Mast "clanging" internal conduit loose?

[Blue Heron]

Hi all,

Last year our mast developed an annoying "clang". I suspect there is an internal wiring conduit that may have broke loose, but I can't really see up in there too well. Has anyone else dealt with this issue?

Chet

[Rusty Pelican]

To my knowledge the P323 did not have an internal conduit, the wires were just run up inside the mast.
I did this 32 years ago, no problem with the mast or slapping wire sounds.

Lay the mast down, drill three or four very small holes opposite to were the internal wires will be resting inside the mast.  Squirt a very little amount of that "insulation in a can stuff" to glue the wires to the mast. The stuff expands so be careful.
You do not want to put too much in and plug the mast up.

[Dolce_Vita]

In my case, the mast had an internal conduit, but it was not being used!  The wires used to clang constantly at anchor.

When I rebuilt the mast in 2013, I ran all wires to the masthead through the conduit.

Wires to the spreaders had to be run outside of the conduit.  For those, I slid foam "swim noodles" over the wires and pushed them into the mast.  The foam prevents the banging and protects the wires from chafe.

[Blue Heron]

Thanks guys.
 It appears that our wires are running through a conduit, except the VHF which I think is wrapped in pipe insulation. Like I said, it's kind of hard to see in there, so I'll have to figure out a way to get a better look. I know one thing...It started last year, and I think maybe the conduit broke loose when the guys in the yard were moving it around with the sling and boom truck. It drove us crazy at anchor so I HAVE to quiet it down before we launch this year. If it is a loose conduit, I will first try to drill a small hole beside where the conduit runs, then fish a hook in the hole and try to pull the conduit up tight to the mast, drill another hole (this time through the mast and the conduit), and try to pop rivet it. If that doesn't work out, I might either the foam, or, try to stuff noodles, sponges, or something else up the mast.

[selene]

Very dumb question - sorry in advance - but are you sure it is not an external line slapping?  I was convinced I had a loose internal line for a while, and after a lot of bungee cords (why does the slap only happen at 2am??) I finally convinced myself it was internal - until I tied off a last lazyjack.  Sheesh.  Who would have thought such a thin line could have made so much noise?

[Blue Heron]

Very dumb question - sorry in advance - but are you sure it is not an external line slapping?  I was convinced I had a loose internal line for a while, and after a lot of bungee cords (why does the slap only happen at 2am??) I finally convinced myself it was internal - until I tied off a last lazyjack.  Sheesh.  Who would have thought such a thin line could have made so much noise?

LOL!...Been there, done that! But no, this is definitely an issue inside the mast. I have quite the routine for tying all the external lines out away from the mast (and my dock neighbors greatly appreciate it).

[Alma]

I use wire ties, 3 at a time, every 5'. I leave the tails sticking out radially and not trimmed off and it works for about 6-8 years, till they fall off or lose their strength. That's about the time to remove and inspect the wiring anyway so it is a good and inexpensive fix for me. I think a plastic conduit sounds great too- How do the wires to the spreaders then work?  I've seen lots of ways to attach the conduit- none of them very elegant unless it is part of the original extrusion. If we had internal halyards I believe a conduit would be necessary to prevent chafe.

[Blue Heron]

Alma, I'm not sure about how the wires to the spreaders work, or anything else, really. It's just so hard to see up there.

When you pull new wires, do you take the cap off the top of the mast? Seems like it would be siexed on there pretty by now, but I haven't tried to remove it.

[Dolce_Vita]

You'll definitely want to remove the masthead fitting to string new wires.  There's a strain-relief loop at the base of the fitting thst is used to tie off the wires so they don't chafe through at the hole where they exit the mast.  You'll want to use rubber grommets on those holes too.  Finish them off with a dab of silicone to minimize water intrusion.

The masthead fitting is held on by 6 or 7 self-tapping screws.  Mine all came out without incident, and the fitting came off with a few whacks of a rubber mallet.

The base of the fitting has two rectangular openings to provide for internal halyards.  If you have and are staying with external halyards, I would suggest closing off those openings to reduce water intrusion.  I used a couple pieces of plexiglass sealed in place with dow corning 795 (an industrial silicone).

[Blue Heron]

Dolce_Vita...thank for the info!

Chet

[Blue Heron]

Well, we rigged up a light on an old cane pole (fishing pole) and got a pretty good look up the mast. We even rolled the mast over, and it turns out the conduit inside the mast is NOT broken loose after all. YAY! Right after the boat was hauled and the mast unstepped we noticed the anchor light staff was broken and dangling by the wires and I first thought that maybe the boat yard broke the staff for the anchor light when they pulled the mast. We installed a new anchor light. Now, I am thinking that it could have broken last season and that was responsible for the clanging. Anyway, she is going to be launched on 5-23-15 so I'll know soon enough if that was it or not.

Chet