Mast Electrical Connections

[alofns]

I searched the forum for any previous thread on this so I apologize if I am repeating a question. However...

I have a Redwing 30 that I have been doing minor repair work to the electrical. One of my "projects" was to run power to the mast (nav lights, spreader bar lights to the deck and a anchor light). I had two thur fitting on the deck to power the nav lights and anchor lights, but the wire for deck lights on the spreader bar was cut and coiled up. They are all on seperate circuits which I'd like to keep to allow me to manage my power consumption. I had to remove the 2 prong thur deck fittings (so now I have 2 holes in my cabin roof).

I was wondering if there was an alternative to adding a third thur deck connector and simply run the wires out of one hole and use connector above deck. This would allow me to plug a hole and to avoid the cost of 3 thur deck connectors.

Suggestions?

[mitiempo]

That is what I am doing. My mast wires came through 3 separate holes in the deck and none were epoxy potted like they should be but the core was dry. I have filled the three holes and am now deciding how best to lead the wires through the deck. Maybi a swan neck shaped pipe with the open end facing down and plugged with sealant after the wires are led through it.
You don't really need the mast lights on separate circuits but separate switches so you can control their use.

[sailingdog]

How many wires did you need to connect. They make fittings that will handle two, three, four, five, six, and even seven wires.

[hellosailor]

There are waterproof multi-pin connectors out there, they are just hard to find. Some folks use a common 4-pin "trailer" plug and just epoxy the wires through the deck, then grease and tape over the contacts. That can work. And a common ground certainly will work, you just need to remember that common lead will be carrying the combined current from all the lighting, so it needs to be ale to carry that without overheating or dropping your voltage too much.