There has been a long going controversary (long subject for another day) if boat's metal objects which are in contact with water (in any form--including bilge, wet stringers etc) need to be bonded together or not. If Ranger has not put on a sacraficial zinc, then there is most likely a good reason for it. But ask Andrew Curtis.
Boats used to be all bonded and all had zincs on the transom or some other place where there was little risk of slowing the boat because of the water flow over the zinc plate. Most boats still have zincs on the shafts, prop nut, inside of engine cooling systems (heat exchangers on the transmission oil, engine oil and engine cooling systems). These zincs need to be replaced as part of routine maintenance.
Some folks apparently have not owned boats with external zincs. There are one or two bolts (depending on size and location of the zinc) which are permently attatched to the hull. The inner head of the bolt is permently attatched to the bonding system. This should not be confused with the negative battery system, a radio RF ground or the 110 volt ground system. If present this is a system which uses solid copper wires and or straps to bond together all thru hulls and other metals.
These bolts which hold the zinc in place, are in holes thru the hull which should be epoxy lined if a cored hull. The outside of the bolt will have a flat washer and then a nut to hold that boat permently in the hull--the bolt is sealed with something like 4200. There is no chance of leaks, more than any penetration into the hull. The bolt is long enough, that there are holes in the zinc plate, which the bolts go thru, and then there is another flat washer, a lock washer and a nut outside of the zinc plate. Thus the zinc can be easily replaced in the water without any risk of leaks--and yet is tied into the bonding system.
