Rpludwig,
I retired from the FAA after 38+ years, most of the time I was in the Technical Operations Branch. One of the many hats I wore during my career was serving as the resident engineer overseeing the construction and installation of all kinds of radar, communication, and navigation facilities. The FAA is very concerned about lightning because of the impact to very sensitive equipment, which if damaged, could adversely impact the air traffic system. So they go to great lengths to try and control the path for lighting. But, this involved installation of substantial copper down conductors, and an immense copper grounding system below grade. So I've been involved with my share of lightning and bonding systems. On a C-22, we're dealing with 1/8" cable, and yes, an aluminum mast. When we lived in the Midwest for many years, we kept our C-22 in a slip from roughly April to the end of October. We were in slips in Kansas, Missouri, and Oklahoma, so we experienced our fair share of massive thunderstorms for many years while living there. None of my C-22's ever had any lightning protection whatsoever, and maybe I'm just luck,(however, I've never won the lottery), but our boats never suffered any lightning strike that I'm aware of. Yes, I guess it could happen,(never say never), but lightning is looking for the easiest path to ground, and I'm convinced my C-22's, (and several other sailboats), just didn't fit the bill. Looking at the size of the down conductors I've installed for lightning protection, I would guess there is just too much resistance in an 1/8" cable to support a path for that great amount of energy to flow through, then jump to ground, (but I'm no engineer, so take that for what it's worth).
We've only moved to Florida 5 months ago, and we're just now entering our stormy season I understand,(BIG thunderstorm going on right now, and we're in the path to be hit tomorrow and Tuesday with some severe weather), so maybe ask me again next year what I've done to improve the lightning protection system on my C-22, but I can just about assure you, my answer will still be: "nothing".
Lightning strikes are the least of my concerns. Oh yes, I have great respect for it, I just don't lose sleep worrying about it.
Don
I retired from the FAA after 38+ years, most of the time I was in the Technical Operations Branch. One of the many hats I wore during my career was serving as the resident engineer overseeing the construction and installation of all kinds of radar, communication, and navigation facilities. The FAA is very concerned about lightning because of the impact to very sensitive equipment, which if damaged, could adversely impact the air traffic system. So they go to great lengths to try and control the path for lighting. But, this involved installation of substantial copper down conductors, and an immense copper grounding system below grade. So I've been involved with my share of lightning and bonding systems. On a C-22, we're dealing with 1/8" cable, and yes, an aluminum mast. When we lived in the Midwest for many years, we kept our C-22 in a slip from roughly April to the end of October. We were in slips in Kansas, Missouri, and Oklahoma, so we experienced our fair share of massive thunderstorms for many years while living there. None of my C-22's ever had any lightning protection whatsoever, and maybe I'm just luck,(however, I've never won the lottery), but our boats never suffered any lightning strike that I'm aware of. Yes, I guess it could happen,(never say never), but lightning is looking for the easiest path to ground, and I'm convinced my C-22's, (and several other sailboats), just didn't fit the bill. Looking at the size of the down conductors I've installed for lightning protection, I would guess there is just too much resistance in an 1/8" cable to support a path for that great amount of energy to flow through, then jump to ground, (but I'm no engineer, so take that for what it's worth).
We've only moved to Florida 5 months ago, and we're just now entering our stormy season I understand,(BIG thunderstorm going on right now, and we're in the path to be hit tomorrow and Tuesday with some severe weather), so maybe ask me again next year what I've done to improve the lightning protection system on my C-22, but I can just about assure you, my answer will still be: "nothing".
Lightning strikes are the least of my concerns. Oh yes, I have great respect for it, I just don't lose sleep worrying about it.
Don