[Rhodes22-list] lightning protection

[brad haslett]

Wally, if you didn't get some experience last week you
should have!  The statistics are that more people die
of lightning strikes than do of hurricanes, floods or
tornadoes.  You've already dodged one bullet this
year.  The fast moving cold front convective activity
is easily enough predicted.  You just stay home on
those days.  The summertime isolated T-storms are my
concern.  You would stay off the water half the summer
in our part of the world if you only sailed on CAFB
days.  That is why Florida leads the nation in
lightning strikes and boat lightning deaths.  The
StrikeShield website goes into great detail on their
testing. The guru of the day is Prof. Thomson of the
University of Florida who also has done extensive
testing.  Based on what I've read so far I'm thinking
in terms of an aluminum lug (bolt) extending from the
front of the mast an inch or so.  Conductor cables and
plates could be stored in a bag for quick attachment
in impending lightning conditions.  The best course of
action is of course to head for home or at least get
close to the shoreline, (your mast is now competing
with trees for a ground).  Absent that, get in the
cabin, stay away from the mast step area, disconnect
the radios, and don't touch two potential conductors
at the same time.  I've been waiting for someone on
the list to tell me to "go fly a kite".  Guess we've
filled that square!

Brad Haslett
"CoraShen"
--- Wally Buck <tnrhodey@hotmail.com> wrote:
> Brad,
> 
> This comes up quite often.  I asked the same
> question myself a while back. 
> There seems to be a bunch of different opinions on
> how effective the various 
> lightning protection devices work. Right now I just
> try to avoid sailing 
> when high probability of lightning exists. I would
> love to hear what you 
> come up with.
> 
> How does one test a system like this? If you had an
> old beater sailboat you 
> could do some real world testing. Ben Franklin had
> to fly a kite in a 
> lightning storm didn't he, we expect no less from
> you. :-)
> 
> Be careful!
> 
> Wally
> 
> 
> 
> >From: brad haslett <flybrad@yahoo.com>
> >Reply-To: The Rhodes 22 mail list
> <rhodes22-list@rhodes22.org>
> >To: rhodes22-list@rhodes22.org
> >Subject: [Rhodes22-list] lightning protection
> >Date: Tue, 19 Nov 2002 04:58:54 -0800 (PST)
> >
> >This all got started while doing research on
> >installing a mast antennae.  Several vendors
> lightly
> >addressed surge protection from lightning strikes
> to
> >the mast and I thought, "who cares about electronic
> >euqipment? I want the boat to survive!"  Yesterday
> I
> >spent eight plus hours on the net researching the
> >issue and downloaded a 3" binders worth of material
> >including the R-22 site info.  My conclusion is
> this;
> >sailboats take more lightning strikes than one
> would
> >think, freshwater boats without grounding don't
> fare
> >well, and, protection is not that difficult.  While
> >there are many different opinions and several "old
> >wives tales" the general concensus among the
> experts
> >is that having a protection system on board does
> not
> >make one more likely to be struck.  All protection
> >systems pretty much do the same thing, they provide
> a
> >path from the mast to the water.  While at dock its
> a
> >simple matter of attaching a #4 cable or flat
> >conductor to a 1' square or bigger conductor in the
> >water.  The straighter the path and the fewer the
> >bends the better (lightning doesn't like to turn
> >corners).  Under sail is a different story.  No one
> >wants to sail with cables on the foredeck and
> plates
> >dangling in the water.  Therefore, a portable and
> >quickly attachable system is needed (battery cables
> >get knocked off at the moment of strike).  The
> >StrikeShield system is perfect but expensive.  I am
> >presently researching a "homemade", ie, Home Depot
> >approach that will do the same thing for far less
> >money. Most boat manufacturers don't address the
> >issue, probably for liability reasons.  Catalina
> >issues a bulliten from the ABYC on the subject and
> >basically tells you "you're on your own".  Over the
> >past fifteen years I have been caught at least
> three
> >times in thunderstorms in powerboats and once in a
> >canoe.  Now that my boat has a 26ft tall lightning
> rod
> >I'd like to better my chances.  Ideas?
> >
> >Brad Haslett
> >"CoraShen"
> >
> >__________________________________________________
> >Do you Yahoo!?
> >Yahoo! Web Hosting - Let the expert host your site
> >http://webhosting.yahoo.com
> >_________________________________________________
> >Use Rhodes22-list@rhodes22.org, Help?
> www.rhodes22.org/list
> 
>
_________________________________________________________________
> Add photos to your messages with MSN 8. Get 2 months
> FREE*. 
> http://join.msn.com/?page=features/featuredemail
> 
> _________________________________________________
> Use Rhodes22-list@rhodes22.org, Help?
www.rhodes22.org/list


__________________________________________________
Do you Yahoo!?
Yahoo! Web Hosting - Let the expert host your site
http://webhosting.yahoo.com