Mast Halyards - internal / external

[barnakiel]

Internal wire on rope seemed to work fine for us.

b.

[Wotname]

Originally Posted by barnakiel

Internal wire on rope seemed to work fine for us.

b.

SS or gal. wire ???

[barnakiel]

Originally Posted by jeanathon

My boat currently has internal halyards, but no conduit for the wiring. What is the best way to attach conduit inside the mast?

Some people use pvc or alloy tubes, riveted. We have pvc in a neoprene sheath, tied down (short mast, only 3 tie-down points required).

Newer extrusions have conduits built-in.

b.

[Wotname]

Originally Posted by jeanathon

My boat currently has internal halyards, but no conduit for the wiring. What is the best way to attach conduit inside the mast?

I did mine last year, used PVC conduit riveted inside mast.

[Chasing Summer]

Rivets can snag and besides why drill more holes in the mast?
Use Sikaflex 291 ... kinda pricey but it's the best product for the job

Thanks to everyone for all the comments.
I may convert one side to internal for main / jib and leave the other side external.
Spreader lights are definately out. I'll use a head lamp.
Also, putting in one more conduit for the masthead VHF antenna with a back-up on the stern rail.
Also, re-thinking my under sail & under power masthead lighting arrangement.

[Blue Stocking]

Originally Posted by bizzy

spreader lights work well to light up your sails for other traffic to see you

x 2. I use mine more for this purpose than for any deck handling job.

[MarkSF]

I'd also think hard about whether this is the time to fit a new wind instrument, or at least the cabling for future expansion.

[Chasing Summer]

MarkSF ... You're absolutely right. I may not be installing a lot of electronics now but if I do the proper wiring would already be there. Thanks

[pistarckle]

Mike is right , if I was gonna do serous cruising in far away places I would want external .
Noise on outside halyards can be cured by whipping around the spreaders , it just comes natural when ya do it everyday . Internal halyards also can make noise and there ain't a lot to be done . Serious cruisers need simple answers , weekend warriors need gadgets and toys ! Keep it simple !

[barnakiel]

Originally Posted by Wotname

SS or gal. wire ???

10 mm pre-stretched polyester tail rope spliced onto 4 mm 719 SS wire with niropress, thimble and bronze snapshackle.

Sail area less than 200 sq ft, hence the light set-up.

I had a nice riddle splicing this time as our new tail rope came in the braid on braid on core rather than braid on core variety.

b.

[barnakiel]

Some masts that use slides for mainsail may benefit from sliding a half-profile cut from a PVC tube right into the mast's grove. Then the wires go into the PVC half-conduit and the slides have enough space to slide up and down outside of the conduit.

This is a neat and easy method but can only be applied on masts with groves and slides. (Esp. e.g. older Selden extrusion).

b.

[rigormortis]

I am assuming you do not have mast steps. If you do, there are pros and cons. As a singlehander, steps are a must but they cause halyard fouling regularly, No great deal but one must have halyards led to mast base and not cockpit, because you must go forward to free the snagged halyard. So, internal halyards much preferred. I do, however, have an issue with an overly long bolt/rivet near the top of my mast (internal) which can cause chafe, sometimes. So, a drawback for internals. They still make noise inside or out but if you are offshore it is much more comforting noise that many others.
Another problem with steps is that they can snag your main when you drop it (I have a new, stiff, main and must use boat hook to clear sometimes. Always fun during sail shortening events (at night). Get your VHF antenna on the top of the mast. Handhelds are way over sold for distance. I have 3 and rely only on masthead for decent communication when entering strange port, in strange language. Free advice is what it is worth.
Pete

[gjordan]

If you (or anyone else) is even considering mast steps, now is the time to do it. The way to cut down on the halyards snagging is to sieze 80 or 100 pound monofilement fishing leader to the outside of the steps from the top to the bottom. It will eliminate almost all of the snagging. Before I learned that on my first cruising boat (Contessa 26) I did a reef at night, and in the morning found that one of my steps was bent over to 90 degrees. They were rather cheep aluminum steps, but they saved my butt when I had to change a headstay 1000 miles from land. I would have been scared to death to hang from a bosuns chair in mid ocean. I went on to put steps on my next 2 cruising boats. Just another 2 cents worth.______Grant.

[Cheechako]

Originally Posted by neilpride

Internal all the way!! the noise in a windy night is insane, lines last longer inside of the mast due uv protection, is neat and you got the mast clear ,
external sometimes get tangled in spreaders , radar , etc...
my 2 cents...

Yep, Internal... alot less messy and less noisy. Once the sheaves are in... the exit is easy.

[Jim Cate]

Originally Posted by pistarckle

Mike is right , if I was gonna do serous cruising in far away places I would want external .
Noise on outside halyards can be cured by whipping around the spreaders , it just comes natural when ya do it everyday . Internal halyards also can make noise and there ain't a lot to be done . Serious cruisers need simple answers , weekend warriors need gadgets and toys ! Keep it simple !

I find this a peculiar attitude! Serious cruisers mostly like to have lots of halyards rove all the time, say two jib, two main, two spinnaker, a staysail and a spinnaker topping lift (as we had on our previous boat). This makes things crowded enough with them all being internal, but if the falls had all been external, what a mess and what a big windage addition there would have been.

I think of myself as being a "serious cruiser" and I've not noticed all that much problem with internal halyards, so I'm not sure what the naysayers are on about. With internals, half of the cordage lives inside the mast and escapes UV degradation. This means that one can, if desired, end-for-end them and have extra lifetime utilizing like-new line for the loaded portion.

All in all, I think that anyone with an alloy tube mast will find life better with internal halyards, but that is just my experience and opinion. YMMV.

Jim