To SSB or not to SSB? That is the question, whether it is nobler in mind to suffer the slings and arrows of outrageous weather…. or ….
Some of you who may have been following us may know that we bought a bog standard Lagoon 440 and then dressed it up for cruising. One of our stops in the second year of cruising was in Fort Lauderdale, with Just Catamarans, our cousin Kent, and this gave us the opportunity to continue this process.
One of the upgrades we did, was the installation of an SSB, Single Side Band Radio, an Icom IC-M802. Normally a boat comes equipped with the legally required VHF radio but this stops working when out of line of sight, so for boats aiming to cruise great distances, a High Frequency Marine Radio is advised. Please note Australian friends, you need a slightly different version of Icom.
Like any fitting done after the boat is put together, it takes a very brave person to hack the boat to pieces to install the necessary tuner, wires, antenna etc. But is it worth the expense, the upset, the hassle of finding someone knowledgable enough to do it?
Catamaran Impi 