Bonding seacocks

[Yooper]

When changing my air conditioning pump last year I leaned on my livewell seacock and broke it off flush at the hull . I had all 3 seacocks in the stern replaced as a precaution . The broken one definitely had some type of corrosion going on , but the other 2 looked ok. My mechanic also bonded them for protection. I’m wondering if anyone else has encountered this problem .
I’m now replacing the air conditioner and the manufacturer requires it to be bonded also. If bonding is a good idea why doesn’t Grady do it when building the boats?
The good news was the boat was at the dock and I had a tapered hardwood plug handy to stop the flooding.

 

[seasick]

Good question but I think the answer is based on the 'complexity' of the boats mechanical and electrical systems. It's a cost versus reward scenario. In less complex boats, bonding may not offer any or just a little additional protection, so smaller hulls with no shore power, no generator, AC, chargers, etc. are a lot less likely to have stray ground currents. Poorly designed and implemented bonding can be a s bad as no bonding also.
I am an electrical engineer(retired) but have to admit that grounding in general is a complex science as it applies to galvanic activity and I am by no means expert.

 

[ElyseM]

fwiw, i specifically asked GW about this a while back. they stated that they do not bond outboard motor boats. ron

 

[Yooper]

Seasick
Thank you for your reply. It is a confusing and sometimes dangerous issue. I had just returned from a trip to the Bahamas a couple days earlier, when the seacock broke. I stayed in a marina that was known to have stray current problems from time to time. I can’t imagine what would have happened if I would have lost the seacock crossing the Gulf Steam. I’ve now bonded the air conditioner and will check the anodes the next time I pull the boat.

 

[Yooper]

fwiw, i specifically asked GW about this a while back. they stated that they do not bond outboard motor boats. ron

 

[Yooper]

Thanks for your response Ron.

 

[efx]

I think the most important discipline with any thru hulls is constant visual inspection vigilance. I'm to the point that I just keep a zip lock in the bilge with old tooth brushes and wood plugs.

Whenever I am in the bilge, which is before every trip, I scrub the thru hulls at their base with the tooth brush just to make sure its solid and still has metal on it. I do not bond them.

 

[Yooper]

I think the most important discipline with any thru hulls is constant visual inspection vigilance. I'm to the point that I just keep a zip lock in the bilge with old tooth brushes and wood plugs.

Whenever I am in the bilge, which is before every trip, I scrub the thru hulls at their base with the tooth brush just to make sure its solid and still has metal on it. I do not bond them.

 

[Yooper]

Great ideas. I’m sure glad I keep moving my hardwood dowels from boat to boat for the last 30 years. You never know what may happen.