Reef, shelter, ground? and Archives
Welcome, Max. This is a great sport, and part of the fun is being prepared for the 1 percent of the time when it could be scary. Do look in the archives. One thread on the subject of lightning has a link to an authoritative, and comprehensive discussion of the subject. What follows is from my memory: Shelter. A modern sailboat with an aluminum mast, and steel shrouds will keep you and your crew safe. Stay in the cockpit, or cabin, and away from metal or wires attached to the big aluminum lightning rod over your head, and the boat will protect you. Reef. Of course, lightning means a strong storm, so you want to shorten sail, and head for safe harbor. Grounding? There are two sides to this discussion. Good grounding will reduce the chances of damage if you are struck. On the other hand, it probably increases the chances to be struck. Good grounding consists of two things: First, your mast is connected by a heavy wire to one square foot of copper exposed to the water. (A lead keel is an OK substitute if it's not encapsulated in fiberglass.) Since this was not built into our '77 h27, I have a 1/4 inch electric cable to fasten to the mast and trail in the water (with enough length to equal a square foot) when lightning approaches. Second ground your engine, and through hulls by conecting them with heavy wire to protect them, and improve their grounding. (Most stories of strikes seem to involve cooking the electronics whether they are grounded of not.) If you are hit, do have the boat surveyed. Hull damage ranging from small holes to weakened fiberglass laminate has been reported in some cases. Summary - the boat will protect you and your crew. Well implemented grounding will reduce the chances for damage to the boat if you are struck. Oh yeah. Despite trepidations, I've been through a couple of lightning storms and have not yet been struck! David Lady Lillie
