The system uses 16 feet of 1/0 gauge, tinned copper welding cable with a removable contact plate on the "upper" end and a machined electrode on the other end. A mast plate that mates with the contact plate (two 3/8"-diameter screw studs and brass wing-nuts) attaches to the mast with five large countersunk screws; the plates are 1" x 9" and made of 3/8" thick copper bar stock, heavily tinned. The electrode is a machined copper bar that's "all edges" - SEYLA's claim is that the corners and edges are where the electric pulse bleeds off of the system, and that this bar will carry off the charge more effectively that the one-foot-square copper plate spec'ed in the ABYC standards. The rig weighs about 15 pounds.
It looks straightforward and simple to install. The mast plate has to be sealed with a continuous bead 3M 4200, plus healthy dabs under the screw heads, to prevent any corrosion under the plate after it's installed. When you first begin to worry, you bolt-on the contact plate with the wing nuts and drop the electrode in the water.
I hope I won't have the opportunity of a "full field test" (meaning an actual lightning strike on Bossa Nova). But when there's a chance of thunderstorms in the forecast, or when I hear the mutter of thunder some late night at anchor, I'll derive some comfort and reassurance from having it deployed.
And it cost about 1/8 as much as the used Stormscope I had installed on my old Piper Tri-Pacer!
