[C38] Unstepping mast plus deck + cabin trunk repairs

tdtron at earthlink.net tdtron at earthlink.net
Mon Mar 26 10:01:41 EDT 2012


Having a terminal box under the settee also facilitates easy diagnostics if things stop working aloft.  With the terminal box you can easily determine if electricity is making it to the terminal box which helps  let you know where the inoperative circuit is open, in the boat or aloft.

One final thought on mast wiring.  If you coil any extra wire between the mast base and the terminal box it will induce what is called an inductive reactance which is a resistance to alternating currents which will help absorb AC voltage spikes from nearby lightning strikes, etc.  By wrapping the excess wire around a steel or iron object it will greatly improve the inductive resistance even more.  The AC components of a lightning strike hate inductive reactances which have high resistance to alternating current (AC) but show no additional resistance to direct currents (DC) other than the ohm resistance of the excess length of the wire itself.  

Most people think of lightning strikes as DC electricity but in actuality lightning has almost every frequency of the light and radio waves from DC up to extremely short light waves and everything in between which is why lightning protection can be so hard to predict and design but this simple wire coil of excess wire will help greatly to protect your boat, crew and electronics.

Tom Troncalli
Ex 38 owner from the Lightning Capital of the World (aka Central Florida)


----- Original Message ----- 
From: Joseph Launie 
To: listserve at catalina38.org
Sent: 3/23/2012 2:44:07 PM 
Subject: Re: [C38] Unstepping mast plus deck + cabin trunk repairs


Marci,
    The most important thing you can do is set up a set of wire terminals for all your mast wiring under the settee cushion near the head. Every mast wire should run to that terminal box and stop.The wire should then continue on to whereever. That way you will be able to disconnect the wires easily every time you drop the mast. We did this for our trailer boat, the Olson 30 before we did it for Macavity when we commissioned her. Joe Launie/Macavity PS I don't have to tell you to label the wires do I? 

On 3/23/2012 10:40 AM, Marci Brown wrote: 
We’re going to spend the summer fixing rather than sailing Check’s in the Mail. It’s been long overdue. Care to share your experiences and wisdom about preparing to unstep the mast in ways that make it go smoothly, and then easier for stepping later on? I will certainly mark the turnbuckles with a permanent marker. The soft spots in the deck and cabin trunk – labor intensive but can’t be ignored. My Don Casey repair book will be helpful...  
Marci Brown
Winthrop, Mass.


 

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