Most ANNOYING Sound On A Sailboat!!! - Pulling Mast (Ep 24)

Now that I'm settled into Luperon, the boat repairs must begin. I start with a task I promised myself I'd take care of during hurricane season: securing the wires that are on the inside of the mast; the wires that slapped constantly and drive a bellowing sound throughout the entire cabin of Maritopia. But in order to complete that, the mast must come down. I'll start by getting the mast ready for the crane truck to pull. Then we'll walk through the steps I took, by using wire ties. It may not be the most professional method, but it's without a doubt the easiest and cheapest.
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[@neilquigley1030]

that's a LOT of work - well done.

[@AmysSoloSailingAdventures]

Thank you! It made it much more work since the temps and humidity in the DR are crazy high this time of year.

[@ClubBlue3650]

Great job Amy! I love all your videos but I do get excited over your repair and improvement ones. Looking forward to seeing the next one on this job. ❤

[@AmysSoloSailingAdventures]

Thank you! I’m so happy you enjoy the videos! There’s gonna be a TON of repair videos in the near future! 🤣

[@ClubBlue3650]

@@AmysSoloSailingAdventures YAYY!!

[@user-retsailor]

Yep, if ya went thru the work to take the mast down, do everything you can on the mast. Good job !

[@AmysSoloSailingAdventures]

It was a ton of work in a very short time. But well worth it.

[@johnnylightning1491]

It looks like the project is going OK. Something you may want to think about in future is a Chinese finger puzzle type thing for the end of your fish tape. All you have to do is put the wire in the puzzle and maybe a single round of tape at the bottom so it doesn't come loose but it make the attachment point to the wire much skinnier. All in all it looks like you're getting the job done. I think that the wire tie method to keep the wires from slapping the mast is dope. It's easy, cheap and apparently works. Keep the good stuff coming.

[@AmysSoloSailingAdventures]

Thank you! I’ll have to search for that finger trap thing. That would’ve been perfect for something like this! Yeah, I’m happy I went with the wire tie method. Super cheap and it definitely did the job. Mast makes no noises at all now. It’s actually weird, and I’m still getting used to it, how quiet it is inside now. What a huge relief!

[@saylaveenadmearedead]

Dyneema works

[@saylaveenadmearedead]

Internal baggy wrinkles, lol.... love it ❤😂

[@AmysSoloSailingAdventures]

@@saylaveenadmearedead that’s a FANTASTIC idea! Where were you with this idea a month ago. lol. I have a few hundred ft of dyneema that I could’ve easily used. But great to have that in the bag for future jobs!

[@fish1860]

Great job. Ours did the same slapping noise. Drove me bat shit crazy, never bothered Amy. lol But then again she likes the sound of barking dogs, lol. Love your videos girl !!!

[@AmysSoloSailingAdventures]

Thank you! So happy you like them! How on earth did it not bother her?!?! The one and only thing that helped me with it was to try and sing a song to the beat of the slapping. And then a bigger wave comes on and messes the song up. GRRRRR! It would piss me off so much! Thank god it’s taken care of!

[@dadzilla007]

Boat repairs should be considered as 'fix one, find two'.

[@AmysSoloSailingAdventures]

Hahahaha! So true! I only planned to secure the wires. But when looking at the standing rigging, I found 4 of the swaged fittings cracked. What should’ve only been about $900 (including crane) wound up being around $4k.

[@sartorst3376]

@@AmysSoloSailingAdventures Ouch ! but glad you found the cracks

[@AmysSoloSailingAdventures]

@@sartorst3376 no doubt.

[@richmorpurgo5554]

I used a pvc conduit and riveted it to the inside of the mast. My wires drove me crazy on my Westsail.

[@AmysSoloSailingAdventures]

That’s what I would’ve liked to have used. But I had super limited time before the crane truck left and didn’t come back for 6 months. PVC will definitely last longer than the wire ties. Hahaha. Happy to know I’m not alone with them driving me insane. Thank goodness it’s taken care of now!

[@seawench555]

Mate, take a photo for reference ok. Also for filming in dark areas use ur head torch, that way we can see it too. One job at a time, ur powering through, awesome, I really enjoy boat work when someone else is doing it!!!!😂👍💜 have u got some rubber grommets for the mast gables

[@AmysSoloSailingAdventures]

Hahaha. I enjoy it much more when someone else is doing it, too! Yeah, I learned quite a bit putting this video together, and where I went wrong. Hopefully that means that future repair videos will be better. No grommets, cause then I would’ve had to have drill bigger holes in the mast. Insulated wires which I then squeezed silicone into. Hopefully that’s good enough where there won’t be any issues with chaffing wires in the near future.

[@naignildoi826]

i once changed all the wiring in an old allo mast. As i pulled wire through mast i put precut & drilled sponge rubber every 5 feet. Great no rattles.

[@AmysSoloSailingAdventures]

I hadn’t even thought of that method; that’s great! I scoured the internet for hours before deciding on the zip tie method. I’m just happy it worked! Those wires are FINALLY making no slapping noises!

[@tartansailor]

I did this job the first year I had the boat, the noise made by the wires at anchor was driving my wife crazy as her head is by the mast when asleep. Cheers

[@AmysSoloSailingAdventures]

Good on you for taking care of it. It was driving me crazy as well. SUCH an annoying sound! And it’d be even worse since her head was right by the mast.

[@sirkyoj1]

I like the repair videos that explain as they work. I’m in for watching your repair videos. I have a gimbal light inside that drives me nuts…squeaks no matter how much I lubricate it. Stepping on but zip ties on bare feet is an experience to be enjoyed once. Looks like you have pulled network cables before.

[@AmysSoloSailingAdventures]

Gimbaled light seems like a pretty cool thing! Sucks ya can’t get it to shut the heck up! lol. For sure! Once is more than enough. Those little buggers hurt like hell when ya step on them! Meh, just my years of installing electronics in cars and semi trucks/trailers. Thank goodness those days are behind me!

[@sirkyoj1]

@@AmysSoloSailingAdventures I have a plan for the light. Next haul out it goes away. I never use the oil light anyway. I kept it around as a just in case.

[@AmysSoloSailingAdventures]

@@sirkyoj1 ah. I wasn’t even thinking about it being an oil lamp. Yeah, with modern LED lights and solar, oil burners aren’t very useful anymore.

[@SVSeeker]

Well done. I had conduit glued in but that broke loose halfway up the mast so I pulled a piece of foam up the mast to wedge it back against the side. I too hate that noise! Sleep well and sweet dreams to you.

[@AmysSoloSailingAdventures]

Thank you, Doug! I scoured the internet for days and weeks trying to come up with a solution. Zip ties seemed to be the easiest and cheapest method. Though I did spend about double on them than I normally would, because I got the super stiff heavy duty ones. But it did the trick, thank god! How’d you get foam inside of the mast? Did you lean it over, or do you have openings at various points?

[@SVSeeker]

@@AmysSoloSailingAdventures What you did I think is best for what you have. I have a large access opening in the bottom of my mast so I dropped a line from the top, tied it to a chunk of foam, shoved the foam through the access opening and hauled it half way up the mast.

[@SVSeeker]

@@AmysSoloSailingAdventures kzbin.info/www/bejne/hV7RfHSCjp2lr8U

[@AmysSoloSailingAdventures]

@@SVSeeker hahaha! Reverse child birth! Yeah, totally different setups. I like how simple yours way to quiet down. Wish mine had been that easy.

[@terryhillman8755]

Very clever. I was expecting some type of pool noodle affair to quiet the banging. Cheers.

[@AmysSoloSailingAdventures]

Thank you! I went round and round with what method I was going to use. With the wire ties, I was worried they wouldn’t be strong enough. So I bought the sturdiest ones I could find. And it worked SOOO good! No more wires slapping inside of the mast. And much easier to fall asleep.

[@sartorst3376]

In the past I remember watching one of your videos and heard that banging and cringed because it brought back some bad memories of a boat I had with the same problem 😢 Another reason to pick up those clipped off zip ties is that they can go through the strainer on the the bilge pump and lock the impeller and flood your boat . !!! You know how I know ??? Yeah 😂

[@AmysSoloSailingAdventures]

I was surprised that no one had ever commented about that wretched noise. SOOO irritating! But the wire ties did the trick; I couldn’t have asked for anything better. Oh yeah, no doubt! Especially when they’re the tiny wire ties. Haha! Live and learn, right. I also don’t like it when people fail to cut the tail end of wire ties off. Just looks so much cleaner when you tidy them up just a bit.

[@jomeijackson5311]

Ah mast wires banging out "Rattle and Bang all Night" and on a windy 10 knot anchorage day "Ode to Headache and no sleep" the classics cruiser music, glad you got rid of it. Wait more rigging issues. I read further down in the comments, the norseman fitting were used on the mast and not just at chainplates? Given how any boat project multiples like a pair of rabbits in spring, I have a feeling you're editing between the repairs and finishing up the projects.

[@AmysSoloSailingAdventures]

lol. Thats totally what it was, the classic cruisers song, playing every single night. The one and only Norseman was on the lower backstay. All others were swaged. But now they’re all Sta-Lok, with new wire rope. The videos are about 6/8 weeks behind, so the mast project is long done. But I’m definitely editing at night while working during the day, because I’ve got many other projects going on.

[@chapter4travels]

Zip-tie wire stand-offs, very clever, I would have filled the entire mast with gummy bears to stop the slapping. Zip-ties are a much better idea.

[@AmysSoloSailingAdventures]

Hahahahahahaha!!!!! I like the gummy bear idea much better! Course once the sun beats on the mast, you’d have a ton of gooey mess down below. But it’d sure be fun filling it.

[@chapter4travels]

@@AmysSoloSailingAdventures Clearly I didn't think it all the way through. I just figured gummy bears wouldn't let me down. I'm so disillusioned.

[@AmysSoloSailingAdventures]

@@chapter4travels lmao! But with a great sense of humor!

[@ckfpv]

Hey Amy ⛵⚓⛵🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸✌️

[@AmysSoloSailingAdventures]

Heya! Thanks for watching! 🤟

[@jamescarid3448]

Hi Amy, I just love watching boat projects! Just curious, what's the crane cost? cheers.

[@AmysSoloSailingAdventures]

That makes me so happy!!!! For normal Dominican costs, it was actually quite expensive, being $750USD. That’s more than what it costs in the states. But given it had to drive all the way to Luperon, it’s no wonder, because he had to pay for his fuel.

[@jamescarid3448]

@@AmysSoloSailingAdventures Thats a lot of $$! Thanks for the info, Cheers.

[@AmysSoloSailingAdventures]

@@jamescarid3448 tell me about it! I was expecting around $200.

[@Mark-abc]

Good video Amy but so far I don’t understand how you keep the wires from moving inside the mast.

[@AmysSoloSailingAdventures]

Thank you for watching. I didn’t realize until I was editing that I’d not explained it. At roughly 20 inch increments, I installed 6 to 8 wire ties, in a circle, so that they were sticking out and away from the wires in every direction. The wire ties are longer than the circumference of the mast so, once pulled into the mast, the pressure they create pushing off of the inner mast wall holds the wires off of inner mast wall. But thank you for mentioning this. With all the repair type videos that I have in the near future, doing a better job of explaining things will certainly help.

[@Mark-abc]

@@AmysSoloSailingAdventures Ah ok I get it. Very smart.

[@AmysSoloSailingAdventures]

@@Mark-abc thanks. I’m just happy it worked. I made sure to buy pretty sturdy ties. Would’ve been a huge failure if I’d put everything back together and the wires still slapped. lol.

[@gunghoadventures871]

Awesome stuff Amy . What are you filming with ? Damn , Very clear and awesome pic

[@AmysSoloSailingAdventures]

Thank you! Just a GoPro in this video. It works pretty good, but those little buggers overheat super quick, and without warning. So I end up thinking I’m recording…not knowing the camera had shut off. I miss quite a bit of stuff when that happens.

[@LostandFoundonNorden]

@@AmysSoloSailingAdventures Piggy backing on this question, what software do you like for editing your videos? Thanks! Eric

[@AmysSoloSailingAdventures]

@@LostandFoundonNorden I use CapCut, and love it. It’s not free, but it’s very inexpensive compared to the big, well known programs. It’s got a huge array of editing features.

[@robertlaird6746]

I just noticed that your battery cables are not all the same length. I've seen several battery install videos and they all say to use the same length of cable. You've got short cables on one side and long on the other. I thought that riggers run all the wires through conduit. I haven't seen how they do it but have never heard of the wire tie method before. What I do know is that you can wet sand your mast and then clear coat it so that the aluminum doesn't oxidize. That way the mast looks new again. Just sand lengthwise so the tiny scratches look uniformed.

[@AmysSoloSailingAdventures]

Good eyes! Yes, they’re different on both sides. It’s because I set my system as 24V. Even though it looks like it, the cables that matter are identical lengths. The short jumper cables are what tie the batteries together as 24V, and they’re identical lengths. On the other side, the side that matters, they’re identical as well. The cables are also well oversized, so that there’s zero amperage loss. If it were a simple 12V system, all cabling would be identical. I must’ve spent 2 months designing the system before I started the install. It’s worked perfectly since day one. I highly recommend Battleborn LiFePo batteries with Victron controllers.

[@robertlaird6746]

@@AmysSoloSailingAdventures I added thoughts to my comment as I was watching your video. Please read them. By the way, I've been saving up to build a Cyber 48 and hopefully will start the build sometime in 2025. I grew up sailing and racing till I was about 30 and then had to focus on my career a lot harder and had to stop sailing. I miss it a lot and haven't been out on a sailboat in about 15 years. When I was going to high school, I met someone at the yacht club that had just sailed in from the south pacific. I didn't know at that time that anyone sailed around the world. That sparked my interest and I told myself that I was going to do the same thing one day as soon as I could afford it but didn't know how I could ever afford to do something like that. Now I'm almost ready but don't know any electronic navigation at all. I do know how to use a sextant and charts the old school way. I learned that on TeVega that is now called DEVA. Thanks for answering my questions. www.sandemanyachtcompany.co.uk/yacht/410/cox-and-stevens-135-ft-gaff-schooner-1930

[@AmysSoloSailingAdventures]

@@robertlaird6746 the wire tie method actually works quite well. Perfect in fact. Conduit was my first option that I was going to use. However, due to time constraints with the crane truck (it’s the one and only in the entire country of the DR. And it only makes it to Luperon once or twice a year), I had to switch things up and go with the quicker method. The wires/cables don’t make a single sound now, so all is good. As for the mast, I have some amazing news/updates coming in the next month or so, so I wasn’t too concerned with the mast at the time. That’s a crazy cool catamaran! Building a brand new one yourself? What a neat project! You sailed aboard DEVA?!?! Wow that’s awesome! I’d love to sail a schooner one day! The modern electronics are pretty easy to learn. I started learning how to use a sextant, and may continue those studies in the future. But I decided to cast off and start exploring, so I set the sextant and learning aside.

[@robertlaird6746]

@@AmysSoloSailingAdventures I thought I sent another message but I guess it didn't go through. Yes, I sailed for 11 1/2 months aboard TeVega that is now called DEVA. We sailed all around western Europe, down the coast of Africa, across the Atlantic just off the coast of Brazil and up the east coast of the US. I've heard that the Cyber 48 build for just the materials will cost me about 220k. That's everything. Ready to sail around the world properly with all the equipment you need. That's doing all the work myself. The build takes about a year and a half with two people working on it full time. I'd like to learn how to kitesurf because it looks like it would be really fun.

[@AmysSoloSailingAdventures]

@@robertlaird6746 that’s a heck of a project! But no doubt it’ll be so worth it. And you’ll quite literally know every last square inch of it. I’d love to do that myself some day, build my own boat. And what an absolutely phenomenal time you must’ve had on TeVega! I’ll be spending another year or so in the Caribbean, then crossing the Pacific. At least that’s my tentative plans. I’d like to get down to French Polynesia, then NZ, and then down to Antarctica. I spent 6 months working in Antarctica about 15 years ago and, once I bought a boat, I promised myself I’d make it back.