My 10 cents:

We use carbon fiber conductors on our slip rings all the time as well has other composites. AL isn't all the great of a conductor and either is carbon fiber, but they both are used quite a lot. All of our rail systems are AL with a stainless steel cap.

There is no protection against lightning strikes if your mast is up. It is all chance. I have been sailing for 14 years and all 14 I have kept my boat with the mast up 90% of the sailing season and so has the rest of the fleet. We have never had a lightning strike, but sooner or later it will happen. Grounding a mast is a waste of sailing time. It is not a deturant. Even if a mast was grounded, the resistance in the AL will at the very least bend the heck out of it rendering it useless. If you want video on this in action, we have it from overload testing of the Las Vegas monorail.

Hobie CompTip's are a complete waste of time. They do have some performance bonuses, but making CompTips manditory for Hobie Class racing is laughable. Just another in a long line of money-making scemes from everyones friend HobieCat.

Bottom line, when it happens don't be around and just laugh it off when you see it the next day because your insurance will prob. buy you a new boat.