The previous owner of Plus Ultra had installed a masthead combination running/anchoring light, and it worked when we bought the boat in October of 2008. But when I tested it in early 2009, the anchor light was still working, but the running light was not. I spent considerable time swapping light bulbs, flipping switches and checking voltage across the entire pathway to the light. At every stage (switch, interior cabin, through-deck wire connector, mast base, masthead, light socket), but the navigation light would just not come on. So I started pulling everything apart, determined to find out what the problem was. It ended up being a corroded terminal in the through-deck wire connector. It was still making good enough contact to pass the correct voltage through, but it would not provide enough amps to light the bulb.
I cleaned the terminal and cut back the wire to remove the corroded part, then put it all back together and the light worked. While I'm grateful that the previous owner had installed the light, I was less than impressed with how it was mounted. He had used cheap hardware store brackets meant to hold up small knick-knack shelves, which he screwed into the mast with sheet metal screws. The brackets were flimsy, and the weight of the light rocking back and forth had broken the mount.
So I got some aluminum stock and made a sturdy mount and attached it with aluminum rivets. It looks a lot better, won't rust, and it's a lot more sturdy.
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