Bond or not to bond?

[Tomkat17]

I have 7 seacocks all of which are bonded to the engine. I have no shore power and shut off the batteries when not on board. This bonding seems to have been on the 28 year old Contessa 32 for some time. Should I leave it or disconnect it?

 

[john_morris_uk]

If the sea-cocks are of good quality, there is no reason for them to be bonded to anything. Good quality bronze seacocks last for decade after decade without any cathodic protection.

In fact I should temper my advice with a note that I am presuming that the sea-cocks are bonded to the engine so that they share a common zinc anode below the waterline.

For a whole variety of reasons this sort of bonding is a waste of time and possibly counterproductive.

 

[NorthUp]

Do you have an anode on the hull, and is is eroding?
Have you made any recent changes to the electrical system?
If nothing has changed, and its still afloat after 28 years, the general rule of thumb is if it aint broke, dont fix it!

 

[Georgio]

Hi,
My Co32 has Blakes seacocks (as do most Co32's I believe), they are not bonded and are in good condition after 30 years. I do have an anode bonded to the engine but as the Darglow prop has it's own anode the hull anode seems to do nothing and hasn't wasted noticably in the last three years.

I personally don't think you need to bond quanity seacocks like blakes but if they are and you are not experiencing any problems then I would be tempted to leave well alone.

 

[rogerthebodger]

If it not broken don't fix it

Leave it alone if it not causing a problem IMHO