Lighting Protection

Posted By: Ryan Haley
Date: 12/28/07 5:45a.m.

Report: outside forum guidelines

The lead keel on the C27 is not encapsulated, or at least it wasn't from the factory. Catalina built them all (to my knowledge) with an external lead keel that relies on adhesive and bolts to hold them to the keel stub. Typically, an encapsulated keel is part of the hull mold. From an electrical point of view, the keel itself would be a poor choice for bonding, for reasons touched on by Craig above. Even copper based bottom paint would likely make for enough of an insulator that the conductivity for the bonding system would be minimal. The wire, particularly of that size, is very likely to be for lighting protection (or more correctly, damage minimizing). The current involved in a lighting strike will find very little problem burning through the gel coat/bottom paint on the keel on its way to the water. The point is to try and "suggest" a way for the strike to exit the boat, because it WILL leave the boat into the water, even it has to blow a hole in the fiberglass to do so.