A friend with 42' cat uses the aluminum hard bimini framework as
counterpoise and a whip antenna (I think 23') mounted on inner sloped F/G
section alongside transom step (under handrail). Says it works better than
the insul backstay antenna and extensive foil strips he had on previous 40'
cat. If you have such a framework, you might give it a try before laying
foil. I don't think antenna type makes a difference.
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" I'm about to install the SSB ground system in my catamaran. Since I don't
have a lead keel, and my water tank is well above the w/l, seems I might
be
needing to lay down a lot of copper strips in the bilge.
The operators manual suggested that a 3" strip separated 3" from an
adjacent
3" strip would be equivalent to a 9" strip. Is this the maximum separation
to achieve this phenomonem? If the strips could be 2 feet apart, and still
be effective as a 2+ foot wide strip, that would save a lot of time and
materials. Probably too good to be true though. But if it did wow, maybe I
could lay strips in both hulls, connected together at each end, and have a
monster ground plane.
Since this probably wouldn't work, what is the most efficient way to make
the ground system in a catamaran?