Aluminum Vs Fiberglass ? Hot Aluminum boats( Voltage )

the fog ducker

Well-Known Member
Fellas

was gonna wait till the season ended , but... way to curious ,
as some of ya know . Ive recently purchased a 19 Welded Cope , love it , but.....
after putting some serious hours on it , it just doesnt seem right to me , somthing is off ,
after speaking to some VERY experienced Sporty/Commy guys , ive been told to make sure my boat is not fishing " Hot" excessive Voltage present , especially within 20 feet of the boat , its been a tough year at times for me out west , could be im having a tough year , it happens lol... but , i really want to rule this out,
ive fished for sox here in Van , outta 2 friends aluminum boats , one a new 24 Weldcraft , fully loaded with serious electronics , heavily equiped with zincs , and another Nice newer 22 Hewescraft ,
same gear , same place , same riggers , braid lines yada yada yada , all my tackle ,dummies , flashers squirts etc.
yet , completely different feels , seems like the sox were scared to get to close to the Weldcraft , and when we did hook up , we always horse them to the boat before they know what hit them , they went ballistic at the boat ?
to hot perhaps ?? the 24 weldcraft has a huge Verado 350 on the back , as well as a 9.9 kicker , long story short , the power steering pump would kill the battery in short order , then wed have to start the main to recharge for 20 min ? bites were non existent during that time it seemed ? perhaps just coincidence ... we went 2 for 10 that am , yeah yeah , we suck.... again , just seems the fish went bezerko at the boat , ive been doin sox my whole life , i know the drill....

so , thoughts on guys with experience , im an electrician , is there somthing i can do to rule this out ,
take it to someone ? volt test between the positive post and the boat itself ?? i troll with a new merc 115 seapro , possible voltage leak on troll ?? my zincs look solid , welded right to the hull , all the battery terminations all look isolated from the hull ? will have a much closer look this off season...
love my glass boat , dont have to worry about this stuff , fishy as can be ...
want to make sure mine , and my buddies boats are fishing to full potential , no HOT issues , thx to Matt for explaining what the commies look out for on there rigs...

thx in advance
felix
 
measure the voltage between the downrigger cable and the hull of the boat. im going through the same issue right now, boat used to measure 0.6v but now is closer to 0.95v. most other people have suggested switching to braid on the riggers which will solve one problem. unfortunately this wont solve the problem of fish going ballistic at the boat. catch and release is really difficult on a ballistic fish!
 
I had this exact problem on a Hewescraft . I was fishing with another aluminum boat for 4 days exact gear, speed, depth everything was the same and we couldn’t catch a Chinook only coho. The other boat limited on Chinook but had a lower voltage. Make sure you have good anodes and run braid. The thing to consider more than the fishing is that you don’t want to be so hot that you causing corrosion. Aluminum is a good material but the corrosion thing sucks if you mix a drink and spill coke on the bare aluminium and leave it you will be in for a surprise on your next outing.
 
yup, volt meter in the water will tell you if you have a hot leak...
 
putting a lead in the water lol , really ??
interesting

thx Cap


yes!!! ground it and check voltage around your boat..... in the water!!

turn batteries off and on, run different systems, kicker, troll motor, electric bong.. see if you get any leaking voltage..
 
yes!!! ground it and check voltage around your boat..... in the water!!

turn batteries off and on, run different systems, kicker, troll motor, electric bong.. see if you get any leaking voltage..

My last boat threw a hot charge. my electrician friend metered my DR cables in the chuck, they were emitting higher than “ acceptable “ voltage. i don’t remember the numbers; they meant nothing to me
( glass boat btw ) Black box technology maybe their website has it down what fish like what voltage. the wiring was a joke on my old boat. anyways i switched to braid problem solved.
 
My last boat threw a hot charge. my electrician friend metered my DR cables in the chuck, they were emitting higher than “ acceptable “ voltage. i don’t remember the numbers; they meant nothing to me
( glass boat btw ) Black box technology maybe their website has it down what fish like what voltage. the wiring was a joke on my old boat. anyways i switched to braid problem solved.
.45
 
Sorry I guess I forgot to mention I only use braid on all of my riggers , and my friends boats that I fished on here in Vancouver , are also using braid

Felix

Im not an expert on this but, My understanding of this is that there are 2 seperate issues at play.

The first is line voltage, which is the battery formed between the steel cable, cannonball and aluminum hull. This can be resolved with braid or a black box.

The second is a a hit boat which means there are stray currents in the boat. I am still trying to grasp the details of how this works but basixally it means your boat is letting electricty leak into the water. The tell tale sign is (apparently) fish going crazy when they get close the boat. From what I have read, this can also affect catch rate if you are fishing close to the boat(20-40 feet deep) as the fish can get "scared away" by the stray electricty.

The best article I have found is this:
https://www.lifesparkfishingtackle.com/blog/2015/6/2/check-your-boats-electrical-field


Would be interested in hearing any expert opinions on resolving this
 
The Protroll Black Box booklet has some interesting information on this stuff:

https://www.protroll.com/bb-all-chapters

and this from Scotty:

Controlling Electrolysis
It is important to guard against the effects of electrolysis on your boat. Careful
testing of your boats electrolysis condition will prevent corrosion damage and
perhaps enhance your fishing results. Ideally, your boat should be set up so that
the corrosion is controlled and dissipated in the sacrificial anodes. It is
recommended to measure the levels of electrolysis around your boat to ensure
proper protection. Here's how:

Inspect the inside your hull. Look for a copper bonding wire running along the bottom of the hull, connecting all the underwater metal fittings-engine, fuel tanks, thru hulls, etc. Check that this wire is unbroken and has clean, tight connections.
Check the connections with a voltmeter, by touching the positive lead to the fitting and the negative lead to the bonding wire.
The meter should show a reading of positive 0.010 volts.

Aluminum boats with an outboard should be properly electrically grounded to the
metal hull or bonding strap. An electric start outboard should also be grounded
(connect the negative terminal of the battery to the boat hull). Also test for
continuity to the boat hull or bonding strap as well as the outboard motor.
A #10 bonding wire should be installed from the negative terminal to the hull and to the
outboard if there is no continuity. With the boat in the water, lower a downrigger
wire into the water a few feet. Do this away from marinas or docks to avoid stray
electrical currents.
If you use braid, connect a wire from the positive meter terminal to the water. You will test the electrical field surrounding your boat.
Now test the voltage on your downrigger wire:



With your downrigger weight or wire in the water, turn off everything electrical on your
boat. Turn the master connect battery switches off. Connect the negative lead
from your volt meter to the negative battery terminal, the engine or to one of the
bonded metal fittings on the hull. Connect the positive lead to your downrigger
wire near the spool or along the arm or to a wire with a bare section immersed in the water. You should get a natural electrolysis reading of between .7 and .9 volts. If your reading is much outside this range, you have a problem.

Turn each of the boat's electrical systems on one at a time,
starting with the battery switches, then the bilge pump, engine and than each
of the other electrical devices.If your natural electrolysis voltage reading changes by
more than .05 volts you have an electrical leakage problem or a problem in the
negative battery circuit.
If you have electric downriggers, be sure to turn them on
as part of your checkout.
To test them, you will have to lower them deeper and
then check the reading as the moving wire or braid rewinds.

Base Readings: If your electrolysis reading is too low (.1 to .5 volts), your zincs
may need cleaning or replacing, or your boat may not have enough zinc. You
should also check the bonding connections for improper bonding.
If your reading is zero or negative, your downrigger may not be insulated from
the hull, your zincs may need cleaning or replacing, there may be electrical
leakage from a positive connection somewhere, or your hull may not be properly
bonded. If your reading is too high (over 1 volt), your downrigger may not be insulated
from the hull or your downrigger wire may have been replaced with something
other than stainless steel (ie monel).
 
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Im not an expert on this but, My understanding of this is that there are 2 seperate issues at play.

The first is line voltage, which is the battery formed between the steel cable, cannonball and aluminum hull. This can be resolved with braid or a black box.

The second is a a hit boat which means there are stray currents in the boat. I am still trying to grasp the details of how this works but basixally it means your boat is letting electricty leak into the water. The tell tale sign is (apparently) fish going crazy when they get close the boat. From what I have read, this can also affect catch rate if you are fishing close to the boat(20-40 feet deep) as the fish can get "scared away" by the stray electricty.

The best article I have found is this:
https://www.lifesparkfishingtackle.com/blog/2015/6/2/check-your-boats-electrical-field


Would be interested in hearing any expert opinions on resolving this

Again , were all on braid , i’m going to do some basic voltage tests when I get to my boat and just make sure that the hull is not in contact with either the positive or the negative of the battery , Which is a really simple test and I will do the same on my buddies weldcraft , and then start doing some more reading apparently there is a guy on the island that specializes in this mostly works with commercial fisherman , you can imagine how big of a problem this would be for them as their livelihood depends on it , unlike us sporty thrill seekers , The fish definitely acted different than anything I have seen before , either that or my buddy is cursed as he says he is , I will keep you posted and I appreciate all the comments

Felix
 
Braid should help the repelling fish from biting issue. But the bigger issue is to correct a potential voltage leak to get a normal natural voltage for your boat. First thing I would do is check the natural voltage with a downrigger with ss cable. It should be .2-.8 If it is higher you need to hunt down the offending circuit and fix the bleed. I have a big tinny with all kinds of wiring and it has a natural voltage of .5 and catches great but I still use braid on the riggers because of the other benefits it provides. I don’t believe in black boxes personally as I don’t think certain voltages necessarily attract fish. What I do believe is you can have voltages that repel fish so it is important to have boat wiring tight so your natural voltage doesnt repel. If you do have a problem the first place I would look is at any wiring that comes in contact with bilge water such as bilge pumps.
 
Braid should help the repelling fish from biting issue. But the bigger issue is to correct a potential voltage leak to get a normal natural voltage for your boat. First thing I would do is check the natural voltage with a downrigger with ss cable. It should be .2-.8 If it is higher you need to hunt down the offending circuit and fix the bleed. I have a big tinny with all kinds of wiring and it has a natural voltage of .5 and catches great but I still use braid on the riggers because of the other benefits it provides. I don’t believe in black boxes personally as I don’t think certain voltages necessarily attract fish. What I do believe is you can have voltages that repel fish so it is important to have boat wiring tight so your natural voltage doesnt repel.


certain voltages will definitely attract fish... they are used on wands in lakes and streams to attract fish for sampling etc. that is why commies use voltage on their cables.
 
There may be some applications where voltage attracts but I really don’t think it really has much application with dr salmon fishing. I think the fish approaches the gear and as long as the presentation is good to trigger a strike and there is not a repelling voltage field, the fish may strike. I think the visual and the sound from the flasher and lure is what draws them in and not some voodoo black box emitting some voltage to put them in a biting mood. I do think the voodoo black box can be used to make up for bad boat voltage to correct a repelling voltage though. Fixing boat wiring to get a reasonable natural voltage will do the same thing. Just my opinion and I could be totally wrong but those are my thoughts on the subject. Stopped in front of Sooke a couple weeks back on the way to Bamfield and went 9/12 on sox in an hr or so. First time ever targeting sox and no black box needed.
 
If your boat is "hot" the fish will spook when close.
Is the hull bonded ? (grounded)

DC is run on Negative and positive to complete a circuit , it’s different than ac in your house or shorepower , I don’t think you want to your hull A part of that DC circuit , I think grounding as you call it , from negative from your battey to your boat would be a big problem , my theory is to have your hull isolated from your DC power source ?
Maybe some of the technicians or engineers or riggers out there would correct me if I’m wrong ,

FK
 
If your boat is "hot" the fish will spook when close.
Is the hull bonded ? (grounded)
The aluminum hull should be bonded (connected above a wet area on the hull) to the negative terminal of the engine. Note this is NOT to provide a ground for any electrical circuit. ALL circuits must have both a positive feed and a negative ground wire. DO NOT ground circuits to the hull. The hull should be bonded. It will be incidentally connected to the negative ground through the engine connection (bolts) to the hull, anyway. Use Noalox or similar at bonding connections to eliminate galvanic corrosion.

https://www.proboat.com/2015/04/the-mysteries-of-bonding-systems-revealed/
 
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