[Rhodes22-list] lightning protection
Todd Tavares
sprocket80@mail.com
Tue, 19 Nov 2002 12:13:38 -0500
Bill,
I am by no means an expert, and even the "experts" disagree but, it seems to me, that if there is a big enough difference of potential for lightning to "jump the gap" from the clouds to the water, then the 3 to 4 feet of air and fiberglass in your R22 would do little to stop lightning from shooting a hole right through your boat........or that theory. IMHO
Todd
----- Original Message -----
From: "Bill Effros" <bill@effros.com>
Date: Tue, 19 Nov 2002 10:21:28 -0500
To: "The Rhodes 22 mail list" <rhodes22-list@rhodes22.org>
Subject: Re: [Rhodes22-list] lightning protection
> Brad,
>
> We have this discussion roughly once a year. When all is said and done, its
> clear that this is a poorly understood phenomenon. People selling things
> will scare the shit out of you with horror stories. They provide "experts"
> who you have never heard of before, propounding disproven theories as facts.
>
> None of the theories relate directly to the construction of our boats. Most
> of the strikes occur on sailboats where there is a direct electrical path
> from the top of the mast to the bottom of the keel, frying electrical
> circuits as they go. Our masts are, what, 3-4 feet from the water? They
> are mounted on non-conducting fiberglass, with wooden support, and a lot of
> air between the bottom of the mast and the water.
>
> Now the first thing you are told about lightning is to not touch the mast
> anytime you are concerned about it. But your approach would involve running
> to find an excellent conductor, carrying it on the deck, attaching it to the
> mast while the other end is still in your hand, and leading it overboard in
> such it way that it does not foul. Every time I find myself in a potential
> lightning situation I reaffirm the fact that I would not even consider this
> approach at a time I was concerned that lightning might strike at any
> moment.
>
> We know that some lightning starts in the sky and goes down to earth while
> other lightning starts in the earth and goes to the sky. Our boats are not
> susceptible to the earth to sky lightning because there is no direct path
> from the earth to our masts--unless we attach a conductor to the mast and
> drape it over the side and into the water.
>
> There is a school that suggests that these lightning protection devices
> generate more strikes on the boats they are supposed to protect.
>
> I don't know, but I do know that I have never heard of an R-22 being
> structurally damaged by lightning. And I always go back to my main motto:
> "If it ain't broke, don't fix it."
>
> Bill Effros
>
> PS -- Sorry to hear about your headache. Maybe it was the fumes from your
> generator?
>
>
>
>
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: "brad haslett" <flybrad@yahoo.com>
> To: "The Rhodes 22 mail list" <rhodes22-list@rhodes22.org>
> Sent: Tuesday, November 19, 2002 9:38 AM
> Subject: Re: [Rhodes22-list] lightning protection
>
>
> Bill, several sources I've read indicate that is a
> mis-conception. The statistical data for boats at
> moorings don't indicate a higher mast being more
> likely to be struck than a lower one. Brad.
> --- Bill Effros <bill@effros.com> wrote:
> > Sail or dock near a boat with a 30' mast.
> >
> > Bill Effros
> >
> >
> > ----- Original Message -----
> > From: "brad haslett" <flybrad@yahoo.com>
> > To: <rhodes22-list@rhodes22.org>
> > Sent: Tuesday, November 19, 2002 7:58 AM
> > Subject: [Rhodes22-list] lightning protection
> >
> >
> > 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"
> >
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