Lightning Protection

[irishcajun]

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.

[gnorbury]

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