Our boat came to us (in 2020) with a SSB radio and Pactor modem. The SSB tuner is located under the port end of the rear cockpit seat (where some people have installed a propane locker). The antenna comes through the aft cockpit coaming and then can be hoisted up to the top of the mast with an extra "mini halyard" installed for this purpose.
We haven't used the SSB; the "ground plane" on our installation was a rats nest of 2" copper foil lying in the bilge that had mostly turned to green powder by the time we bought the boat. We cleaned out all that mess but haven't replaced it with anything yet. I'm tempted to try a length of copper wire thrown over the side into the ocean. That seems like a good way to make a ground connection without drilling any holes in the boat. I don't expect we're going to use the SSB often, so a temporary connection that we make while the SSB is in use seems OK.
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File comment: Coiled up SSB antenna. Note the plastic block at the top end of the antenna, which I think is where the mini-halyard attaches.
PXL_20201030_145827482.jpg [ 3.65 MB | Viewed 0 times ]
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File comment: Top of the mast showing the "mini halyard" for the SSB antenna
IMG_20201102_144510.jpg [ 4 MB | Viewed 0 times ]
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