sdowney717
Guru
- Joined
- Jan 26, 2016
- Messages
- 2,264
- Location
- United States
- Vessel Name
- Old Glory
- Vessel Make
- 1970 Egg Harbor 37 extended salon model
Is for bonding wires.
I can testify to this on my really old boat built in 1970, they used solid copper but insulated wire with crimped on lugs, and every bit of it is in perfect shape. None of it broke. Its better than multi-strand which will wick water down the stranding causing eventual wire destruction and failure. And regarding that wicking every-time it re wets and then dries, the salt concentration increases, and it can never rinse away.
https://www.boats.com/reviews/un-insulated-wire-on-my-new-boat/
So yes, its better to use solid core for bonding underwater metals.
The argument about vibration of the hull cracking the copper apart, I just saw none of that anywhere.
In my boat the wire laid against the hull, formed against stringers or any other bits and pieces to follow the interior shapes and terminated to large long bronze square bar running much of the length of boat on the inner keel, to which they are bolted with crimped on terminals. Other ends of the solid core wire with crimped large ring terminals fit under the nuts on the bronze bolts holding struts etc to the hull. And the wire never secured anywhere along its length.
And some of that bonding wire has laid under salty bilge water for many decades.
I can testify to this on my really old boat built in 1970, they used solid copper but insulated wire with crimped on lugs, and every bit of it is in perfect shape. None of it broke. Its better than multi-strand which will wick water down the stranding causing eventual wire destruction and failure. And regarding that wicking every-time it re wets and then dries, the salt concentration increases, and it can never rinse away.
https://www.boats.com/reviews/un-insulated-wire-on-my-new-boat/
So yes, its better to use solid core for bonding underwater metals.
The argument about vibration of the hull cracking the copper apart, I just saw none of that anywhere.
In my boat the wire laid against the hull, formed against stringers or any other bits and pieces to follow the interior shapes and terminated to large long bronze square bar running much of the length of boat on the inner keel, to which they are bolted with crimped on terminals. Other ends of the solid core wire with crimped large ring terminals fit under the nuts on the bronze bolts holding struts etc to the hull. And the wire never secured anywhere along its length.
And some of that bonding wire has laid under salty bilge water for many decades.
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