning a loop at the top for extra wire wire ties to hold the weight. I saw this originally on sailing anarchy, but using braided dyneema, and running the wires through as a soft conduit. I thought the dyneems was overkill, and thought about the webbing. I am sure things will come up during installation.
Lou

Glad you like it. As for lighting, my suggestion: just go all LED. Good LED spreader lights (probably $100-$400 for a pair) are extremely bright with all the usual benefits of LED. If you're putting this much thought into now just get it done and you'll never think about those lights again.

Another comment, while a conduit doesn't actually support the wire it does provide significant strain relief indirectly by preventing the wire from swinging around in the mast, which a soft strain relief wouldn't.

[chef2sail]

Also don't forget a least a couple of messenger lines

[pvanv1]

Originally Posted by lillia28

I am planning on taking Lily's mast down this winter, and re-wiring it, and getting the various lights working. There is an anchor light, steaming light, deck light and VHF antenna wire. I'm not worried about the actual wiring, but about strain relief, that is the thought of 35 feet of wiring hanging from a crimp connection for the next 5 - 10 years. I am thinking of getting some tubular webbing, and wire-tieing the harness to the webbing, then bolting or riveting the webbing to the mast top and bottom, hopefully with enough tension to keep the wires from slapping. My original thought was to use the long zip tie spider method to prevent slap, but I've got internal halyards and I'm not 100% sure that would work. Any thoughts, suggestions or cautions are welcome.
Thanks in advance.

lou

I ran my wiring inside foam pipe insulation. It's light, slippery, and no slapping at anchor. The halyards slide right on by. I did strain relief at the upper terminations, and the wire is strong enough to support its own weight for only a 35' vertical.

[chef2sail]

The old wiring in my mast was run through foam. After years of slight moisture getting in the mast through the head as well as baking in the summer, the foam turned to dust and muddied up my bilge constantly as it came down from inside the mast. I do not suggest this as a long term solution.

Dave

[pvanv1]

Originally Posted by chef2sail

The old wiring in my mast was run through foam. After years of slight moisture getting in the mast through the head as well as baking in the summer, the foam turned to dust and muddied up my bilge constantly as it came down from inside the mast. I do not suggest this as a long term solution.

Dave

Odd. I did mine 16 years ago, and the pipe insulation (I believe it's a poly-whatchamacallit material is still like new. I lower the mast each winter as part of winter storage, and the foam now looks like it did on day one. Of course, that also holds true for the insulation I actually used for my plumbing, back in 1985. Maybe the foam in Dave's mast was something other than pipe insulation.