[C320-list] Bulb types for mast lights

[Warren Updike]

Doug, first off, you don't want conductive grease.  The appropriate product
is called a dielectric grease, meaning it won't conduct electricity.  That
sounds counterintuitive, doesn't it; but, when you think about it, you don't
want a product that may connect the pos and neg contacts and conduct
current.  The way a dielectric grease works is to inhibit corrosion without
passing current.  The contacts are made by friction between the bulb and
fixture surface, pushing the grease aside only where the contact is made.  I
use this stuff on all my contacts: battery, busses, etc.  

As for the bulb type, on our 1994, the deck lamp was halogen, and the
steaming light was incandescent. Sorry I can't give you the exact type.  I
know my owner's manual came with information about the fixture, do check
that.  I ended up replacing the whole fixture because of the excessive
corrosion in the original.  You may be able to do this without dropping the
mast; but, Catalina didn't leave me a lot of wire to work with.  

I also replace the anchor light with an Aqua Signal Series 25, and used an
LED bulb I got from Cruising Solutions.  Then I replaced all the interior
lamps and fixtures with LEDs.  I left the florescence lamps alone.  My
interior current draw is a fraction of what it was.  I can have the anchor
light on and all the interior lights (not that I do) and the current draw is
still about a quarter of what it was.  A good upgrade to make.

Warren & Pattie Updike
1994 C320 #62 "Warr De Mar"

-----Original Message-----
From: Doug Treff [mailto:doug at treff.us] 
Sent: Sunday, May 19, 2013 11:46 AM
To: C320-List at Catalina320.com
Subject: [C320-list] Bulb types for mast lights

Hi all,

I am going up my mast on Thursday to look at the steaming light, deck light,
and anchor light, all of which have stopped working. In an effort to be
prepared, and only have to make one trip up the mast, I was wondering if any
of you have a list of bulb types that will be needed to replace these three
bulbs.

Will definitely be prepared with a multimeter, conductive grease, scotch
brite pads, etc. in case I only need to clean up the contacts, but if a bulb
needs to be replaced, I'd like to have one of each in the tool bag to
prevent more than one trip up there.

In case they've changed fixtures over the years, I have a 1996 model, hull
#350.

Thanks in advance for any help you can provide.

--
Doug Treff
September Song #350 - Pasadena, MD
doug at treff.us