Hi Eric
You probably don't have any issues with the wire. Most people run some sort of a non conductive connector to their weight. It won't matter if it is plastic, rubber, or twine, as non of them are conductive. I expect that your downriggers are isolated from any boat metals, so there won't be any interaction there. The only thing that might give you wire voltage is if you have a lot of brass markers crimped on, or other metals connected, but even that should not be an issue. Saying that, positive voltage is your friend, and we want some down there.
I suspect that, if you are having issues, it is probably originating from the boat. What method are you using for testing your boat, and what are you seeing on the meter? Also,what motor/kicker setup are you using? Al

my test had to do with no one around my boat catching fish and dropping down 5 feet and watching dogfish attack the ball. I replaced worn zinc's and wire brushed the mounts. a few months later I lost something electrical in the motor (OB) and once that was replaced didn't have much of a problem.

I have since replaced that outboard and am trying to set the boat up again. As I stated I have a personal aversion to braid on the downrigger. so before I got the wire I thought I would check. if isolating works then I will not worry as much.
Eric

I don't see a way of adding an attachment here, so if you send me an email through the link, I will email you some info that is scheduled to come out in out Island Fishing magazine in March. It has to do with how a boat will repel or attract fish. allan@lurecharge.com

Iwannagofishin
Removed all my boat hull zincs and a couple of outboard zincs and cleaned them up. Lots of powder buildup that cleaned off easy. One thing though, the screws that hold them were seized up and a bitch to loosen/remove, but got them out without breaking any off, which leads to a question. I am going to grease the threads w/ some anti-seize before re-installing. A marine grade is available, but read something about a copper based anti-seize may be better? Also, would it be a good idea to put a thin coat of inhibitor between the zinc and hull contact point? I work in the electric utility industry and we place inhibitor on all connections for best conductivity. Thanks.

I just helped a Honduras charter skipper with his new (to him) boat. It was a glass boat with 300 hp Suzuki ob. He could not catch fish at all with it, even when fishing beside his buddies boats. He had stainless trim tabs and a bronze through hull that were not bonded and had no zincs. He ran the wires and connected everything to his ob. Next time out he hooked into a blue marlin within 10 minutes and had 3 and 4 tuna on at a time during his day on the water. Such a seemingly small thing can make all the difference.
He did have a stainless cavitation plate, but it still was not enough to make his boat fishy. By including the trim tabs and through hull fitting to his bonding system, he increased his ratio to maybe 10 to 1(1 being zinc).
I just did my annual spring trout outing for 5 days. I loaded up my 14 ft Lund with all of the anodes I owned. This brought my ratio up from 350 to 1, up to about 100 to 1 (exposed surface area). This was our most successful fishing trip ever on that lake. Fish were not only being caught close to the boat, they were a bigger average. One trout even broke water within 2 ft of my stern. You do the math.