Holding conduit in place while fastening

[dnseal]

Whats the best way to hold the pvc conduit in place for drilling and riviting? I was told to use irrigation pipe by local rigging company and I already have a large two handed rivit gun for the SS rivits.

I also have a concens with the SS rivits an the irrigation pipe; can the rivits crack the thin wall of this irrigation pipe when compressing? Would hate to hear an extra crack while midway through the project.


gil

[sailingdog]

A simple way to hold the conduit in place is described in one of Don Casey's books and involves using stiff wire, like a coat hanger, bent into a hook shape to pull the conduit against the mast wall so you can drill and pop rivet it in place. Don't forget to coat the pop rivets with an anti-corrosion compound like Tef-Gel or Lanocote.

Basically, as I recall it, you drill a few holes in a line parallel to where you want the conduit and stick the coat hanger "hooks" through them and pull the hooks over the PVC pipe and pull them tight, bending the coat hanger to hold them in place at each point. When you're done, unbend the coat hangers and withdraw the hooks, and fill the holes with epoxy.

[hellosailor]

I came across an old British mention about running wires up the mast, which I'd never heard of before. They simply ran the wires "free", and then inserted a rolled-up sheet of thin polythene plastic in the mast. The polythene of course tries to unroll so it flattens against the inside of the mast, which prevents the wires from slapping around AND neatly forms an anti-chafe shield between them and any lines.

Since there are no rivets, no ties, no glues, it seems like an elegantly simple way to do things. Assuming you can find a 50+ foot long roll of thin sheet polythene to stick up the mast.

[Gramp34]

Here's a couple even easier ideas:

1) Run your wires inside 1/2" pipe insulation, and pull it into the mast.

2) Get a bag of 8-12" ty-wraps (aka zip-ties, cable ties, etc.), put them on the wires about every foot, with the long tails pointing in different directions, and pull it up the mast.

I did option #2 last year. Quick, easy and no noise from either the wiring or the two internal halyards afterwards.

Cheers,

Tim

[dnseal]

Option 2 sound interesting and it keeps the mast free of additional/numerous rivits, but is this really a viable method? Has anybody else used this method?

Gil

[Faster]

I like the pipe insulation idea - it will muffle any noise; the spiky ty-raps ought to hold the whole assembly somewhere within the mast.

One downside I can see is if you ever broke a halyard, running a new one through the forest of plastic could be a nightmare.

[Gramp34]

Originally Posted by Faster

One downside I can see is if you ever broke a halyard, running a new one through the forest of plastic could be a nightmare.

My first choice would be to use an electrician's fish tape, e.g., http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/cta...emnumber=38156. They're stiff steel wire that wants to stay straight so you can shove them into conduit runs and pull your wire back. Only about $10 if you don't have one or can't borrow one. A fish tape would have no trouble getting through the ty-wraps.

Tim