Lighting protection

[Rudy G]

I would to protect my boat against lighting strikes. One of the methods I was contemplating is to clamp #4 stranded wire to the mast and run the wire down thru the cabin top and route against the wooden mast support and clamp it to centerboard bracket bolt. I understand that would give a radius of protection around my boat equal to the mast height or do I need to ground all metal and electronics? I would like to know what methods others used for their water ballast boats.Thanks!

 

[MikeB16632]

Video

My 240 came from the factory with the method you describe. If you want to protect the electronics, they need to be enclosed and everything metallic bonded. The link to the video is an excellent source of information.

 

[Jack h23.5]

Ligntning strikes..

I would not recommend fastening a cable to the centerboard bracket. The bracket does not have enough surface area to dissipate a direct hit, and will most likely force the lightning to either blow out the assembly into the water causing the boat to fill with water, or worse, it may dissipate through the fibers in the fiberglass causing hundreds of tiny pinholes in the hull. A lot of the boats here in Central Florida use jumper cables clamped to the mast base and bolted to an aluminum plate (at least 3 sq feet)that is hung over the side when a storm is approaching. While that technique is not usable while sailing it works at anchor. I usually try to stop and wait out storms at anchor. No system is foolproof, and the best advice is to 1) get off the water 2) get out of the cockpit 3) stay away from mast, stays, lifelines, rudder, etc.