Projects
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Curing
"Mast Rattle"
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On
my 1980 Aloha 28 "Bliss", the VHF cable running to the top of the mast
evidently isn't within the wiring conduit that is supposed to be in the mast for
this purpose. As a result, whenever we were at anchor (and sometimes even when
docked in a less than completely sheltered marina), movement of someone on board
or caused by wind or sea, meant the unsecured 30 foot length of wire would
"clang" loudly against the inside of the mast.
Through
the Aloha List I sought the advice of others for a solution and received several
suggestions that I think are worth passing on:
Mast
Down
If
the mast is being lowered any of the following should work:
-
If
there is a conduit running the full length of the mast, make
sure the VHF coax cable is fed through this.
-
Remove
the cable (having first attached a string to allow you to pull it back
through) and lay the mast forward side down. As you feed the cable back into
the mast, coat it liberally with an epoxy adhesive that will cause the
cable to stick to the inside of the mast.
-
Remove
the cable (having first attached a string to allow you to pull it back
through). At intervals of about 2 feet, fasten 3 cable ties with their
"tails" still attached and pointing in different directions as in
this picture (click to enlarge):
When
you pull the cable back into the mast the ties will keep it centrally
positioned and avoid it contacting the mast itself.
Mast
Up
Because
our boat stays afloat during the winter we don't normally have a reason
for dropping the mast. In any case, after a few partly sleepless nights
vacation on the boat I became desperate to find a solution that could be
applied mid-season, and didn't involve taking the mast down.
The
third solution above could probably have been applied with the mast up but
would have involved someone going to the mast head. Instead, during the Pacific
Summer Sail-In in 2001 several of us discussed the problem whilst
sitting on the boat and Dennis Clarke suggested that with the plate
where a halyard enters the mast removed, I might be able to cover the wire
with lengths of plumbing insulation (the foam type for half inch pipe) and
push a number of these up the mast without ever leaving the safety of the
deck.
When I tried this I found I could get to the VHF wire and with care could
pull enough of it out of the hole to put the insulation round it and feed
it back through the hole. Lubricating the inside of the insulation with
WD40 to make it slide easily, wrapping a length of electrical tape round
the top and bottom of each section to ensure it didn't come off the wire,
and using each additional section to force the others higher up the wire I
got four and a half 3 foot sections in there before things came to a halt.
Bearing in mind that the access hole is three feet up the mast, this means
the top of the first section is just about at cross tree/navigation light
height and I think the reason no more would go up is that the wire for the
nav light runs up conduit up the back of the mast and then crosses to the
front, making a barrier to more insulation. The very good news is that
even though I would have liked to get more in there, this proved
sufficient to stop the rattle in any normal mooring movement - even
swaying the boat very vigorously from side to side causes only a quiet
tapping from the top third that is still uninsulated, but this is a
complete contrast to the loud "clang" that the full length used
to cause with almost any movement before then.
Incidentally, Ros Bangham came up with a completely "lateral
thinking" solution which was to buy a handheld VHF and do away with
the wire. Having had the experience of leaping several times from cockpit
to cabin (my VHF is a fixed set in the main salon) when approaching a
marina, I'm thinking a handheld is a good idea although now that the
rattle is cured I still haven't got round to buying one!
Last
updated 13 January, 2006
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