I have been contemplating adding a TV antenna to my C36 Mk11 and rather than try and find the conduit at the spreader above the radome, I noted (from the Charleston Spar Furling Mast Handbook) that there is a cap on the top of the masthead held by 6 screws.
Jim at Charleston spars has been very helpful and confirmed that you can remove the cap and see the conduit. It sounds rather simple to then just mount the antenna and drill a hole in the cap to lead the cable into the conduit.
As I haven't seen the top of my mast, I would be grateful if anyone could confirm the above and that there are no surprises when I summon the courage to go up and have a go at this.
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Peter Taylor Melbourne Australia. Altair #2227 2005 C36 Mk11
Pete:
I know on ours the only way to access the top of the spar tube is to remove the top. There is no cap. In order to to that we had to take the mast (spar) down. There is then 1 though bolt to be removed then the shrouds and head stay has to be removed in order to make it easier to remove. That also goes for if your going to replace your main sheet sheave. Have to do the same thing,
Randy
Randy Sherwood
Mutualfun 1990 # 1057
T/R W/K M35a
Home. Charlotte, Mi.
Boat. St Augustine,Fl.
Peter,
I think the answer Randy gave is 100% correct for the spar that most of our boats have, but it might not be accurate for your Charleston Spar. Most C36s were delievered with either a tall rig or standard rig mast that (I believe) was made by Catalina. More recently the Charleston Spar (with in-mast furling) was offered as an option. Hope this helps.
Tom Sokoloski
C36/375IA Past Commodore
Noank, CT
Thanks for the response Tom and Randy.
It is a Charleston Furling spar but I am cautious in the interpretation of and response to my question - hence my call to the forum.
I will give Jim (at Charleston) a phone call I and explain what I want to do. The answer may lie in what we call a cap. In the pictures of the new masts it shows a cap held by 6 scews as I explained. This sits on what I call the masthead crane which is what Randy is refering to.
I want to be able to get a wire through the crane which holds the sheaves, shrouds and stays etc, into the conduit.
In the scheme of things its no big deal and a trip to the top of the mast will solve the issue. It would be nice to know what to expect when I get up there.
Thanks once again.
Peter Taylor Melbourne Australia. Altair #2227 2005 C36 Mk11