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We unstepped the mast last fall and just now are getting around to upgrading the lights and wiring on the mast.
To my surprise it seems that a snake cannot be run down the inside of the mast.?
There are at least two blocks of an unknown material in the mast and there seems to be no way to get new wires past them.
Or even pull an existing wire through.

Has anyone encountered this?
And if so, how to remove then? Or get through them??

Thanks
Barry

I ran into this when trying to run the wires up the existing conduit in the mast. I was able to slowly push the obstructions further up the mast with some pressure on the snake. However, it eventually wouldn't budget further.?Unfortunately, I had to run the wires outside the conduit. I used the old 'zip-tie' trick to try to keep wires from slapping. A couple of weeks in, seems to be working.?

How far up is the obstruction? If it's not too far, you might be able to get a hold of some sort of rod or pole and poke through as Rick is suggesting.?

-Lee: T27-2 Dawn (#663)

This is probably goofy and unhelpful, but I'm reminded of the
frequently occuring problem of wetvac hose clogs, and the easiest way
to clear them... running water through. If you run out of other ideas,
hoist up one end and put the garden hose in it. Water pressure per
square inch is a function of the depth of the water and 40 feet,
by ,
is about 17psi, if you stood it bolt upright and filled it with water.
At a 45 degree angle, half that.

This is probably another braindead thing, but I got tired of water
running in to the bilge during heavy rains, so I put a bunch of
polyurathane foam in the mast above the deck level and stuck a
poker through an existing disused rivet/bolt hole also above
deck level but a bit lower than the foam and and poked up
through the polyurathane, effectively causing the same problem
you are now dealing with. Oops.

Anyway, bats got in to the house last night, probably lured in
by the fresh baked strawberry rhubarb pie. Couldn't possibily be
a coincidence. So if water doesn't work, maybe try luring badgers
in to the mast.

Good luck. Let us know how it goes. Sadly, this might not be
the bottom of the barrel.

-scott

(sending in duplicate but from the correct address hoping one copy, no
more, no less, goes through)

Great story Scott - but I doubt that water pressure will work in this case.
There are at least two blockages. One about ten feet down from the top, another about six feet up from the base and who knows what in between.
And they occupy the entire cross section of the mast.
They do seem to be styrofoam-like. I'll try poking at them with a long steel rod that I happen to have, and report back.

Hmmm - is there anything that will dissolve styrofoam and not attack aluminum?

Steel rod would be the logical thing. Google turns up
which
says acetone for dissolving styrofoam. I've accidentally dissolved
styrofoam so it's definitely possible, but didn't make a note of
exactly what did it. Trying to spray paint styrofoam usually does not
go well. I'd avoid strong acids for the sake of the aluminium but
goog is saying acetone is fine.

It seems more likely that foam would be polyurethane foam (like the
popular Great Stuff expandable canned foam from the hardware store)
though, and
and says "time to get out the tools". If you get a chunk out and its
kind of rubbery and yellow, it's polyurethane.

Cheers,
-scott

I rewired my mast two years ago. ?Similar problem. ?My main blockage appeared near the spreaders. ?Some of the original wiring was a tangled mess and there was styrofoam in the mast. ?I used a long hardwood stick about 3/4” square and 25 ft. long. ?I inserted a screw cross wise at one end of the stick to use as a hook. ?With much probing and turning of the stick, I was able to snag old wiring and foam and pull it out. ?I started out using some old wiring to pull cord the full length of mast. ?I was then able to pull some new wiring, but eventually could pull now more until I removed the old wiring and foam with my long stick and makeshift hook. ?It took a couple of days overall with much probing with snakes and snagging old wiring. ?Once old junk was removed, pulling the rest of the new cabling was simple. ?I have masthead tricolor (with anchor light), VHF antenna ?and wind sensor at masthead and steaming / foredeck light and spreader lights installed at the spreaders. ?All lights are LED. ?I get some slapping with new wiring. ?I used 16-2 or 16-3 wire as required for each lighting fixture. ?I was able to drill and tap for new stainless fasteners. ?Use blue Locktite to insulate the stainless screws from the aluminum. ?It prevents the dissimilar metal corrosion as well as keeping the machine screws from backing out.?

Here’s an update.
Acetone was the answer. ?Raised one end of the mast and poured some in there.