Ground my Deck Stepped Mast

[Richard Bain]

My 1986 is not grounded. Has anyone grounded a deck stepped mast?
I am also going to ground the pedestal and the rigging. Any tips would be great. Thanks
Richard

[captran]

I'd have to take a closer look and get back to you.  Voyager was set up, as many boats in Florida are, for lightening protection.  There is a "sparkler" on top, cable down the mast, cables attached to chain plates, down to the keel bolts.  In my manual there is a pamphlet about standards for grounding.  I was at the boat last Monday but don't plan on going over for another month or so, so can't tell you what size the cable is from memory or the source of the pamphlet.  We've been in some very intense thunderstorms with strikes so close that you can hear the snap/crackle/pop.  I have heard that having such a set up is actually suppose to draw lightening to the boat, but other explanations say it creates an umbrella of sorts.  Not sure which is right.

[Stu Jackson]

A SEARCH on lightning shows almost a dozen threads.

One of them is:  

http://www.c34.org/phpbb/viewtopic.php?t=1270&highlight=lightning

Reference is also made to the Tech Notes, which you can find online as a C34 member, or in your CD-ROM.

You could also try a search on bonding.