List members, >If your planning to bond the seacocks ect., do not do it on >a wood boat. Absolutely agreed. Bonding is an okay deal on a GRP boat, but don't bond a wood boat (if you value the boat, that is). The wood will die at each of the "noble" fittings, i.e. at each spot where you want the wood to be extra strong... Where the wooden structure holds the struts, the stuffing box, the rudder bearings, etc. the wood will turn to mush! On a wood boat, each of the underwater metals should have its own separate zinc for protection. Michael Kasten, Editor Metal Boat Quarterly

I would like to hear more about this. I have a 1971 wooden GB36. All my seacocks have copper wire connections back to a large zinc plate on my transom. Should I add an additional zinc to each seacock? Disconnect my existing bonding system? I have noticed some soft edges around a mounting pad on one of my seacocks that previously did not have a good grounding connection. I would love to hear how you other "woodies" are handling this potential problem. > -----Original Message----- > > >If your planning to bond the seacocks etc., do not do it on > >a wood boat. > > Bonding is an okay deal on a GRP boat, but don't bond a wood boat (if you > value the boat, that is). The wood will die at each of the "noble" > fittings, i.e. at each spot where you want the wood to be extra strong... > Where the wooden structure holds the struts, the stuffing box, the > rudder bearings, etc. the wood will turn to mush! > > On a wood boat, each of the underwater metals should have its own > separate zinc for protection. > > Michael Kasten, Editor > Metal Boat Quarterly >