Lightning strike again update

[Capt Robbie]

As I said in previous post took a lightning strike again. This is now the 4th strike in 35 years with my H34 that I am aware of.
Pretty scary and would not recommend this experience to anyone!

Looks like I got away so far pretty lucky with only minor damage.
Only major items damaged are smart pro nautic battery charger, vhf radio, main 12 volt 30amp circuit breaker along with bulbs and fuses.
Every 12 volt fuse in the boat fried, every 12 volt led or bulb fried, all indicator lights on main panel fried. So far replace all lights and fuses and everything seems to be working even all the electronics came back to life. Except the new vhf which is missing the antena now apear to be fried. Tricolor mast light I have high hopes after I replace the bulbs in that.
Inspected all the wiring that is acceptable and all appears to be ok.
Standing rigging and running rigging also inspected apear to be good.
All Batteries tested good which I am surprised due the charger was fried.
Engine was hard to get to start and ran rough for about 2 minutes but cleared its self after I shut it down and restarted it without any issues. Don't know why it ran rough but if it's not broke I'm not going to look for a problem. It's running just fine now and starts right up.
So far I'm only out of pocket about $700 so if that all I'm considering myself extremely lucky!

Last time the boat was on the hard and everything was lost and had to be replaced and or rewired.

Going to go buy a lottery ticket

 

[jviss]

No insurance?

 

[Capt Robbie]

Have insurance , damage is below my deductible plus I don't want to give them a reasoned to raise my rates.

 

[kloudie1]

Glad to hear that it wasn't any worse, Robbie.

 

[Don Lucas]

Only $700 for a hit? Kind of hard to believe. A friend on mine had a "near" hit and it was $80k in damage.

 

[Hydro Therapy]

When I first read your post I assumed you where somewhere farther south then I realized your from NJ. Fourth strike is incredible. I’m glad it wasn’t worse. I hope your able to make the repairs and enjoy the rest of your season.

 

[jviss]

Have insurance , damage is below my deductible plus I don't want to give them a reasoned to raise my rates.

I get that, but there's your time, too. Curious, what's your deductible? (I'm not sure what mine is.)

 

[seadaddler]

I live in Florida and always hearing about some one’s boat getting hit and $80 k is kind of high
and a friend had a 41 Saber and had a direct hit had all electronics were replaced boat was pulled
to check hull and mast was pulled and checked and all new up dated electronics replaced and he said the insurance paid $40k for all work by pro and he was so happy for all new and this was a few years back in NY and was out sailing when got direct hit.
Nick

 

[Ward H]

Looks like I got away so far pretty lucky with only minor damage.

Glad to hear.

 

[Benny17441]

4 or 5 times in 35 years, that is way excessive. You either have the tallest mast in your marina or your electrical system set up is attracting lightning. I don't believe in bad luck or any luck for that matter. A lot of the damage caused by lightning is not through direct strikes but by inductive surges of nearby discharges. Boats that have their mast and electrical components bonded with a path to ground seem to attract strikes. The upside is that those strikes cause lesser damage.( Owner's choice) Have seen 12/24 voltage suppressors but not aware of their effectiveness to handle large surges. Having a ac 120 voltage suppressor for shore power would not be a bad idea. Check your wiring and grounds and your electric systems for stray electricity or anomaly. People do protect their electronics by taking special precautions in the summer months by disconnecting them and taking home or placing them inside the stove oven. If everything fails change marinas and surround yourself by bigger boats with taller masts.

 

[Capt Robbie]

Think I am going to chop off about ten feet or so off the mast, that should do the trick

Jviss, I think my deductible is about 1k. My time is valuable so far got about 30 plus hours into repairs, but I really don't mind doing the repairs myself, believe it or not I actually enjoy tinkering on boats. Plus by doing the repairs myself I know that they are all done correctly.
Some of the marina technicians are not the sharpest tools in the shed if you get my drift.
Plus by doing the repairs yourself I fell that if something goes bad down the road it's easier to trouble shoot.
Anyway repairs are going very well so far. Knock wood Should have everything back in working order by the weekend.

 

[jssailem]

I actually enjoy tinkering on boats

My boat. And boats of my friends both old and new....

 

[JamesG161]

I actually enjoy tinkering on boats.

While you are tinkering, you might check to see if the base of your mast has a 4 gauge wire connected to a keel bolt.

That might ground your mast to the water, which make your mast at the same electrical potential as the water.
Easier than cutting off the mast.
Jim...

 

[Ron20324]

The weather channel is showing a lightening hit on a sailboat mast in Italy at night. Looks like a skyrocket