I was indeed sailing, or actually raising the main sail when my Honda 7.5 hp four-stroke motor took its last gasp one afternoon a week or so ago. I posted a note of inquiry on the OB thread requesting advice on pros and cons of the Nissan 6 hp four-stroke motor. While I wait for responses on that thread, I now have some free time for maintenance.

I am thankful that my electric system is not grounded to the fresh water intake on my head. However, I have been staring into my bilge at an iron eyebolt to which a previous owner connected the green ground wire from the electrical system. The iron bolt runs into the lead ballast. I assume that the bolt's original purpose was related to lifting the lead ballast into the hull. I am not sure that grounding the electrical system to the ballast is a terribly great idea, or that it makes any sense at all, because the ballast, is not in contact with seawater (hopefully). Now maybe what I have here is a different sort of solid-state lead/iron battery in my bilge, and I just need to know how to harness the power.

In any case, grounding the electric system to the ballast makes no sense to me. Any thoughts from the electrical experts?