LIGHTENING STRIKES?

[THEMOORINGMAN]

My Edwing has been stripped of all electrical cables and is receiving lots of winter love before the upcoming mooring season. Seeing that I'll be on the water no matter what the weather brings, what do you guys do to protect yourself against lighting strikes? Any boat builders out there, what systems do you install to protect the crew?

[welderbob]

Jay Perrtta address this question very well on the Rocksalt web site.
http://www.rocksaltboats.com/education/ ... -big-three

[THEMOORINGMAN]

Thanks Bob.

Did you get the emailI sent you about a week ago?

[welderbob]

pm sent.

[wickedlester]

this doesnt help answer ur question at all but..... a buddy of mine had his 40' glass boat struck last summer. no signs whatsoever except for a burnt looking vhf ant. all electronics were toast including everything on both cat diesels. 80,000 in damages and he still hasnt gotten his boat back aafter 3 mnths. thought i wld share

[JETTYWOLF]

I tell my crew to bring an umbrella, and stand on the bow deck, as I slow down. Don't want Lightning to have to chase us to find us.
Ask an Glass work boater. They have the same chance to get hot as any thing else out there.

I know two guys that were hit by lightning (in the lightning capital of the USA....Florida) and it blew their electronics on thier motors and everything else, searching for GROUND.

[welder]

You are NOT SAFE in ANY boat but you are safer in an Alloy boat with a T-top or cabin because of the FARADAY CAGE effect on the Alloy.

In a storm, lower your antennas , put all of your rods on the deck, stay under your top and get the heck away from the storm.

[THEMOORINGMAN]

I strongly believe you're safer in a glass boat because the electricity flows through the wires to ground (water) and the NON ALLOY is not charged. I sure wouldn't want to have a mooring chain in my hands when the lightening hits the aluminum boat!!!!

There's a possibility the charge could run from the steering wheel to the deck using you as the path!! This wouldn't happen in a glass boat because your feet are on a non conductor.

Lightening seams to exit the boat just above the waterline.......right where my two aluminum fuel tanks are......now this is another chapter in itself. NON ALLOY boats have plastic tanks!!!

I really believe I'm dead if the boat gets struck by lightening. How could you not be?

[welder]

In a Glass boat the lightning has to FIND a way to get through the boat whether it uses you or the wires , on an Alloy boat the whole boat can conduct the juice to the water and that's why your a little safer in/on and alloy boat.
As I said above , you are NOT safe on ANY boat but are a little safer on an Alloy boat,

[welder]

The cool thing about lightening is you NEVER know what it is going to do or where it will exit after the strike. When you are getting hit with GIGA VOLTS it can turn you and the air around you into Plasma or it could travel right around you and just kill your electronics.

[THEMOORINGMAN]

How does it use me when I'm standing on a NON ALLOY deck with no path to ground?

[welder]

Here is a cool link about flashes per State, Texas kicks everyones buttocks ....
http://www.lightningsafety.noaa.gov/sta ... 7-2011.pdf

[THEMOORINGMAN]

Maybe you're right, at these huge levels of current all the rules may be different.

Interesting stuff. My boat is at a major aluminum boat building company now so I'll raise the topic. I also know a few principle electrical engineers, I'll learn more.

[welder]

How does it use me when I'm standing on a NON ALLOY deck with no path to ground?

When dealing with this amount of Voltage NOTHING is safe , you are a resistor [ because your body when dry is a poor conductor ] but when enough Voltage is pushed at you it BLOWS the resistor and right on through.
People can die when the hit is very close by, whether you are slammed to the ground or into something [like a 500lb BOMB going off right next to you] or enough of the charge can reach out and grab you.

[welder]

It's not so much the tires on your car that protect you as the it is the STEEL SHELL of the car [ think Faraday Cage again] IF the lightening is going to hit your boat do you want to give it a GREAT path to ground or do you want it looking for a path to ground?
How many guys in the Navy die each year on Metal boats? Back to that dang Faraday Cage thingy again.

[THEMOORINGMAN]

All very interesting......

[THEMOORINGMAN]

I spoke with a Principle Electrical Engineer about this and he said you're basically #$#$#$! His advise was stay in the cabin, get to shore or tie up to a higher object! He did say not to touch the boat or lie down on the aluminum.

[welder]

Isn't that what I said , stay under the top or in the cabin, those make the FARADAY cage and get out of town.

I don't understand the TIE UP TO A TALLER OBJECT thing, the taller object gets hit with lightening , you are tied to the object hince you a re tied to the lightening.
Ask the dead cows about tieing up to the taller tree.

[welder]

The best thing to do is watch the weather, go around the storm , pick your days.

On another forum down in Florida a guy had his boat hit in the driveway , it blew all the tires off the trailer [ So much for the tires are insulators theory] blew holes in his glass hull and trashed the electronics and motor.
As the Lineman Sup. for the city I work at, I have seen Lightening do some WEIRD STUFF , like hit one side of town and blow out a 6" well motor on the other side of town. When millions of volts [ or more ] hit , one NEVER knows what's going to happen or WHERE it's going.

[THEMOORINGMAN]

Ya, you nailed it! Thanks Mr. Welder!!

We had a real Blizzard here in RI last night, what a mess! My snowblower has been going all day.....great invention !!

[aluminumdreamer]

We got a ton of snow up here in Maine also! As far as the lightning strikes go, I was always under the impression that a metal boat was actually safer than a glass boat? That said, I have never felt safe in any boat in lightning.
Nice boat by the way Mooringman. You actually came and looked at my boat on the Cape, before you bought your current craft. Looks like what you bought is much better suited to your needs.
Best of luck to you.

Nate.

[THEMOORINGMAN]

Hi Nate,

I remember you well............. hope Maine has been good to you !

[welder]

Ya, you nailed it! Thanks Mr. Welder!!

We had a real Blizzard here in RI last night, what a mess! My snowblower has been going all day.....great invention !!

Is your power still on and do you have a Generator?

[THEMOORINGMAN]

Thanks for asking...yes my power is on but many others are with out power or heat. I'm hoping to get out of the yard today and visit the marina to check on my other boats.

I have two Honda Gens and lots of wood for the stove so I was ready. Sure looks nice!

[wickedlester]

one more interestin story about the power of lightning... a friend had a tree struck.. traveled through ground to nearby truck.. blew oout front tires and fried all electronics.. traveled to nearby house(mobile home) where it blew a hole(yes a hole) in the side of home. saw it with my own eyes.. one bolt