Lightning.... I've been HIT !!!!!!!!!!

[Ross]

The hours that are needed to run just one circuit properly with all of the detail needed for a durable job are many. Mainesail has more than twenty separate circiuts on his DC panel not to mention his AC panel. This would be close to making a complete set of dining room furniture in fine wood and having your shop flood before you could get anything out.

 

[Bill Roosa]

new lightning strategy by ABYC

Seems the old idea of running the lightning down the mast to the keel is out of date. The new ABYC strategy is to ring the boat with a ground plane and discharge it overboard near the water surface. Seem they discovered that lightning induces charge on the water surface to not so great a depth. Certainly not to the depth of the keel. that means that the keel is not the ground you thought it was and the lightning knows it. It would rather find a path to the water surface and not deep into the water. You can google lightning and probalby find the articel. The concept keeps the lightning out of the cabin and tries to direct it along the shrouds/stays to the toe rail and then to the water surface by several electrodes near the water surface.
Their evidence was the large number of holes in hulls right at the water line.
FWIW

 

[Snotter]

Bummer, Maine. We feel your pain.

On the subject of lightning, I was reading the manual that Charley Morgan wrote for the Morgan 415 OI. I was surprised to see a whole section on lightning protection. They recommended connecting the mast and rigging to a ground plate and to connect one end of an automotive jumper cable to the rigging and to throw the other end in the water. The manual was written in the late 70s. Being a fresh water sailor, I could probably get away with doing that; however, it seems to me that electrolisis would attack the rigging in salt water.

Maine, did you have any lightning protection other than insurance?

 

[Sailm8]

Sorry to hear about the strike. Three boats within 200 feet of me have been hit in the last year. I guess I'm next. They have all had to be pulled for inspections with masts pulled and rewired. On the bright side they have all upgraded to the latest and greatest instruments.
The PO but one of those metal bottle brush things on the top of the mast. Maybe it's brought good Karma.

 

[dscribner]

Maine Sail,
Your killin' me. I'm wick'd sorry to hear that after all the great work you did on your baby. I was in RiRa's during the storm and from that vantage point, it did't seem all that bad. Might have been the IPA lenses. I hope at very least, the insurance will cover the damages.

The Faraday box is a good idea, rather than trundling all your stuff everytime you leave. I currently don't have enough electonics to worry about but I'll stow that notion away for future reference.

 

[Bill1565]

Sorry to hear about your loss. Do what somebody said and have a tall one. Don't let it eat away at you.

 

[Ross]

The electro magnetic pulse has been the fear of the defence department ever since they learned that a nuclear blast unleashed a fierce pulse that could shut down all electrical systems.

 

[PaulK]

Sorry to hear about you getting zapped. We had cells come through here on Wednesday too, but the lightning went for the trees and power lines. You probably didn't really need all that electronic stuff to go sailing anyway.

 

[Ctskip]

Sorry to hear about the loss. Now the headaches begin. What if anything will you do differently this time? Time consuming and knuckle busting for you, nothing that a good cry won't help, but a learning lesson for the rest of us. You are the best to handle this situation, while we all look over your shoulder.
Hang in there Maine. You are a good person and you will come back better and stronger than before.

Keep it up,
Ctskip

 

[Mario G]

Sorry Maine hopes things work out with as little hassel as possible.

Our last outting we found ourselves running from an electrical storm at night ( what a light show) but grounded in visial distance to the entrance marker to our new marina.

Were lucky it didn't hit us and I freed us by first light, I was hopeing to get near trees ao the mast wasn't the only thing sticking up, (good or bad?) I too have heen hit by a charge of lightning young and wonder if thats what to expect if your on the boat when it gets hit?

 

[CarlN]

Maine Sail,

I know a guy who told me that his boat became "magnetized" from a lightening strike. He claimed that his compass was off 20 degrees and he had to compensate it again. I find this hard to believe but thought I'd pass it on. Might as well get all of the bad news out now.....

Carl

 

[RichH]

Seems the old idea of running the lightning down the mast to the keel is out of date. The new ABYC strategy is to ring the boat with a ground plane and discharge it overboard near the water surface. Seem they discovered that lightning induces charge on the water surface to not so great a depth. Certainly not to the depth of the keel. that means that the keel is not the ground you thought it was and the lightning knows it. It would rather find a path to the water surface and not deep into the water. You can google lightning and probalby find the articel. The concept keeps the lightning out of the cabin and tries to direct it along the shrouds/stays to the toe rail and then to the water surface by several electrodes near the water surface.
Their evidence was the large number of holes in hulls right at the water line.
FWIW

Bill - this might be the 'grounding article' that you are referring to: http://www.marinelightning.com/Information/GroundingConcepts.htm this is from the past 'lightening guru' formerly at the FSU. Lots of good 'new' concepts, applications, etc. on this website that seems to be a 'vast change' in the 'state of the art' thinking about marine lightening protection. ;-)

 

[zeehag]

ok we all know how random lightning is--i think it showed that it likes nicely done and perfect boats, as hit maine's. didnt hit ours--wasnt a perfect boat--lol...yipes--i think the moral of the story is --never wash car, as it will rain immediately after--never buy all new tronix, as the lightning gods what a sacrifice...yipes---oh yes, and BUY CROCS !!!!!! they scare everyone away...and everything....dang.....

cheer up, maine--we will make ye laugh again and you will be back at changing out tronix again in a jiffy....geeeziz i am sorry to hear you got hit----at the same time again experiencing the "whew" from after our trip thru storms..

 

[RAD]

Son of a B...ch.....ya just get done with all that work and now this..........having been struck by lightning personally I'm a scared S..t of the stuff, was off shore last week and could see it off in the distance south of me and it stayed there

again so sorry for your bad luck

 

[Dan Johnson]

Maine Sail...

I feel your pain and frustration from having been in the telephone business for a number of years. It sounds like your situation is due to the induction effect, not a direct hit. At our most troublesome site (a quarry) we tried everything from carbon blocks then gas tubes and avalance diodes to protect our system and building interconnections from the persistant lightiniing strikes due to a radio tower at that location.

After nothing else worked, we finally moved the system to another building and advised unplugging all connections during any storm. That worked fine until the building where it was relocated was hit and the induction fried all the electronics but didn't blow a single fuse. Carbon tracks like that pictured everywhere inside. Ultimately they moved their offices off-site and replaced the electronic system at the quarry site with basic telephones.

One of my dock-mates had a pair of Garmin GPS's like yours wrapped in aluminum foil and stored in his boat's oven as a preventative measure during a storm only to have them fried when the boat took a direct hit that wiped out the masthead and most of the boat's wiring. So much for the Farraday cage effect.

 

[RAD]

maybe he shoud not have had them wrapped with foil? every thing I ever read was the oven was the safest place

 

[RAD]

Here's a link explaining a Faraday cage but lighting has much more voltage

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9tzga6qAaBA

 

[jibes138]

A real shame mainesail. Let us know if there is anything we can do to help. You've helped all of us immensely and we thank you for that.
Now I am not an EE, far from it, but do have some experience in the airplane business. Airplanes get hit on avearage about once a year.they are loaded with electrical equipment and computers. All of the systems have to be able to withstand a lightning hit. I know all electronics are electrically bonded and they all are designed and tested for high EMI. Perhaps we boaters can learn something from our airplane manufacturing friends. Are there any EE's out there with aviation experience that can explain better than me??
Oh , and bring your "portable" electronics home with you.

 

[Scott B]

Oh man.... that really sucks.

I hope the guys doing the work from the insurance are a particular as you are.... otherwise they'll be getting a lesson in absolute perfection

 

[Bob Mack]

Main:

So sorry to hear about your "hit". As a community, we all feel the irony of this cruel twist. I have tremendous respect for the quality of work you do, your attention to detail, and the hours of work behind you and those now ahead of you.

We all live in fear of that "hit" although in thirty years on the Ct coast I have had only one friend actually take a "hit". It was about 1980, a simpler time, and his losses were limited some Signet instruments, a charger and some wiring. But his mast head basically blew up including fusing his sheaves. Hope your additional discoveries are few.

I noted you indicated your "Batt switch was OFF and no switches were flipped to ON in the main breaker panel." Good knowledge as I've usually left my battery switch's on and breakers off. Guess there's no safety added by either method?