Manta owners

[Dave852]

I am selling my manta at manta42forsale.com

Thanks Dave

Originally Posted by pangaea6

Harriet - thanks for your long responce and your time, very helpful

Esk - thanks for letting me latch onto your thread here

I too would like to get a used Manta as they seem to be cheaper but they sure do seem hard to come by, I guess a good sign that most owners want to keep them

[pilot]

A question to the MANTA owners:

If equipped with SSB (whipantenna), where did you install the antenna tuner?
thanks for your answers!

[PHIL+MARYANNE]

On our new (12/06) Manta, the tuner is located immediately below the antenna in the port engine room. It is isolated, I guess, from any possible interference and seems to work pretty well compared to other cruisers who have also been picking up similar SSB (Chris Parker Weather Channel in Bahamas). Also picks up long distance frequencies fine, but we have not really tested with send/reply situations.

[PHIL+MARYANNE]

Another thought - someone on this thread asked about a Manta group. Please go to yahoo groups and find Mantatech@yahoogroups.com. This is a long-standing group that has a lot of tech info, mostly geared towards older Mantas, but there's plenty of new stuff too. You will have to join and be 'approved' by the automatic manager.

[colemj]

Originally Posted by pilot

A question to the MANTA owners:

If equipped with SSB (whipantenna), where did you install the antenna tuner?
thanks for your answers!

Our whip antenna is a free-standing model that is located on top of the arch. The coupler is also mounted on the arch immediatly below it. In the attached photo, the SSB coupler is under the white plastic box next to the antenna (stbd side). The other white plastic box on the opposite side of the arch is another coupler hooked to a longwire antenna (not raised) going to a ham radio.

Mark

[pilot]

Interesting solution!
How about moisture effecting the antenna coupler?
Had my AT 140 inside my old monohull, but close to the antenna (backstay)

What is the size (length) of the whip antenna?

[colemj]

Couplers are sealed, so no moisture should get in. I do have them covered with a simple plastic box, so rain doesn't get directly on them. They are high up on arch (~10' off the water), so waves don't reach them. As for humidity, I imagine that they stay drier up there than stuffed in a damp lazerette. Both couplers (Icom AT-130 and SGC 2000) have been up there for 9 years without incident. The antenna is 28' and is a Shakespear model (forget which one). If you go this route, be sure to get the model that is intended for free-standing. Others require a support part way up the antenna and cannot be used free-standing.

Mark

[pilot]

Further question to MANTA owners, regarding the arch and electric installations:

If i.e. a wind generator would be considered to be installed at the arch, are there some kind of prepared "empty hoses" to run electric wiring to the hull?
If not, is it lot of trouble to run electric wires?
Thank you for your time!

[colemj]

No, there are no preinstalled chases in the arch that I am aware of. However, the arch tubing itself is 3" diameter, so there is no problem fitting wires through it. You also have several choices as to where you want the wires to enter the boat. Once wires are dropped through the hull, there are large chases going everywhere to pull wires through. The chases had pull strings left in them, so you are set to go in pulling new wire - just be sure to leave a string in place. A wire snake is also your friend.

Mark

[pilot]

Mark, thank you very much for this info.
I am asking here, because, as you probably noticed, not everybody on the MANTATECH forum likes questions from "non owners" (yet!)