A new hobby

I’ve been struggling to get a VHF antenna mounted atop the mast on my sailboat. The mast is down so no climbing involved (which would have been impossible). I had to run the coax cable through the 40′ mast. I used the stiff wire electricians use to pull electrical wires inside a wall.

Sounds easy right? Well, not so much.

The cable got caught every few feet so I had to walk to one end, push it in a little further then walk back to the other end of the mast and pull, then walk back… It took awhile.

But before all that I had to find the right parts/connectors for VHF type cable. Different salesmen at different stores all had different ideas on what parts I needed. Ater many days, poor advise, and buying the wrong parts, I finally got what I needed.

So, with the antenna attached, cable run, radio mounted I tested it and got the marine weather channel. Since the mast is still down, the antenna is very low so I could only receive that channel. I’m hoping that once we raise the mast the radio will work with more channels. Otherwise I have to redo things – meaning the mast would have to come down!

It was a good day, no dizzies. The boat has given me a good hobby to take my mind off Leuk. I was raised by the sea. I think the salt air is therapeutic for me. Living inland has dried me up a bit.

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3 Responses

  1. Tom Kaufman says:

    Jim, your antenna story sounds suspiciously like my retirement. Takes most of a week to do a 30 minute project. I don’t get much done, but I sure am busy doing it!

    Happy Sailing!

  2. Willie says:

    So happy we got the boat. Love you so much. Also love your boat stories!!