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pgrantbyc · 18-05-2022, 05:17

Hello!

Getting ready for launch, I'm replacing my broken mast anchor light fixture.

I'm planning on using marine crimping as shown here:
https://marinehowto.com/marine-wire-termination/

How should the wire be supported? I'm worried about the weight of the wire in the mast pulling the crimping loose.

Thank you,
Phil

wyb2 · 18-05-2022, 09:41

Looks like you are on a 22ft boat, a heat-shrinked crimp should be plenty to support the wire, but like you, I would feel better with some other support. A simple nylon wire clamp small enough to grip the wire should do the trick. Fastening it with a pop rivet instead of a self-tapping screw would avoid having the sharp point sticking out of the mast.

If you want to get fancy, install a few of them, either in-line or arranged in a service loop. I’d stay away from the metal ones, even rubber coated - if they chafe or pinch they will short the wire to the mast.

Mountable zip-ties are another option

hjohnson · 18-05-2022, 14:29

So we’re on an Ericson 27, so our mast is around 35’ tall. Running to our masthead we have triplex wire (to run our trilight (nav + anchor), coax for our VHF antenna, and the instrumentation cable for our wind sensor.

What we’ve done is rivet a 1” PVC conduit on the forward side of the mast, and run all the wiring through that, then bundled all the cable together before pulling it through. At the top of the mast, there are a couple of zip ties and spiral loom wrapped around the bundle to hold it in place. The conduit also keeps the wires from slapping around inside the mast as the boat moves about.

It’s worked fairly well over the past 10 years or so. The only downside is that if we want to replace any of that wiring, we basically have to drop the mast and work on it as a unit.