I've just left the boat and won't return for three weeks, and I'm kicking myself because I meant to check the transom for a method for passing cables through the deck.
On the Pushpit I want to mount an FM aerial for the radio - however, I need to know if I need to buy a cable gland and (gulp) drill a hole in the deck or if there is a suitable gland factory fitted somewhere?
An elegant solution is to remove the pushpit and run the cable through the tubing. An exit hole underneath the top bar will let you bring the cable out to connect to the antenna. It's a bit of work, but eliminates drilling a visible hole in the deck.
Jake
The factory pass cables through the pulpit/pushpit as Jake describes relying on sealant when the bases are screwed down to make the seal and grommets where the wire exits. Replicating this as a retrofit is a massive job so a deck gland is the only sensible way. Probably better to go through the transom rather than the deck as the latter is very thick at this point, probably with an aluminium plate insert for the pushpit fastenings. The transom is relatively thin and single skin, is probably easier to access and being vertical easier to seal using the type of gland where the cable comes out parallel to the surface rather than at right angles.
Maybe you should think about an antenna splitter for the VHF-radio antenna. This is a small blackbox wired into the antenna connection to the vhf radio, and provides an additional connetion for your FM-set. Wiring is simple, and you need no extra glands or running with cables through your boat. See example on https://www.svb24.com/en/glomex-am-fm-duplexer-switch.html
When I replaced our stern navigation light, the pushpit, I noticed that the cable moved quite freely and was not sealed / gooed to the pushpit: so at least our boat was different than Symphony's suggestion. I would suggest studying current pushpit mounting points on your lazarette and figuring out if an existing cable could be used to feed a mousing line or if electrician's fish tape could be used to feed a cable through pushpit tubes.
Looking things from lazarette side will also be very helpful on deciding gland placement if you end up using that way.
BR,
Tommi
s/y Anniina
I have a GPS antenna mounted on the pushpit via a gland on the transom. That cable really does need tidying!
Quote from: SYJetzt on January 27 2020, 15:51
Maybe you should think about an antenna splitter for the VHF-radio antenna. This is a small blackbox wired into the antenna connection to the vhf radio, and provides an additional connetion for your FM-set. Wiring is simple, and you need no extra glands or running with cables through your boat. See example on https://www.svb24.com/en/glomex-am-fm-duplexer-switch.html
I'd certainly try the splitter route first.
If pushpit UHF/FM aerial can be used as an emergency VHF antenna, that could be considered as one benefit over the splitter solution. Whether you actually need a spare VHF antenna may depend on your cruising area and/or possible coding requirements.
Just one topic to consider before deciding either way...
BR
Tommi
s/y Anniina