Boat HF Antenna Thoughts

[RadioRay]

There was an HF marine whip made by Shakespeare and here is one example.  They were usually on power boats, but I did see one sailboat that had one on her stern. Should have named her the 'Scorpion"!  ha ha


de Ray

[gil]

I used to have a Shakespeare CB antenna in the early 80s on my parent's house. It's still there! So i know they last! It has wethered countless storms and high winds fo thirty years.

Gil.

[Lamewolf]

We ended up using a aft mounted whip around 25' tall.

What kind of whip Mike?

Gil.

Gil, and anyone else interested,
You might want to take a look at the Eagle One Vertical at www.w8afx.com  Its a 31' fiberglass telescopic whip that works well as a permanent mounted or portable antenna that collapses down to 44 inches when not in use.  Alone it is self resonant on 40 meters being a quarter wave but I use mine with an Icom AH4 autotuner at the feedpoint for 10 thru 80 meter operations and yes it does work fairly well on 80 !

[gil]

Gil, and anyone else interested,
You might want to take a look at the Eagle One Vertical at www.w8afx.com

Thanks, interesting. It could definitely be useful on a boat!

Gil.

[RadioRay]

Truthfully, having been in more than a few gales/storms ina sailboat, I would not use a whip.  Boat motion in a rough sea must be experienced to be believed!  Having the boat pushed through >90 degrees of motion on all axis in a VERY short period of time puts tremendous stress on anything not bolted to the boat at both ends - including crew. 



The motion arm of a looooong whip (which is also a compromise antenna on many bands) exerts tremendous force. The backstay antenna is used because it has a proven record of survivability and adequate efficiency. Think of torque on the mount of a 25-30 foot whip with that much moment arm...  Even in a calm sea, it's work hardening the metal and one day SNIP!


MY 0.02 cents worth - Please correct for inflation,


>Ray

[gil]

That makes sense Ray. I was thinking or a removable whip, but problem is, you might need to radio especially in a storm!

The problem with my project (see attached photo) is that the mast is unstayed. It's about 15ft above deck. Boat is 13ft long, all wood. I can hoist a wire up the mast, or have one inside or against the mast, but it's still only 15ft, 16 at the most. I don't like the idea of a lightning rod on a 13ft wooden boat... There doesn't seem to be an easy option there...

Gil.

[mdmc]

If I did this correctly, the link below has a pic of my transom with part of the bottom section of my whip. It mounts to the top of the transom and to the stern rail. We have been knocked down, beat up in all kinds of weather and all day long in sickening waves from all directions.
Go to the second page, top pic. This will give you an idea of the size of these antennas.

http://www.natconet.com/~mdmc/Personal1/index1.html

[Jim Boswell]

Shakespear used to make a 2section CB dipole vertical. That antenna could be used on 15 meters tuned with a tuner. I used one back in my novice days.
73'S  KA5SIW

[Luigi]

I would say that a Magnetic loop antenna would work well. It is small enough and it can be mounted horizontally (up high) for omni-directional use and vertically (can be on the deck) for directional use. Up high and horizontal puts you inside of a null. This is nice for reducing EMI. Usually these antennas do not need radial grounds.

You probably should carry a set of dipole wires and a balun as a backup or for coverage in bands not covered by a mag loop.

Good grounding of the radio, tuners, and the power supply is important. This is hard to come by in a sailboat.

Oh, I forgot to mention something else of entertainment value. Watch the movie All is Lost. It is a great sailing movie. A radio is featured in this movie. The sailor does some pretty boneheaded things in the movie.
Luigi