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Lightning Protection

1K views 1 reply 2 participants last post by  gnorbury 
#1 ·
Are there any articles about how effective it is to hang heavy copper wires from the shrouds on a swing keel, stepped mast sailboat?

I read the post "grounded" which had some good informaion, but it left me wondering if I am doing more harm than good to hang wires in the water on my boat.
 
#2 ·
You really don''t want to use the shrouds as part of the grounding system.

Stainless conducts electricity, but not as well as an aluminum mast. In the event of a strike you likely suffer shroud or fitting damage due to internal heating.

On a normal protection system, the mast forms the primary grounding point to either the keel or a submerged plate. The shrouds are only tied in to lessen side flashes and crew injury.

Graham
 
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