Antenna Placement on a 1989 Montauk

VHF Marine Band radios, protocol, radio communication theory, practical advice; AIS; DSC; MMSI; EPIRB.
termooch
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Antenna Placement on a 1989 Montauk

Postby termooch » Tue Mar 13, 2018 3:40 pm

I have a 1989 Boston Whaler Montauk and I recently purchased a Standard-Horizon GX1700 VHF Marine Band DSC radio. When looking in the instruction manual, it warns you about placing the antenna a minimum of 1-meter or 3-feet away from the radio. That is pretty impossible since the console is not that big. In all of the pictures that I have seen of Montauk boats, they show the antenna located on console--and some right next to the radio.

Will this do any harm to the radio?

Does anyone have any suggestions for me?

Any help or information would be appreciated.

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Don McIntyre - MI
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Re: Antenna Placement on a 1989 Montauk

Postby Don McIntyre - MI » Tue Mar 13, 2018 7:20 pm

On the two Montauks we owned, I mounted it on the inside starboard gunwale, in the back of the boat. Ran the coax through the tunnel. The stainless steel bracket was positioned so when folded down, the 8' antenna would lay flat across the horizontal portion of the grab rail stanchions.That way it was well out of the way of any bimini top. I think I positioned it so that I could bend it slightly and the top 1/2" would go under the forward most stanchion, for storage.

Clear as mud?

Regards - Don

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Phil T
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Re: Antenna Placement on a 1989 Montauk

Postby Phil T » Tue Mar 13, 2018 8:04 pm

I agree with Don.

I had a Montauk 17 and the boat came with a 4' whip mounted on the console side. Terrible location and we don't even fish.

My Outrage 17 I came with an 8' antenna mounted on the gunwale (side of boat) amidships. Terrible. Everyone grabbed it while boarding. I moved it the the aft rail on a ratcheting mount.

I would mount it on the rear most riser, rotated outboard slightly, of the rear rail so that it will lay flat between the rail and the hull.

Here is the mounting from my Outrage 17 I. I would use the same mount. It is a Shakespeare rail mount in stainless steel. I don't recommend the cheaper nylon version, it broke the first month I had it.

railmount.jpg
railmount.jpg (40.65 KiB) Viewed 11565 times
1992 Outrage 17
2019 E-TEC 90
2018 LoadRite 18280096VT
Member since 2003

jimh
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Re: Antenna Placement on a 1989 Montauk

Postby jimh » Tue Mar 13, 2018 11:24 pm

Antenna placement on a 17-foot classic MONTAUK center console will be influenced by:

--need to have a clean transom for angling; if you are not a big-time angler, mount the antenna on the starboard stern quarter;

--need to have a Flying Top or Sun Top; if you won't have canvas over the center console, mount a GAM SS-2 whip on a 4-foot extension mast to a ratchet base mounted to the forward starboard side of the console;

If you are both an angler and have weather canvas over the center console, mount a GAM SS-2 whip on a 4-foot extension mast to a ratchet base mount located so the antenna and mast fold down between the side rails and the gunwale; the ratchet base can be aft of the center console and the antenna folds forward for stowing; or alternately the base could be forward of the center console and mast folds to the stern (but routing the transmission line could be a problem).

For details of the GAM SS-2 antenna and its mounting details, see the REFERENCE SECTION article at

VHF Marine Band Antennas For Small Boats
http://continuouswave.com/whaler/refere ... tenna.html

Worst possible installation: a 3-foot metal whip mounted to the console railing. Don't make that mistake. It will be an eye-poker and will be too close to the transmitter and other electronics.

Worst antenna: 8-foot fiberglass-encased antenna; avoid this style. The fiberglass will fracture unless you are extremely careful with handling it. Also, people tend to grab onto the antenna as a hand-hold.

For additional advice on installation of a radio on a small boat, I recommend you read my article

VHF Marine Band Radio Installation on a Small Boat
http://continuouswave.com/whaler/refere ... ation.html

The article discusses antenna placement as well as many other considerations for radio installation in small boats.