T&T: SSB/Ham ground plane on a boat

[Jim Healy]

Folks,

Question: relative to Marine SSB and Ham radio transceiver applications,
this morning I had a conversation with a boater who is planning to build an
RF ground plane out of 3/4" copper tubing, like you'd find in a house
plumbing system, instead of copper foil.  His reason was that pipe is much
easier to handle and secure during installation in those parts of the bilge
where humans don't fit, and of course, it's much more durable than foil.
Since RF flows on the surface of a ground plane conductor, and the
circumference of 3/4" pipe approximates the 3" that is commonly found on
commercial foil rolls, it seemed reasonable to me.  Do any of you have
experience with this approach?  Does it work?  Does it work well (low SWR)?
Does this seem to be a practical and reasonable idea?  Second question:
electrically, does a ground plane need to be end fed, or does it matter
where the feed point is?

Peg and Jim Healy aboard Sanctuary,
currently at Charlotte Harbor, Punta Gorda, FL
AGLCA # 3767
MTOA # 3436