[Rhodes22-list] Roger, I need your input...

Fri Aug 6 10:19:10 EDT 2004

Carol,

Some of the others on the list with more experience re lightening & static
are suggesting you are getting shocked when you touched the outboard motor
on your boat because your body had accumulated a charge which flowed to
ground thru the outboard motor.  I admit I'm a little skeptical about that
hypothesis...OK, a lot skeptical!  But, I'm willing to keep an open mind &
explore it further.  When the outboard motor shocked you, was the lower unit
in the water or was it raised up?  What was the nature of the shock?  I.E.,
was the shock the sort of 1-time pulse you experience in the wintertime when
you shuffle across a carpet & then touch a doorknob, thus producing a static
spark from your finger tip to the doorknob?  Or, was the shock a continuous,
longer lasting pain that comes from touching a source of electricity such as
a live 120 VAC electrical outlet?  Hypothetically, when you were all
"charged up" prior to experiencing the shock, did you experience any other
phenomena?  For example, was your hair standing on end, did you feel any
"tingling", or that sort of thing?

If the outboard's lower unit was not touching the water at the time you were
shocked; then, I'd say this hypothesis is busted.  If the lower unit was in
the water; then, I suppose it's still possible.  I've been sailing nearly
all my adult life including numerous thunderstorms at sea & never
experienced this phenomenon & here it has apparently happened to you twice
within a short period of time.  If these atmospheric conditions ever happen
to you again, an interesting experiment might be to lean over the side of
the boat & touch the water.  If you get shocked; then, you were definitely
charged up!  If this hypothesis is true, since it is you accumulating the
charge & not your boat, the only way to prevent charge accumulation would be
to ground your self.  If you wish to try the experiment; then, Radio Shack
sells conductive wrist bands which electronics technicians use to ground
themselves when servicing static sensitive electronics.  That doesn't seem
like a real smart thing to do in a thunderstorm!  Grounding the mast &/or
standing rigging would simply provide other metal objects around the boat on
which to give yourself an unexpected shock; but, you may feel the need for a
little more excitement in your life.  If this hypothesis is true; then, you
may be a "human capacitor" & your best course of action will be to get off
the water & into a grounded Faraday cage whenever lightening is nearby!  For
some reason, all that dissolved salt in your body tissues & blood stream
doesn't seem to conduct electricity like it does in every other human.  You
should immediately apply for a job in the nearest carnival sideshow, because
you are apparently a wonder of nature.

I still tend to think the symptoms you descibe have something to do with the
mast lowering mishap & exposing some wires inside the mast, although I don't
have all the answers yet.

Roger Pihlaja
S/V Dynamic Equilibrium

----- Original Message -----
From: <CarolN8 at aol.com>
To: <rhodes22-list at rhodes22.org>
Sent: Thursday, August 05, 2004 12:26 AM
Subject: Re: [Rhodes22-list] Roger, I need your input...

> Roger, (And Gil and Michael)
> Thanks for your thoughts on this. As for the motor, the wires from the
motor
> go directly thru the transom and connect to the battery so I'm pretty sure
> they weren't connected. But I'm far from a technical person so I could
have
> missed another connection. Where would I look for that?
>
> The mast connection sounds interesting to me. I originally thought it
might
> have something to do with these wires because they were lying loosely at
the
> bottom of the mast. The running light and mast antenna wires were torn out
when
> I forgot to disconnect them before taking down the mast last winter (add
it to
> the hard lessons learned list). When I saw them after the storm, both
wires
> were exposed at the bottom of the mast and were touching each other. At
first I
> though this might cause a short, but then thought, neither was connected
to
> anything since they are broken. I did separate them and considered putting
> electrical tape over the exposed wires, but forgot to finish this project.
I hope
> to go out this weekend and will check it with a VOM meter.
>
> Thanks again for your help!
>
> ========Original Message========
> Subj:    Re: [Rhodes22-list] Roger, I need your input...
>  Date:   8/4/2004 4:37:40 PM Mountain Daylight Time
>  From:   cen09402 at centurytel.net
>  Reply-to:   rhodes22-list at rhodes22.org
>  To:     rhodes22-list at rhodes22.org
>  Sent from the Internet (Details)
>
>
>
> Carol,
>
> Since your outboard has electric start, it must also have an alternator to
> keep the battery charged.  Usually, the alternator is hooked into the
boat's
> electrical system at or near the fuse panel or circuit breaker panel.
Thus,
> even though you disconnected your batteries, your alternator was still
> hooked up to your boat's electrical system.  That's probably why you kept
> getting a shock even after disconnecting the batteries.
>
> My guess is that you have a short circuit from an electrical cable running
> inside the mast, for example the VHF antenna coax cable or the masthead
> running light.  Under conditions where there is lighting nearby, the mast
> acts as a pretty efficient charge collector.  The fact that your forward
> lower sidestays are making sounds is an interesting clue.  My guess is
that
> the short circuit somehow involves the mechanical fasteners for this
element
> of the standing rigging.  On Dynamic Equilibrium, my 1976 Rhodes 22, the
> lower sidestays are fastened to the mast with a thru-bolted fitting.
> Assuming your mast is built in the same manner, perhaps the threads on
this
> thru-bolt have chafed thru the insulation on one of the electrical cables
> inside of your mast.  You can check this hypothesis with a VOM meter.
> Measure the electrical resistance to see that there is no electrical
> connection between all the conductors running up inside of your mast and
the
> mast itself as well as all the sidestays.  If the electrical resistance is
> anything but infinity (open circuit or overrange); then, the hypothesis is
> confirmed.
>
> Try this test &report the results back to the list.  In the meantime, I'll
> think about what else might be causing the symptoms you describe.
>
> Roger Pihlaja
> S/V Dynamic Equilibrium
>
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: <CarolN8 at aol.com>
> To: <rhodes22-list at rhodes22.org>
> Sent: Wednesday, August 04, 2004 11:12 AM
> Subject: [Rhodes22-list] Roger, I need your input...
>
>
> >Roger,
> >
> >I sent this to the list last week but I think you were gone, and I'd like
> to
> >know if you have any ideas on this. Thanks!
> >Carol
> >
> >OK, since I've come out of lurker mode I might as well ask a question.
The
> >last two times I've been out when there are storm clouds in the area, I
> have
> >had
> >a problem with static electricity building up in the boat. Both times, I
> have
> >
> >received pretty bad shocks. The first time was when I tried to start the
> >motor (with an electric start). I thought I must have a short somewhere,
> so I
> >
> >unhooked both batteries but still got shocked every time I touched the
> motor.
> >I
> >was docked at the time, so I just went home. When I came back, it was
> sunny
> >out
> >and I had no problems.
> >
> >The next time it happened, there was a storm nearby (this happens
> frequently
> >in Colorado) and I was out sailing. All of a sudden I started hearing a
> >clicking sound coming off the forward stays. It was a steady and strong
> >click. I
> >immediately unhooked both batteries again, but it kept clicking. So I
> >carefully
> >hand-started the motor without touching the metal guard on the back
(which
> >was
> >no easy feat) and went back to the docks.
> >I've had this boat at the same marina for four years and this has never
> >happened before. Anybody have any ideas on what I can do? It's pretty
> >nerveracking!
> >
> >Carol
> >s/v Painkiller
> >
> >__________________________________________________
> >Use Rhodes22-list at rhodes22.org, Help? www.rhodes22.org/list
> >
> >
>
>
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