HF antennas
I wonder about using the mast of the Vision as an antenna...it would have to be isolated from the rest of the boat, and I would think that the tubular effect of the walls might be different from wire, ie walls radiating a signal against walls. Both the inside and the outside walls of the mast would be radiating signal, I THINK.....Ed, you will get much greater range using an insulated backstay. The ground plane is easily dealt with, providing you can get copper strapping from the tuner to a keelbolt. (In my boat, I actually had to remove a strip of the cabin sole, put the strap underneath and then replace the wood). The keel is a GREAT counterpoise, as it connects with the water (big ground plane) through capacitance. External lead keels, such as we have on our Cherubinis, are great. If you use a coupler, put it directly under the backstay. A problem with other setups is that the wire leading from whatever you use to load the antenna, is, in fact, the beginning of the antenna. So, if this wire leads through the boat to the base of the antenna, a lot of the signal is lost. Finally, if you want to do away with the insulated backstay, run some double braid from the masthead to the deck. Remove the core, and substitute wire. Voila...an antenna, insulated from human hands and the boat, by the jacket of the line. The wire obviously goes to the tuner. Some friends of mine did this, and I have talked to them in Tonga, so it works. Of course, such a line could also be raised and lowered, so it might help the Vision.
