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Stern Pole light construction

Your old Chris-Craft electrical system can be a challenge. If it runs on "juice" pose your questions and offer your advice here.

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kenkix
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Location: White Bear Lake, Minnesota
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Stern Pole light construction

Post by kenkix » Wed Aug 21, 2013 4:50 pm

Hi - --

I had a couple of unfortunate incidents involving the light pole of my '50 CC Special Runabout. I can't describe the incidents without profanity.

The net of it is that the base of the pole, the receiver unit from the boat and the attendant electrical connections are, well, disconnected. The connections don't make much mechanical or electrical sense.

1. At the base of the pole, there is a rectangular protrusion, which matches up with an opening on the base of the mast receiver. How does that make contact with the wiring? When the mast is in all the way, the rectangular protrusion is flush with the underside of receiver unit. Is it supposed to stick out further?

2. The positive and negative wires were both connected to a long bolt, finished with a nut. Is there supposed to be some kind of insulator or separator in there? I can't figure out how they both could be attached to the same conductor.

3. Does anyone have a diagram that shows how this fits together? (I have googled for same unsuccessfully.)

Thanks so much - ---
Ken
=====================
1950 Special Runabout: "Just for Kix"
Hull# SR17 1349
Engine# KBL 65216

Theurkauf
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Re: Stern Pole light construction

Post by Theurkauf » Thu Aug 22, 2013 6:04 am

Sounds very different from the pole on my 1950 Sportsman. I'm not sure this will help, but my pole socket is wired to the engine (ground/-) through one of the mounting bolts holding it to the deck. The center of the socket has a hole with an insulated machine screw, head up. Positive is wired to the bottom of the screw and leads to the nav switch on the dash. The center of the pole has a spring loaded contact that touches the screw head in the socket. I should add that there was no wiring when I purchased the boat (barn find), so this is what I deduced from the basic wiring diagram and the hardware that was left. Some pictures of your set up would help. It obviously will short if both wires are connected to the same bolt. You can find a basic wiring for a '52 runabout int he archive and in the next post.

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drrot
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Re: Stern Pole light construction

Post by drrot » Thu Aug 22, 2013 7:52 am

If the previous post don't help post some photos.
Jim Staib
www.finewoodboats.com


1947 Penn Yan 12' Cartopper WXH474611
1950 Chris-Craft 22' Sportsman U-22-1532
1957 Chris-Craft 26' Sea Skiff SK-26-515
1968 Century 17' Resorter FG-68-174

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Pete DeVito
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Re: Stern Pole light construction

Post by Pete DeVito » Thu Aug 22, 2013 9:05 pm

Hopefully I can help here...
The stern pole if wooden usually has a the wires from the lamp socket running down through the middle of the pole. The positive wire will go to the fitting sticking out of the bottom usuall a spring loaded contact. The pole usually has a metal sleeve on it where it fits into the pole base mounted on the boat. The other wire that comes down through the middle of the wooden stern pole will have the wire stripped back and the wire is behind this metal sleeve. The metal sleeve is actually the ground to the light which makes contact with the base when it slides down inside of it which the base has a ground wire usually from the engine connected to screw next to the contact base or one of the mounting screws that hold the stern mount to the deck. The spring loaded contact that comes out of the end of the stern pole meets with the contact in the bottom of the mount that usually is no more than a screw. The screw that mounts in the bottom of the base should be insulated from the base or else it will ground out. You should have a phnolic washer on top and bottom along with an insulator on the screw where it goes through the mount on the base. You can get all this stuff at home depot..I will post a pic of the assembly on my Capri.
Attachments
Stern Light electrical contact.jpg
Past Project 1948 17' Deluxe
Past Project 1957 19' Capri
Future Project 1955 17' Special Sportsman

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kenkix
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Location: White Bear Lake, Minnesota
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Re: Stern Pole light construction

Post by kenkix » Sat Aug 24, 2013 10:13 am

Thanks, guys. Theurkauf, that sounds like how mine should be wired, but wasn't. I may need to improvise. When I posted the original message, I thought that photos would help, but assumed that boats of similar vintage would have the same connection. Silly me. Your Capri photo is worlds apart from mine.

I'll post some photos tomorrow when I am back home.

Thanks again.
Ken
=====================
1950 Special Runabout: "Just for Kix"
Hull# SR17 1349
Engine# KBL 65216

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kenkix
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Location: White Bear Lake, Minnesota
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Re: Stern Pole light construction

Post by kenkix » Wed Sep 04, 2013 12:59 pm

OK, sorry for the delay. Pesky clients are leaving me alone now. :D

Here are some photos:
DSC01649.JPG
So here is the bottom of the stern mast, taken apart.
DSC01651.JPG
And the base socket which screws and bolts into the deck.
DSC01661.JPG
Electrical Contact wires
These contacts were *both* connected to the *same* bolt below the deck, fastened with a nut, connecting to the Base socket on top. Obviously this doesn't make much electrical sense, as it is an immediate short. There was no insulating material anywhere. (There may have been some at one time, but now nothing.)

What I didn't notice until just today is that the metal protrusion at the base of the mast moves in and out, to that is likely a switch that engages when the mast post is fully in the base socket. (Is that right?) So, the wire inside the black cylinder makes contact (just outside of the photo) with the metal sleeve, which makes contact to the base. That makes up the (probably) positive electrical connection.

What I don't understand is the negative electrical side? To what does that attach?

Perhaps someone with a pole/socket like this would please post a photo of what the connections are supposed to look like below the deck?

Many thanks,
Ken
=====================
1950 Special Runabout: "Just for Kix"
Hull# SR17 1349
Engine# KBL 65216

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