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Stand by, I will upload pictures but it's 10:30 pm and we are in the backyard installing radar on mizzen and are stumped regarding the cable exiting the mast at the bottom....
the black part is 3/4 of an inch. Neither on of us can fit our hand in the mizzen. The hole in the picture is where the old vhf cable came out. We have the lip to consider that the mast sits in down below, it's maybe 1.5 inches high (guess). The mast opening is oval so the hole can not go in line with existing hole (can't bend the black part that direction).
As far as we can figure the best thing to do is cut the hole as low as possible that we can jam it through with our (my) hand. Are we missing something. When Brian sat down to contemplate the sitch, I, knowing how long these contemplations can take, ran for the camera - for whatever it's worth....is anybody awake???
Did I mention we are splashing tomorrow? (ergo the MAYDAY)
Last edited by Scout on Fri Jun 08, 2007 8:43 am, edited 2 times in total.
Maybe cut a slot in the butt of the mast just long enough (e.g. 2") so that the cable will clear the mast step (which you said was ~1.5"), then you don't have to push the connector through a hole, just bring the cable down to the slot, through and out. Make sure the end of the slot cut is rounded. If the mast heel sits IN the step, then I don't think the slot creates too much of a structural weakness, as the heel will be contained by the step. If the mast heel slips OVER the step, then maybe you could just slip a large hose clamp around it to keep the heel from spreading at the slot. Just and idea, no experience with it...
If you want to use the existing hole, run a line through the hole and out the bottom of the mast. Lay the line along the side of the end of the radar antenna cable then tape around it to make a cone shaped end to the antenna cable with the line exiting at its peak. Retract the line through the hole until the end of the cable can be grabbed allowing you to pull the cable through.
If the antenna cable is stiff and gives you a problem making the turn inside the mast so it can go through the hole, get a ruler or yardstick and use it to help the cable make the turn inside the mast.
You might also want to go down to Radio Shack and get a rubber grommet which you slide over the cable and affix inside the hole to protect the antenna cable from the edges of the hole.
Another thing we did on my buddies boat is use one of those bimini fittings as an exit point on the mast and another one on the deck next to the mast . We then bundled the cables and used a piece of plastic cable conduit (also available at Radio Shack) to cover the wires. A little electrical tape on both ends secured the conduit to the fittings with the result being a very clean looking cable exit from the base of his mast.
When I mounted my radar on the mizzen, I drilled through the mast step and fed the cable through it. It is a bit of a pain when I unstep, but it works nicely.
