From boaters and pilots I've talked to around here, jumper cables (or other metal) in the water won't help much, if at all. To get an effective "bypass," the cables or plates would have to be so large as to be impractical to have on a relatively small boat.
Lightning Storm
- Thread starter seadaddler
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St. Elmo's fire (not the movie)
I appologize for the correction Nerdy I was an old high school science teacher, I can't help it.
On that same note has anyone ever witnessed St. Elmo's fire?
Sorry Nerdy, but the color of lightning is a function of the heat. The hotter the discharge the whiter the glow. The lower the heat the longer the wavelength and is yellow in color. Salt does not evaporate from the ocean. Moisture and particles in the air will also cause a variation in color, but not salt in ocean air.
I appologize for the correction Nerdy I was an old high school science teacher, I can't help it.
On that same note has anyone ever witnessed St. Elmo's fire?
I don't think a jumper cable from mast base to water would provide protection from hits, or 100% protection from the effects of a direct strike, but as a low-impedance path to the water I'm fairly sure it would significantly reduce the chances of arcing inside the cabin or hull breaches in a small sailboat which has no metal thru-hulls or grounding system.
We need some volunteers for more testing. I was part of that control group last year, so it's someone else's turn
That's pretty cool. We had a shielded room at work where we worked on sensitive radio gear and when we first moved in, the RF noise from outside was very high. Turns out the building contractor didn't ground the copper mesh in the walls or ceiling. After that was connected, outside RF was nearly eliminated. Couldn't pickup radio stations at all but cell phones would work because the tower was right across the street.
I've been out in several storms and one tropical storm and never worried about lightning. Last year we got hit by a squall that was so strong we went backwards a 2 kts when I had the engine on full forward. Lightning at sea is interesting, you see it striking cloud to cloud and making a ripping sound, some times crackling sound.
St Elmos fire
I see this all the time. I'm an airline pilot and we have it on the windshield whenever we go through heavy clouds with lots of precipitation. I've also been hit by lightning on the nose of the aircraft. It's cool to watch the static dancing and glowing on the front of the plane. You just have to shield your eyes if it discharges at night or you'll be temporarly blind.
I see this all the time. I'm an airline pilot and we have it on the windshield whenever we go through heavy clouds with lots of precipitation. I've also been hit by lightning on the nose of the aircraft. It's cool to watch the static dancing and glowing on the front of the plane. You just have to shield your eyes if it discharges at night or you'll be temporarly blind.
A few times I have dropped my sails and waited it out below. Mostly wind and rain though, thankfully I've never had to sit through significant lightening.
Once I tried heaving to in my Catalina 30 to try to ride it out that way since it looked to be a small squall that I thought would pass quickly and I could get back to sailing more quickly. Problem was all the wind shifts within the squall trying to keep the boat heaved to.
Now I'm back to trying to avoid those days, or dropping sails.
Once I tried heaving to in my Catalina 30 to try to ride it out that way since it looked to be a small squall that I thought would pass quickly and I could get back to sailing more quickly. Problem was all the wind shifts within the squall trying to keep the boat heaved to.
Now I'm back to trying to avoid those days, or dropping sails.
electrical theory
lightening is caused when the + and - ions are polarized and separate the reason sail boats dont get struck by lightening is they disrupt the electric field with thier own static charge from the friction of the water and the water itself neutralizes this polarization so grounding the mast is not a good idea that makes you a - ion target.
if you put a rod between the + and - poles in an electric field lightening will contact it as long as its not grounded nothing will happen but if its grounded it will be considered a conductor and will take the brunt of whatever electricity wants to pass through it weather it can handle it or not.
do you think your rig can handle 1.5 gig volts?
lightening is caused when the + and - ions are polarized and separate the reason sail boats dont get struck by lightening is they disrupt the electric field with thier own static charge from the friction of the water and the water itself neutralizes this polarization so grounding the mast is not a good idea that makes you a - ion target.
if you put a rod between the + and - poles in an electric field lightening will contact it as long as its not grounded nothing will happen but if its grounded it will be considered a conductor and will take the brunt of whatever electricity wants to pass through it weather it can handle it or not.
do you think your rig can handle 1.5 gig volts?
This doesn't make sense. Could you please clarify, with links if possible?Sailboats do occasionally get struck by lightning, and when possible, it's preferable to direct the energy directly to the water, through the most direct path, rather than letting it find its own way, including through the hull.
As far as I know, this link is still the best single article on boats and lightning.
sorry no links just knowing how lightning is caused and how it works your chances of being struck dont change by grounding just the path of the bolt if electricity changes.but your boat will cause interference with the ion field and diffuse it unles your right on the edge of it and you'll know when you enter it it will cause the hair on your body to stand up just before it sparks and diffuses and your mast is not necessarily going to be the point of impact i've heard of people standing next to metal structures that have been struck by lightning but the structure never was? so basically you have as much chance of being struck in the head as your mast does in theory?
Just try to lower the odds.
They use static discharge electrodes on cell towers. Some look like leaves some like brush.
http://www.lbagroup.com/international/tower-lightning-protection.php
static electrical charge. Among design factors, the radius of the dissipator electrode cross-section is critical because the process which enables dissi*pation of static ground charge to the atmosphere is related to electric field intensity (and flux density) surrounding the lightning dissipator. Static dissipation arrays provide, in effect, a "low resistance" route for static ground charge to reach the atmosphere, thus preventing a build up of the ground charge to the value necessary to trigger a strike on the protected object.
They use static discharge electrodes on cell towers. Some look like leaves some like brush.
http://www.lbagroup.com/international/tower-lightning-protection.php
static electrical charge. Among design factors, the radius of the dissipator electrode cross-section is critical because the process which enables dissi*pation of static ground charge to the atmosphere is related to electric field intensity (and flux density) surrounding the lightning dissipator. Static dissipation arrays provide, in effect, a "low resistance" route for static ground charge to reach the atmosphere, thus preventing a build up of the ground charge to the value necessary to trigger a strike on the protected object.
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