[Rhodes22-list] Electrical grounding and bonding

Sun, 15 Sep 2002 09:24:22 EDT

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Ah, the lightning question again. As you have found out, there is no "right" 
answer on this subject. 
My thoughts are, if you are sailing on salt water which is a really good 
conductor of electricity, I would do everything within my powers to ground 
out the rigging according to the experts. Fresh water is a lousy conductor of 
electricity so I don't see a need for the grounding system as I sail on fresh 
water lakes.
The Rhodes also makes for a lousy lightning rod because the mast stops at the 
deck and doesn't go all the way to the keel. Also, our keel is a composite 
material and not fully loaded with lead or other metals.
Our boat was on the hook for several years with about twenty other sailboats 
and none were ever struck by lightning. However, several house boats tied up 
at the docks have been struck over the years. Many of the docks are covered 
with metal roofs. I don't know if this irritated the situation, but they seem 
more susceptible to strikes than the sailboats.

Rummy

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<HTML>Ah, the lightning question again. As you have found out, there is no "right" answer on this subject. 
My thoughts are, if you are sailing on salt water which is a really good conductor of electricity, I would do everything within my powers to ground out the rigging according to the experts. Fresh water is a lousy conductor of electricity so I don't see a need for the grounding system as I sail on fresh water lakes. 
The Rhodes also makes for a lousy lightning rod because the mast stops at the deck and doesn't go all the way to the keel. Also, our keel is a composite material and not fully loaded with lead or other metals. 
Our boat was on the hook for several years with about twenty other sailboats and none were ever struck by lightning. However, several house boats tied up at the docks have been struck over the years. Many of the docks are covered with metal roofs. I don't know if this irritated the situation, but they seem more susceptible to strikes than the sailboats. 
 
Rummy</HTML>

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