I am a coastal sailer in SE Texas. We have storms come up quicker than I can get off of the water sometimes. How big of a danger is lightning when you are on the water in a V222? And what can you do if you are caught in a storm?
Lightening Dangers?
- Thread starter Skipper62
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Like everything else sailboats do sometimes get struck by lightning but no more frequently than anything else. Consider the number of boats in a marina, tall boats and short boats and most often none get hit. I have seen lightning strike trees about twenty times in my memory never seen a building strike although it has happened in my neighborhood inculding my own place. I don't know that there are any proven methods to protect against a strike and insurance companies don't discount homeowners insurance costs for lightning rods.
Ross is right about boat strike occurrences. I have even seen a power boat get hit 2 slips away from a sailboat.
Protect yourself by staying away from the mast, rigging or anything else that is attached to the mast that could conduct electricity. Front of the cockpit is probably a good area.
Protect yourself by staying away from the mast, rigging or anything else that is attached to the mast that could conduct electricity. Front of the cockpit is probably a good area.
wearing a kat hat (never heard of a kitty being struck by lightning) and rubber shoes and rubber gloves doesnt work nor does prevention---boats are hit whether they are protected or not----just be safe---for some reason we were not hit when we were out there in the middle of the dang things---in centers of storms--scary as hell---vhf said to get into shelter--but we were at least 40 mi out----where is the shelter there!!!!....just try not to get stuckinthem--the sailing is awesome in there, btw--just very very dang scary!!!! is no real rhyme nor reason to lightning strikes--houses and boats get hit no matter where they are or what protection they have----do not take a shower under the mast during one---lol--i did once---scared me--approached tooo fast to rinse off first..wooohoooo....be safe and enjoy life....sail well and sail often~~~~_/)~~~~~
Couldn't find a cat hat so I Duck Taped a cat to my mast and it worked! I went out this afternoon and was in a little shower but didn't get struck by lightening even once.
Thanks!!!
Thanks!!!
If the rigging is bonded, then as long as you are inside the stays you will be protected from electrocution because of the faraday cage effect. However, that doesn't mean that your boat wont get struct by lightening. As was mentioned previously, don't touch anything metal.
There are lightning strikes and then there are LIGHTNING STRIKES.!!!!! I have seen some that just knock a few limbs off a tree and others that strip the bark off and hurl it a hundred feet. When it comes to lightning all bets are off. What works one time will be of no use another time.
skipper, I'm sure your question was serious.. although some of the responses don't reflect it. Anyway, I think it's a very good question. I have seen numerous articles about this subject over the years and took the liberty to google a few links on Sailboat lightning protection... The first one has links to many other articles... knock yourself out... then perhaps you can get back to us when you make some mods to your own boat. Good luck.
http://cruisingresources.com/Lightning_Protection
http://www.nasdonline.org/docs/d000001-d000100/d000007/d000007.html
http://www.strikeshield.com/
http://cruisingresources.com/Lightning_Protection
http://www.nasdonline.org/docs/d000001-d000100/d000007/d000007.html
http://www.strikeshield.com/
Gulf Coast Weather
Skipper, I have sailed on the gulf coast for 20+ years and have seen and been in many storms. In the summer the majority of the storms happen between 3:00 and 5:00. I plan my sailing around this. I am normally looking at or in my destination by 3:00. If you see a storm coming, start the motor, get the sails down, batten the hatches and get out the foul weather gear. When the storm hits your only choices are motoring into the wind/waves or putting out the anchor. The last thing you want to happen is to have your sails up when it hits, I have seen many sailboats with torn sails after a good thunderstorm. You have no control over the lighting, but get your crew below, stay away from metal and try to stay calm.
Skipper, I have sailed on the gulf coast for 20+ years and have seen and been in many storms. In the summer the majority of the storms happen between 3:00 and 5:00. I plan my sailing around this. I am normally looking at or in my destination by 3:00. If you see a storm coming, start the motor, get the sails down, batten the hatches and get out the foul weather gear. When the storm hits your only choices are motoring into the wind/waves or putting out the anchor. The last thing you want to happen is to have your sails up when it hits, I have seen many sailboats with torn sails after a good thunderstorm. You have no control over the lighting, but get your crew below, stay away from metal and try to stay calm.
I spent a long time about a year ago researching the lightning issue in consideration of adding sustantial protection to my boat over the winter. The conclusion I came to after weighing all sorts of conflicting information and opinions was this:
Most lightning strikes will not sink a sailboat, kill the occupants, or do significant damage other than to electronics and other replacable items. A large proportion of the 10 - 20% of those strikes that will be life endangering will be powerful enough to overwhelm almost any lightning protection system. It's a highly statistical issue.
I don't claim any expertise or make a recommendation but I decided to do nothing on my boat. If it were easier due to a different mast arrangement and construction or I spent more time south of Maine, I might.
Most lightning strikes will not sink a sailboat, kill the occupants, or do significant damage other than to electronics and other replacable items. A large proportion of the 10 - 20% of those strikes that will be life endangering will be powerful enough to overwhelm almost any lightning protection system. It's a highly statistical issue.
I don't claim any expertise or make a recommendation but I decided to do nothing on my boat. If it were easier due to a different mast arrangement and construction or I spent more time south of Maine, I might.
Roger—
The two schools of thought on Lightning protection systems on boats I've found seem to be this:
1) Lightning grounding and bonding the boat is a good idea and all boats should be grounded and bonded properly. Doing so reduces the risk of catastrophic damage to the boat should it be hit, but does increase the chances of the boat being hit slightly.
2) Lightning grounding and bonding really doesn't help much. An ungrounded/bonded boat is less likely to be hit, so keeping the boat ungrounded/bonded is safer than adding a grounding/bonding system.
If you add the fact that lightning is quite unpredictable and the effects of a strike range widely from death and destruction of the boat to almost nothing at all... I don't see that it really matters whether you ground/bond a boat or not. If you feel safer by doing so, do it... if not, don't bother.
The two schools of thought on Lightning protection systems on boats I've found seem to be this:
1) Lightning grounding and bonding the boat is a good idea and all boats should be grounded and bonded properly. Doing so reduces the risk of catastrophic damage to the boat should it be hit, but does increase the chances of the boat being hit slightly.
2) Lightning grounding and bonding really doesn't help much. An ungrounded/bonded boat is less likely to be hit, so keeping the boat ungrounded/bonded is safer than adding a grounding/bonding system.
If you add the fact that lightning is quite unpredictable and the effects of a strike range widely from death and destruction of the boat to almost nothing at all... I don't see that it really matters whether you ground/bond a boat or not. If you feel safer by doing so, do it... if not, don't bother.
Yes, but overall, statistics show that boats with grounding/bonding systems do get hit more often than ungrounded/bonded boats. However,statistics also show that the damage to a grounded/bonded boat that is hit is generally less than a ungrounded/unbonded boat that gets hit.
Got a citation for any of that? Having been in the statistics business for a while I always like to see the numbers -- there's a lot of dodgy analysis out there...
--Tom.
lightning strikes seem to be merely a war between the gods of the sea and your personal guardian angels----scientifically as well as unrealistically-----random and scattered despite the frequency and scariness---makes as much sense to place an anti-zap kat hat on head as it does to spend lots of money to make the mast a better lightning rod---i go for the guardian angels and kat hat......makes as much sense----no one tries to go out into a storm--they do happen around ye whilst sailing many times----as did with us---maybe we didnt get hit because we had a potential kat hat on board----he has still 9 lives, so is allll goood--and folks wonder why i travel with my kat...lol......
Ahhh... One of the great peer review journals
Seriously though, thanks for that.
--Tom.
While not peer reviewed, the book is based on several decades of boat insurance claims... which is probably a statistically significant sampling.
Ahhh... One of the great peer review journals
Seriously though, thanks for that.
--Tom.
Yes, those daring young men and their adding machines in the private sector insurance industry are darned near infallible...While not peer reviewed, the book is based on several decades of boat insurance claims... which is probably a statistically significant sampling.
Doing anything cool with your little bit of AIG?
Sorry, that's probably in poor taste. But, it would be nice to see the numbers and get a feel for the methodology. I've talked with people who really ought to know about lightning and boats who have come to totally contradictory conclusions. Having suffered through some genuinely terrifying days in serious lightning a long way from help I am extremely interested in this subject. But, I'm still waiting for some "actionable intelligence".
--Tom.
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