[Skipper Jer]

Long story short, mast is down, no messenger lines installed, halyards are internal.
Before I go buy a roll of piano wire do you think pushing piano wire down the inside
of a mast is going to work as a messenger? At the mast head there are individual holes that the halyards go through then over the sheaves. I thought of using an electrician fish tape but that radius bend from the sheave to the hole is pretty sharp.

 

[Jeff_H]

The only time that I fished internal halyards with the mast down we removed the sheeves. We made up a pusher out of small diameter PVC tubing and worked from the bottom of the mast which was completely open. You may need to remove the mast step. We bought a small spool of light dacron or nylon that we bought for messengers. We cut up a bunch of hangers and made hooks of various shapes and lengths

 

[Skipper Jer]

The top of the mast is completely sealed except for 6 holes for halyards and a bigger hole for antenna cable. The halyards have to go through the holes in order to line up with the sheaves. The sheaves can be removed which would make threading a messenger easier.
I know copper wire wouldn't work since it would tend to retain the radius that is required to enter the hole at the mast head. Entering from the bottom and threading a wire through that hole at the top would be impossible. Oh, yes, the mast head is not removable. It appears to be welded onto the mast then the weld is ground smooth and painted over. I can detect no seam between the mast head the mast.

 

[capta]

I'd guess piano wire is a bit too thin for any long run. An electrical wholesaler will have stiffer solid wire used to pull wires (I'm having a blonde moment and cannot remember what they call it). It comes covered or not. Use this to run your messenger.
It's very cheap and you can chuck it or keep it around for other jobs after you are done.

 

[ambianceack]

Ok. I have had success with the electrician fish tape but it gets tricky since the tape can wrap the around other lines, wires etc...inside the mast. you might have to pull any bolts or even the spreaders off so everything lays flat against one side. If the halyards are not already pulled I would use the string on a reel common in construction. I use the stuff almost daily but not sure the name...tie off the two ends and pull the halyard through leaving the messenger...if no halyard then use the fish tape patiently and remove the sheaves. I have done it a several ways with my 55 foot mast, the biggest thing is patience. hope that helps...

 

[Skipper Jer]

Ambianceack, it helps to know others have succeed using the fish tape. The mast here is 35 foot but the halyards pop out about around the 27 foot mark. So, tomorrow its off to the big box home improvement stores to procure a 50 foot tape. When I installed the two halyards I did leave the messenger but that doesn't help since each halyard has its own hole to go through as it enters the mast head.

I'll see if I can snap a picture of the top of the mast showing the holes.

 

[westsailpatti]

I don't know if this is a problem , when pushing cable through bicycle handle bars I slip in a piece of plastic strip ( make it from a milk jug ) it forms the radius of the tube , when the cable reaches the plastic , pull out the plastic and the cable ( halyard )comes out the exit hole .

 

[Minnewaska]

I like Jeff H solution. Push something up from the base of the mast. Attach a messenger line to the top. When near the sheave opening, fish a hook inside the opening to grab the line.

 

[SV Siren]

What I have done, and many electricians do is to remove the sheave. Use some old fishing line with the largest diameter styrofoam ball attached that will fit through the hole at the top of the mast. Push the line through the hole at the top of the and use a shop vac at the base of the mast, sealed tight with duct tape, turn on the shop vac, and suck the line and Styrofoam ball down the mast. It takes more time to do the prep/gathering of tools than it does to actually run the messenger, which took about 30 seconds. My father in law who is an electrical engineer designed and built a tool for doing just this. He can run messengers underground in conduit for thousands of feet if need be, the limiting factor was the length of the fishing line.

 

[zz4gta]

Electrician's fish tape. I like the fiberglass ones.

 

[PorFin]

+1 for the fish tape suggestion (although the kid in me wants to try the ShopVac option.)

Here's a 50' Harbor Freight tape that won't hurt the wallet, won't rust/corrode too badly and still gets the job done pretty well. I've been happy with mine.

.

 

[knuterikt]

One rigger I know use old rigging wire for this, it's easy to push through.

But there is no head cap to remove it might be difficult.

There is another method - never tried my self though..
Place the mast with the side want the new halyard to go down
use a thin line with a magnetic object in the end, it must be small so it can pass through the opening.
Use a strong magnet to pull the magnetic object down i inside the mast.

 

[pcmm]

Kite string, paper towel and a vacuum will do the trick. just seal up the holes you arent using, knot the string around the paper towel and stuff it into the mast. Use the vacuum where you want the string to come out and turn it on! The vacuum will suck the paper towel (or kleenex) through the mast and bring the kite string messenger line with it. replace the kite string with a piece of stringer twine and then use that to pull the halyward through!

 

[Skipper Jer]

SUCCESS! The electrician fish tape did it. I did have to remove the sheaves. And I was wrong about each halyard having its own hole. There is a slot that the head sail halyards go through as well as a slot for the mains. All in all it wasn't that bad. I do want to thank everyone who commented. If the fish tape didn't work I was going for the vacuum approach followed by the magnet.

 

[capt jgwinks]

I have used the backstay to fish lines down the mast. Took the turnbuckle off and the barrel just fit through the halyard holes. 1x19 wire rope is stiff enough to push through and not get twisted up with the other halyards and wires, and the backstay is usually longer than the mast.