After a lightning strike?

[dreadpiratk]

When we uncovered the boat (Catalina 34) this spring we discovered that we'd been hit by lightning at some point over the winter. Very unusual, as the boat sits on a metal cradle but the cradle is up on wooden blocks. The marina had parked it within 18" of the clubhouse building and apparently, the lightning hit the mast, came down the backstay and arched from the rub rail to the aluminum gutter on the building. Blew up a bunch of electrical stuff in the club house as well.

We have 3 spots where the rub rail is melted through and a big hole in our custom winter cover. Wind, depth, and speed are all toast. Got lucky with the new VHF and stereo, those seem to have escaped unharmed. I won't know about the engine until I get a hose hooked up to try and run it. Likely good except maybe the alternator. Could have been much worse if the fire had taken hold

So, what to look for beyond the obvious. We're having the mast taken down next week to inspect, and replace the wind vanes and antenna. What should I look for/be concerned about as far as the rig goes?

Opinions: Is the marina at fault for placing the boat so close to a building? Without that ground path, this wouldn't have happened.

 

[dlochner]

If you haven't called your insurance company, you should. Assuming you have hull coverage they will send a surveyor to assess the damage.

This is an "act of God" the marina will not have any liability as it was beyond their control. Check your storage contract.

 

[JamesG161]

Ouch!

The lightning must have been a side bolt too, or boat would have had a big hole in the side of it.

Call your insurance company.
Jim...

 

[dreadpiratk]

The insurance adjuster is coming out Wednesday. We're reading up on lightning strikes and making a list of things to check like cabin lights and the inverter. Bilge pump. Lots of stuff I didn't think of right away. It seems like the bolt jumped to the rub rail from the backstay and then over to the gutter without really entering the boat. The batteries were out of the boat for the winter, so no continuous ground for it to follow. From what I'm reading from insurance reports standing rigging is rarely damaged, which is a relief, although having the insurance pay for new wouldn't have been terrible.

 

[dlochner]

Look carefully at all of the through hulls. Lightning follows mysterious paths, but generally flows outside of the cabin along the shrouds and stays. If the through hulls are bonded to the mast, some of the current may have gone to them and then out to ground.

While the rigging itself may be good, check the attachment points, cotter rings and cotter pins may have been damaged.

 

[Capt Robbie]

my boat has been struck by lightning three times, twice in the water with minimal damage due to almost all of the the lightning was dispersed into the water thru the keel.
However the strike on land was bad. Main power ac and dc was on and the lightning arresting protection didn’t do much as it’s not designed to be out of the water. The lightning seemed to travel all over. Almost all electronics, batteries, most of the wiring was fried, main electrical panel was ok, however the main breakers were fried.
rigging was ok, mostly because the power surge traveled directly to the keel and then to the jack stands thru a chain that connected the two stands together. Then it went into the ground where the stone dust they sat on got fused together and looked like lava rock.

I checked the entire boat from bow to stern myself, however if you are not sure how every system on your boat has been installed or works, you might want to get the boat surveyed for any potential damage. If you have put an insurance claim in, I would still have it surveyed. Don’t trust an adjuster, they are going to try to only repair as little as possible, and do as little as they have to. Unfortunately they are really only going to be looking at what is in there best interest. Don’t want to sound negative but I’ve been burned before by insurance companies.

Hope this helps

 

[Ken13559]

The last time I've got lightning damage, I spend $3500 in eqpt replacement (no insurance coverage) and 2 years to fix all problem/faults.
As you replace the instrument/eqpt, don't forget little things like cable joints and connector. Look for melted joints buried within the wiring harnesses, duct ways etc...

Ken Y

 

[Davidasailor26]

Opinions: Is the marina at fault for placing the boat so close to a building? Without that ground path, this wouldn't have happened.

My guess odd that lhe lightning that went through hundreds of feet of air would’ve found its way to ground regardless of whether the building was there or not. I think it’s equally likely that if it weren’t for the building the path to ground would’ve been through more of the hull, doing even more damage. As others have said, check everything. Even things that turn on may have other damage. After a nearby strike our chartplotter would turn on fine, but wouldn’t talk to any instruments on the network.

 

[Benny17441]

Call your insurance company and let them figure it out with the Marina Insurer. The Marina is likely to refer you to them anyways.

 

[dreadpiratk]

Just to follow up on this… kudos to Progressive Insurance! The adjuster came out quickly and did a very thorough inspection. He found damage we didn’t. He then paid the Marina to assess the electronics for him and took their recommendations at face value. Long story short this lightning strike may be the best thing that ever happened to the boat. It’ll fully pay for our upgrade from 30 year old Datamarine to state of the art B&G equipment. Other then a free scorch marks we seem to have suffered no real hull damage that we or the Marina can find, mostly just electronics and a melted rub rail.
we lost two weeks of the season but should be in good shape when we finally get in the water.

 

[dlochner]

Trade 2 weeks of no sailing for thousands of dollars of new electronics? Where do I sign up?

gld it is working out for you.

 

[dreadpiratk]

Thanks! The thing is I had already bought all the new electronics last year to install this spring, so this is all found money.

 

[Johann]

How about the batteries? Maybe a good idea to capacity check them before splashing?

 

[dlochner]

Thanks! The thing is I had already bought all the new electronics last year to install this spring, so this is all found money.

Well the sails could use an upgrade.