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bonding strap

R

rangerscott275

Well-known member
Joined
Nov 13, 2005
Messages
241
Hatteras Model
53' MOTOR YACHT (1969 - 1988)
Does anyone know a good place to pick up a roll of bonding strap (prefarably the 2 ")? also, what is is typically made of? Steve sells copper strap that is 3/4" wide in but Roger at hatteras said they used 2"...any ideas what the right stuff is (material & width)? Thanks!
 
Its heavy-gauge copper strapping. 2" is the right stuff.....
 
thanks..do you know where to get it? [sams only carries 3/4 inch]
 
Scott,

It's the cross section that matters, not the width. If Sam's sells 3/4 inch (which is what my 53MY has, I believe) how thick is it? A 3/4" strap that's 3mm thick has a larger cross section than a 2" strap that's 1mm thick. Either may be OK.

Doug
 
I bought the 3/4 copper strap from Steve. Is what was in my boat and what I replaced the old stuff with. I think I have more left..bought about 100ft of it for my 32 figuring I'd replace alll of it. The bonding system needed it after 21yrs of exposure to salt. Cross section is what matters like already said.
 
Yep. I think the 1/2" is what I have in my boat..... haven't measured it, but its definitely not 2".
 
The WIDER the better. 3/4 will work, but not as well. Should be 2in for best results.



BILL
 
The WIDER the better. 3/4 will work, but not as well. Should be 2in for best results. 3/4 is a whole lot easier to work with.



BILL
 
Just curious.....why is wider better? More surface area for the same cross section equals more corrosion potential and thinner equals easier to corrode through?

Doug
 
I thought the same as non-chalant. Heavier guage is better because of the corrosion issue. If you have a thinner guage the corrosion will penetrate deeper as a percentage of the total thickness..meaning more of a chance of creating resistance, in which case the bonding system will not be equal potential all over and throughout the boat. With thicker you have a better chance of remaining equalpotential.

Now the wider stuff is good in a certain application, where you are trying to create a ground plane for SSB radio....In this case I may put up a second strap...the wider stuff...just for the radio.
 
Your bonding system is also your radio wave ground. The heavy gauge stock is OK. It's the width that is needed to prevent it from becoming an antenna. The wider it is the less chance is will become an antenna. You need the RF ground for your radio transmitter. It is also better if your boat is struck by lightning. Lightning does not like to turn corners. Most people use the narrower material because it is easier to bend and go around corners.



BILL
 
so does anyone know where to get the wider 2" strapping?
 
Trojan said:
Your bonding system is also your radio wave ground. The heavy gauge stock is OK. It's the width that is needed to prevent it from becoming an antenna. The wider it is the less chance is will become an antenna. You need the RF ground for your radio transmitter. It is also better if your boat is struck by lightning. Lightning does not like to turn corners. Most people use the narrower material because it is easier to bend and go around corners.
BILL
Click to expand...

Bill - Thanks!

Doug
 
thanks nonchalant....I saw that yesterday when googled but was afraid it was wrong stuff due to picuture in upper left showing a solid strap. I guess b/c in my boat I see a lot of thick braided wiring going into grounding system I was assuming it should be the same stuff. Maybe I'm confused.
 
Yes, it's definitely a solid strap. Notice at the top of the page it says "for grounding and bonding". Every one I have seen is a solid strap. The wires connecting things to it are twist or braid copper, usually tinned. Maybe you should check the condition of your existing bonding strap first, and if it's OK you only need to replace and recondition the bonding wires connecting to the strap. My 1978 strap is still perfect and I have only had to replace corroded terminals at the ends of perfectly good wires going to a perfectly good strap.

That strap goes all around the inside surface of your hull and is going to be really hard to get to it in some places, like behind the panels in your aft stateroom, behind the showers, behind the starboard holding tank, under the galley cabinet floor, etc.

In my experience, the terminals are the weak link and really easy to find and replace compared to the strap. Mine's been mostly a freshwater boat though; others may have a completely different story.

Doug
 
will do! if the strap is broken in an area, must I replace whole strap or can I fix the two broken pieces together with screws or a clamp?
 
I'd fix it by soldering a flat piece of copper across the break at least an inch both ways from the break. That's how to replace strap pieces too. Use an overlap soldered splice, not a butt splice. If you can't find copper sheet material to splice a break, you can take a regular copper pipe, cut it open and pound it flat. Electrical conductivity and cross section are what matter, not "pretty".

Doug
 
Just bought 1" strap from Paxton yesterday. They also sell 2" wide material. Unfortunately, both come only in 100 ft rolls.
Southern Comfort
Chesapeake, VA
 
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