[Rhodes22-list] Lighting Rod

[James Nichols]

Typically Lightning will not strike anything that does not give it a clear
path to ground, so running a wire from the mast to the water is only
inviting lightning to strike the boat more often.  Lightning, like water,
always looks for the easiest path to ground.  Fiberglass is an awesome
insulator,  so the mast doesn't typically attract lightning.  Also, while
lake and sea water conduct electricity (sea water is a much better conductor
because of the salt) Lightning on a lake setting will more likely hit a tree
on the shoreline because the path through the tree into the earth is much
easier than the path through the boat, through the water, then into the
ground.  Also, while most lightning happens during a storm, so the
fiberglass on the boat will be wet, the amount of water clinging to the deck
doesn't usually offer enough of an electrical pathway from the mast to the
main body of water  that the lightning would choose to strike the boat over
striking the water directly.

All these statements aside though, as Ron said, stay away from large metal
objects on the boat during a storm, and you should be fine.

As a side note about the quote about deaths of boaters but not sailboats.
The boats that have deaths are because they are running motorboats that have
large engines that create large electro-magnetic fields to drive the motor,
and they tend to run them all out, so the electro-magnetic field is as large
as it can get, and as they are screaming across the water, what they don't
realize is they are screaming, "STRIKE ME!!"  And nature says, "Ok."

-----Original Message-----
From: rhodes22-list-bounces at rhodes22.org
[mailto:rhodes22-list-bounces at rhodes22.org] On Behalf Of Ron Lipton
Sent: Monday, March 10, 2014 7:47 PM
To: The Rhodes 22 Email List
Subject: Re: [Rhodes22-list] Lighting Rod

The Rhodes is a lightning rod - there is no need to install another. The
real issue is diverting the current into the water rather then through you
or your electronics.  Such a system would include heavy gauge wire
connecting the mast to a large area conductor in the water.  Pretty
cumbersome.  The main thing is to stay away from metal during a storm. A
good reference is:

http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/sg071

" Every year there are multiple deaths of boaters in open boats caused by
lightning strikes, but very few reports of sailors in sailboats killed by
lightning"

Ron

> On Mar 10, 2014, at 19:15, <chcarreon at cox.net> wrote:
> 
> All,
>  Has anyone installed a lighting rod on a R22?  If so, how did you do it? 
> 
> Thanks much,
> Chuy
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