Mast wiring

[NUTIN FANCY TOO]

Happy Monday y'all. Here's a question for,possibly, but not limited to ,older GBs.
When I acquired my boat, 1969,42ft Classic, the mast was removed and stored in a different location. Everything was gone from her,except the radar dome mounting platform. She is stepped from the top of the aft cabin, not from the Flybridge like some are.
My question is this,
How are all the wires ran from,say,the radar, the anchor down light,ect. I other words,is everything just bundled with loads of slack? Or is there a wiring block located under the Flybridge,or is it done with a variety of plugs.
Thanks in advance. I'm going to start installing my radar today,and any help,especially pictures, will be extremely helpful.

 

[Keysdisease]

Radar cables should never be cut and should be used as supplied. Installation instructions should be explicit about this.
Most 12v wires are done full runs with no connections, fewer places for problems. That said there are no rules so you can do as you like.
Good luck, you are lucky the mast is off, at least that part will be easy.

How are all the wires ran from,say,the radar, the anchor down light,ect. I other words,is everything just bundled with loads of slack? Or is there a wiring block located under the Flybridge,or is it done with a variety of plugs.
.

 

[NUTIN FANCY TOO]

Radar cables should never be cut and should be used as supplied. Installation instructions should be explicit about this.
Most 12v wires are done full runs with no connections, fewer places for problems. That said there are no rules so you can do as you like.
Good luck, you are lucky the mast is off, at least that part will be easy.

Thanks. But,my problem is that the radar I bought has the cable cut. I've read up on the older units (which is what I bought,Raytheon R20) and ,since I'm pretty handy with a soldering iron,I will have to either solder it,or use a block.
The information that I have read on the R20, is that I'll have to re-tune it,using a bridge as a target.
That being said,my original question remains. How are most connected? I'm sure that there are older GBs out there with my problem. Thanks for your speedy response.

 

[psneeld]

Every boat could be run differently and without the normal mast, you are looking for an answer possibly no one can give.... even with the standard mast there could be dozens, hundreds of variations.

Is the no clue of how a previous radar wiring was run? No access hole into the cabin (if mounted below) or under the bridge deck ( flybridge mounting)?

 

[NUTIN FANCY TOO]

Every boat could be run differently and without the normal mast, you are definitely looking for an answer possibly no one can give.... even with the standard mast there could be dozens, hundreds of variations.

Was a radar ever on the boat ?( if there is a pole there, I am guessing yes?).

If a pole, no clue how the previous radar was wired?

Yes. There was a radar previously. The "termination "of the cable is about 10" sticking out of the aft end of my Flybridge handrail. But,problem is that we absolutely cannot find the other end. It was supposed to go into the upper helm,and then follow the wiring down the wall, inside of the door frame on the forward end. Nope. Not there.
I'm thinking about running it along with other missing wires,in a long piece of PVC,hidden behind the stbd couch on the Flybridge.
But,I'm still not sure of how to do my cables,once it gets to the end of the Flybridge.
My other problem is, which is something that I forgot to mention ,I'm in a covered slip,and my mast is to tall to fit,so,i have to keep it down in order to fit in my slip.
Thanks for your time and help

 

[psneeld]

I get it now I think.

Except for what radar cable do you have? A whole new one? Pieces if the old?

 

[NUTIN FANCY TOO]

I get it now I think.

Except for what radar cable do you have? A whole new one? Pieces if the old?

I have 2-30ft cables. One,cut at the dome end,one,cut at the screen end. I think (that's where I always get in trouble, thinking) my best bet is to have my splice somewhere in the middle. I've got a good dome end with all of the connectors intact,and a good scope end with a good plug.
Thoughts? But still,my problem is, do I just leave a loop on the bottom of the mast,so that it has enough slack to raise and lower?,or do I make a block,or multi-plug at the bottom of the mast to unplug it when raising or lowering.
Then, I still have to run all my other cables. Anchor down light,am/fm radio antenna, spot lights ,etc

 

[Iggy]

Radar cables should never be cut and should be used as supplied. Installation instructions should be explicit about this.
Most 12v wires are done full runs with no connections, fewer places for problems. That said there are no rules so you can do as you like.
Good luck, you are lucky the mast is off, at least that part will be easy.

Yes, I agree. If it was me, I would think about a new radar unit more since the cable has been cut.

Todays units a are cheaper and better.

 

[boomerang]

I'm not being argumentative but you definitely won't have a problem with splicing the cut radar cable. Keeping the splice dry is the key. Instead of soldering, I would use a European-style terminal block...no soldering and no crimp connecters. Just place each color coded wire under the t-block screw & you'll be fine. Wrap the whole block in electrical tape or similar insulation when you're done. If I'm understanding your post correctly, you have a pigtail coming out at the base of the mast from the radar? I would tuck the splice in a dry area & retune the radar timing.

 

[Datenight]

Nutin Fancy,

I used a terminal block on a previous boat when I had to cut the radar cable. Was not able to see a difference in performance. It was a Raymarine if that makes a difference.

Rob

 

[Cigatoo]

The Grand Banks came with a piece of PVC like conduit that runs down the centerline of the boat under the headliner. Runs from the overhead at the helm station to the aft end of the flybridge. If you open the center compartment door over the dash you should find it. If you are lucky someone even left you a pull string to feed more wires. You shouldn’t have to cut ends off of any cables.

 

[GoneFarrell]

I put a small junction box near the bottom of my mast to land all the light wiring. Cut a 8 place terminal strip in half and glued that to the floor of the box. The radar cable is too big to fish through the mast, so it will route outside.
Just another way you could go on this. Project of the month!

I'm installing a new Furono "cable-less" radar, that just needs 12VDC to the dome. But that cable is still as big OD as the old radar cable. It will land in the Jbox. Last thing to figure out is how far back to run the shield/drain for that cable.

You need a weather-tight accessible place to land the radar cable splice, maybe something like this could work.

 

[koliver]

The Grand Banks came with a piece of PVC like conduit that runs down the centerline of the boat under the headliner. Runs from the overhead at the helm station to the aft end of the flybridge. If you open the center compartment door over the dash you should find it. If you are lucky someone even left you a pull string to feed more wires. You shouldn’t have to cut ends off of any cables.

This past summer I helped a friend with a 1975 GB 42 run the cable for his new Garmin radar from the mast to the helm. He had the ceiling cover open and there was no evidence of any PVC conduit. Such forethought by the builder would have helped!
What we did was to tie the cable to the SS 1" dia railing from the mast to the fwd end of the railing, then using a commercial hole cover of sufficient size to cover the penetration, poked the cable end (3/4" dia) into the flybridge coaming just past the fwd end of the railing, fish it fwd to above the dash, cut another hole there and feed it down to the radar head.
At the mast, his was typical of GB with a bronze mast hinge just above the level of the flybridge deck, so the cable attached there on the outside of the steel pipe mast and ran up to the dome. No cutting of the cable.

On my own radar, the cable leaves the helm by passing through the side wall above the side window, runs along the teak trim (visible but out of the way) to the aft end of the flybridge, under the overhang to the mast, down to deck level, into the bottom of the hollow aluminum mast and up to the radar. Again with no cuts in the cable. If I needed to cut the cable, I would re-attach in the dry place under the flybridge overhang, using a terminal block and covering it with something waterproof.

I recall a Balmar regulator I had on another boat in which the whole circuit board was sealed with clear casting resin. I would try something like that for something as potentially water sensitive as the radar connection.

 

[NUTIN FANCY TOO]

I'm not being argumentative but you definitely won't have a problem with splicing the cut radar cable. Keeping the splice dry is the key. Instead of soldering, I would use a European-style terminal block...no soldering and no crimp connecters. Just place each color coded wire under the t-block screw & you'll be fine. Wrap the whole block in electrical tape or similar insulation when you're done. If I'm understanding your post correctly, you have a pigtail coming out at the base of the mast from the radar? I would tuck the splice in a dry area & retune the radar timing.

Thanks. That's the best answer so far. This is more than likely what I'll do.

 

[NUTIN FANCY TOO]

Nutin Fancy,

I used a terminal block on a previous boat when I had to cut the radar cable. Was not able to see a difference in performance. It was a Raymarine if that makes a difference.

Rob

Thanks . Good reply. And yes,mine is the Raytheon R20

 

[NUTIN FANCY TOO]

The Grand Banks came with a piece of PVC like conduit that runs down the centerline of the boat under the headliner. Runs from the overhead at the helm station to the aft end of the flybridge. If you open the center compartment door over the dash you should find it. If you are lucky someone even left you a pull string to feed more wires. You shouldn’t have to cut ends off of any cables.

.

My GB is a 1969,with the headliner removed. And,to tell you the truth, I love the "bare bones"look.

 

[NUTIN FANCY TOO]

I put a small junction box near the bottom of my mast to land all the light wiring. Cut a 8 place terminal strip in half and glued that to the floor of the box. The radar cable is too big to fish through the mast, so it will route outside.
Just another way you could go on this. Project of the month!

I'm installing a new Furono "cable-less" radar, that just needs 12VDC to the dome. But that cable is still as big OD as the old radar cable. It will land in the Jbox. Last thing to figure out is how far back to run the shield/drain for that cable.

You need a weather-tight accessible place to land the radar cable splice, maybe something like this could work.

Now that's what I'm talking about. I've envisioned something just like that.
Thanks