1987 Cat 22: Installing VHF Antenna

Feb 20, 2016
153
Catalina 22 Palm Harbor
Boat arrives on my trailer ( part of the purchase) in a few days and trying to get ahead of making her sail worthy via VHF Radio.
There is a 5W Hand Held VHF as part of the purchase that I have not seen, yet. While the Mast is down, we are looking at installing the typical 25 W Unit with a Whip Antenna at the Mast Head. Is this something I can do? Pretty hands on with mechanical issues, just don't know what to purchase ahead of boat arrival since I do not know anything about the configuration of the mast head for this installation unless a side mount away from the wind vane is available.

The next issue for me is how to get the VHF Coaxial to the Radio Mount inside the Companion Way............
There is an anchor light at the mast head, i do know that.
Do I keep the wind vane a certain distance away from the Whip Antenna.

I'll most likely have more questions as I trip through what I will be receiving versus what I need to do in addition to the existing equipment so I can get her in the water.

The Boat is immaculate, so I hope all I am concerned about is preemptive.....................
Appreciate your thoughts at sharing exercises like this and or what else to expect.
 

Joe

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Jun 1, 2004
7,999
Catalina 27 Mission Bay, San Diego
There will be mounting and wiring instructions included with the antenna. Side mount bracket should be included, but not cable. You'll want a disconnect at mast base.... waterproof, of course. The cable will exit mast at base and the coupler will be nearby... wire goes through the deck to whatever hidden route you lay out back to radio. Your windvane shouldn't be a problem but it doesn't take much to come up with a creative solution other wise... My wind device is mounted on a wand that extends it a foot or so ahead of the mast giving the antenna plenty of space.

The popular thing now is vhf radio with AIS receiver. You might want to do a little research before you invest in a fixed mount VHF. I installed one a few years back that connects to my N2k network... allow in the ais targets to appear on my chartplotter display.... very, very cool... and it makes your feel safer when commercial and other large vessels are aroound.
 
Feb 14, 2019
3
Catalina 22 WK Indianapolis
They used to make a windex / VHF antenna combo, but i've only found one and it was on ebay. You will have to mournt either the windex or the antenna offset forward or aft from the mast on a horizontal spar that extends from the plate at the top of the mast.

Feed the coax through the mast to exit at the base. install a thru-hull coax connector on the deck near the base of the mast. Drill the hole slightly larger than the connecter, then coat the hole with epoxy to prevent water from leaking in and "sponging" your cabin top.

I think your boat has a metal compression post. There should be a hole in the side of the compression post at the top for the mast light wires to connect to the mast light thru-hull. Feed the coax through that hole to the base of the compression post and then to where ever you want to install the radio. My radio is installed just above the cooler so I can get to it from the cockpit.
 
Feb 19, 2008
292
Catalina Capri 18 ann arbor
Following this because I’m about to do the same.
boat came with a non-working deck mount VHF. I installed the new one and it works great, but the antenna is a 4” tall plastic coated thing mounted in the stern. A masthead antenna makes more sense, but it’s just slightly intimidating.

all my other wiring project have been successful so far, so here’s hoping.