mast electric wiring question

[ebb]

Mike,
well, aye couldn't find it, but then aye'm having  problems  finding stuff these days.
You're right, it's not Tim's style to delete!

I distinctly recall there was/is also an appalling interior shot of the wires
on the 'wrong side' of the strongback.   It would have given anybody
eternal determination to find some way to lead in mast electrics on the forward side of the beam!

Thanks Mike, we're on the road to the finding the BEST way to get those pesky wires to the battery.
Think I'll try to aviod the black anaconda wire treatment.....

How about that roll of wire hanging on the Contessa mast ! ! !
It's an extarordinary amount of weight - and expense.
I'm surprised there isn't yet a no-corrode fiber-optic type electric harness
for our dinky bunch of navigation lights.

Like waiting for lithium boat batteries, and hydrogen fuel cells,  when they ought to be here NOW -
at a decent price.   In the mean time, back to Thomas Edison.............
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In the 'king of the world' photo of the kid ( bp2blogger on the plasticclassic blue-line )
that 30 degree fitting coming off the mast looks real shippy and right-on.  
Looks like it is a 1" stainless frame fitting - and that weatherable  hose can be found to slip on to it. Looks like Trident 1 1/8" pvc sanitation hose.
There is mention of a 90, but I'd guess the guy means there is a straight-thru at 90 to the deck.  
There is no way to get cable, and coax never, thru a corner 90.  
If you did, you'd be using liquid soap & vile language to pull them out.  Imco, if we have a movable mast:  a very flexible hose with a  generous bend in it has to be factored in.  It would be nice to see if that 30 could be used. But, don't think 1" is big enough to be versatile.

It looked to me, when fiddling with the jig at home,   that  straight-thru  barbed fittings were the only way to get the various hose & duct loops to work for A338's masting - when  the mast (mock-up) was lowered thru the vertical/horizontal arc.

In fresh water, with an on-deck  waterproof junction box ,  you could have  cables & coax terminate in plugs.  
Maybe convert a Pelican #1120 case.  But offshore in salt, corrosion rules and connections have to be made  inside the cabin.
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Commenting on Mike's pic of the thru-deck fitting, post #30:  
This shows why thru-hull fittings are the best for this app - we get to clamp the fitting in  its hole and any added fastenings are secondary.  It is possible on the larger thru-hull (for example, 1 1/2" Marelon) to drill holes for screws in the mushroom head, and even with some fiddling, also the flange nut.  A338 has to dispense with the exterior nut - the mushroom head inside fastened to the backing block and has the screws.   In this case the fitting is permanently bedded with polysulfide.
Gotta see what Jerry comes up with.:cool:

[ebb]

Last Sunday's ALBERG FLEET breakfast at the Oakland Grill was a most worthy event.
Company was great, the humor sharp, the food fantastic,  Ben Wells turned up,  ebb passed around  photos of the hose trials.
Talked with a founding club member, who sails engineless up and down the WestCoast,
 Canada to Mexico and SanFrancisco Bay.  Somebody to closely listen to. ! ! !
- who had this to say about how his harness is connected on deck for his 'masting' operation.
(Have to get a focused look at how he's done it, and maybe get some pics.)

OK, here's the logically simple solution  how and where to make the mast harness connections to the interior..........
 
Do it with the best marine connectors available  
IN THE HOSE.    
But of course!
   
He also uses a straight out the mast, 90 degree, thru-fitting - which naturally means a longer hose to make the loop.

Haven't done this yet obviously but see it like this:  maybe it's possible to have separate connectors for each circuit in the hose,   Only guessing.    Single circuit male/female  3or4 pin plugs would be smaller in bulk and could possibily be arranged  one above the other, allowing separate cables from each to bypass another plug connector within the 1 1/2"ID hose. Or maybe all navigation lights + the foredeck could be in one multiple pin plug - plus the VHF  coax to its own connector.     Only wires enter the mast.
Only wires enter the deck and go directly aft to the main panel/battery.  No terminal block inside, no on-deck junction box!  Amazing!

Moisture inside the mast means eventual corrosion in the hose*.   How would you manage access to the connectors?
Loop(s) of extra wire in the mast - and extra wire,  available inside the V-berth would make it possible to replace compromised  plugs using fresh wire.  That seems correct.
MUST have  enough slack in the bundle of cables inside the V-berth to be able to pull about 18" of it back out of the deck fitting
to make it possible for the unclamped hose to slide out of the way of  connectors - for trouble-shooting - and unplugging the cables.  That seems unusual enough ! !     Don't know yet how it's finessed on Mark's Triton.   The hose HAS to move  to hook things up, and to unhook them things.
The mast stays rigged and vertical while this is happening.   System obviously workable for a non-tilting stick.
What better scenario to decommision a mast?

The hose becomes a major contributor in keeping moisture away from the electrics.
A versatile system makes it easy to renew the hose at will.
Would help to find ways to keep rain out of the mast.**

Something like this is being sailed right now.
What will we come up with?  Anybody else thinking outside the junction box?
IDEAS ?
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* http://www.wirecare.com/deutsch-connectors.asp?selectedDelimiter=6&Series=HD10
Batts Racing, another purveyor of Deutsch Connectors, has a more informative site with guides & how-to.
We can rent the special crimper.
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** The only real water entry into an A/C mast is up  top where the halyard sheaves are.  An unmodified original mast sheave is imco a water catcher.  
Damp is the culprit.
[Since the mast is 30 feet of hollow aluminum that gets hot in the sun, it should follow that if there was entry for air into the mast bottom
(from hopefully a drier accommodation)  and a way for the air to rise and exit out the top, we'd have natural ventilation THRU the mast.   Air movement  keeps the micro-climate drier inside the mast.]