I am thinking of getting into sailboating on a larger scale than my current Super Snark. I am interested in becomming a trailer sailer, and tend to lean toward a Potter at this time. However one of my main concerns is lightning. Being a midwesterner I am always keeping an eye to the sky, but this is a real concern of mine, especially, offering a ceptor to a bolt of lightning and frying my family. I am very interested in some input from real sailors with real world experience. Thanks for your time.bls
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look at some of the pictures of large
marinas and see if you can guess which one of the thousand boats there might get hit in any given storm and how many get hit in one season. I am not convinced that there is any viable lightning protection for boats. you may install it and operate for thirty years without a strike. There are boats that have never been struck and others that have been struck more than once. I have see lightning strike a tree in a valley in a forest of larger trees. I don't understand it but some people claim to.
marinas and see if you can guess which one of the thousand boats there might get hit in any given storm and how many get hit in one season. I am not convinced that there is any viable lightning protection for boats. you may install it and operate for thirty years without a strike. There are boats that have never been struck and others that have been struck more than once. I have see lightning strike a tree in a valley in a forest of larger trees. I don't understand it but some people claim to.
For what I'm worth
Insurance companies, according to Practical Sailor, figure 1 out each 1000 boats will be struck. I have been hit twice but was never on board. Each time, my boat did not take in water. One strike got me on the hard and only a shroud sustained a burned mark above the spreader. The other time, in the water at the slip, took out all my electronics. Surveyor had me replace all though hulls. As I said, no water ingressed. I have been caught a number of times in lightning. I have lost count, but it is around 10 - 15 times. I am still here and came through all incidences no problem. I read a couple of years ago that the Chicago to Mackinaw race has never suffered a fatality - sinkings/rescues yes, but no fatalities. this race is run every year with 300 boats competing and often goes through thunder storms and yet no one has been killed. Yes, lightning may get you, but the chances are very, very slim. Practical Sailor says you are more likely to get hit out on a golf couse. Not sure why, but that is what they said.
Insurance companies, according to Practical Sailor, figure 1 out each 1000 boats will be struck. I have been hit twice but was never on board. Each time, my boat did not take in water. One strike got me on the hard and only a shroud sustained a burned mark above the spreader. The other time, in the water at the slip, took out all my electronics. Surveyor had me replace all though hulls. As I said, no water ingressed. I have been caught a number of times in lightning. I have lost count, but it is around 10 - 15 times. I am still here and came through all incidences no problem. I read a couple of years ago that the Chicago to Mackinaw race has never suffered a fatality - sinkings/rescues yes, but no fatalities. this race is run every year with 300 boats competing and often goes through thunder storms and yet no one has been killed. Yes, lightning may get you, but the chances are very, very slim. Practical Sailor says you are more likely to get hit out on a golf couse. Not sure why, but that is what they said.
bigger problems
not that it's any comfort probably but think of it this way - if you get caught out there in a trailer-sailor boat in a thunderstorm with it's attendant gusts and waves, you have bigger problems than a potential lightning hit. Most coastal sailors tend to watch the weather closely enough and have a plan to head in if a squall is approaching. The danger of being over-powered in a squall is usually of much greater concern.
not that it's any comfort probably but think of it this way - if you get caught out there in a trailer-sailor boat in a thunderstorm with it's attendant gusts and waves, you have bigger problems than a potential lightning hit. Most coastal sailors tend to watch the weather closely enough and have a plan to head in if a squall is approaching. The danger of being over-powered in a squall is usually of much greater concern.
Last summer
The boat behind mine in the mooring field was hit. He had every lightning protection device known to man and I had none! We were less than 20 yards apart in a mooring field with 1200 boats and my mast was taller. Trust me there is nothing you can do. Lightning strikes where and when it wants to. For the thousands this owner spent he was really pissed off that he was the one that got hit. Lightning protection devices are feel good devices only. As in if it makes you feel good to spend 1k then go for it but if lightning wants you it will still get you..
The boat behind mine in the mooring field was hit. He had every lightning protection device known to man and I had none! We were less than 20 yards apart in a mooring field with 1200 boats and my mast was taller. Trust me there is nothing you can do. Lightning strikes where and when it wants to. For the thousands this owner spent he was really pissed off that he was the one that got hit. Lightning protection devices are feel good devices only. As in if it makes you feel good to spend 1k then go for it but if lightning wants you it will still get you..
Not something...
you can really do anything about, so don't let it keep you from sailing!!! I've been on Texas lakes and the Gulf of Mexico in all kinds of lightening and it's just not something you can let yourself get all worried about. Otherwise, just stay home...
you can really do anything about, so don't let it keep you from sailing!!! I've been on Texas lakes and the Gulf of Mexico in all kinds of lightening and it's just not something you can let yourself get all worried about. Otherwise, just stay home...
Florida has more strikes than any state...
and my mast has been the tallest object around. One strike I was on the boat. I used to put jumper cables on the shrouds and into the water. Each hit fried the batteries, chargers, refrigeration, lights, radios, and most other elecricals.
and my mast has been the tallest object around. One strike I was on the boat. I used to put jumper cables on the shrouds and into the water. Each hit fried the batteries, chargers, refrigeration, lights, radios, and most other elecricals.
Lightning
I have never suffered a direct hit, but I have come as close as one can get and not get struck. Down in S.Texas couple of years ago, a thunderstorm blew in. I was out in the middle of the bay, and there wasn't a lot of lightning in this storm, so I just kept on keeping on. Here is what transpired, all within a second or less. The hair on my arms just bristled up, there was a boom, at the same time the flash. I had one hand on the wheel, and one hand on the rail. That sucker knocked fire from my &%$. So I undersand not holding the wheel. It's attached to the rudder, which is in the water. But don't worry about it. Probably safer on the boat than in your car.
I have never suffered a direct hit, but I have come as close as one can get and not get struck. Down in S.Texas couple of years ago, a thunderstorm blew in. I was out in the middle of the bay, and there wasn't a lot of lightning in this storm, so I just kept on keeping on. Here is what transpired, all within a second or less. The hair on my arms just bristled up, there was a boom, at the same time the flash. I had one hand on the wheel, and one hand on the rail. That sucker knocked fire from my &%$. So I undersand not holding the wheel. It's attached to the rudder, which is in the water. But don't worry about it. Probably safer on the boat than in your car.
I think that lightning strikes are like sailboats
they come in all shapes and sizes. We had a strike on the house that smashed a wall switch and broke a light bulb. There was another time when a dead tree a couple of hundred feet behind the house got hit and it blew chunks of bark into the back yard a hundred feet from the house. Sometimes lightning will start a fire and sometimes it just blows things apart.
they come in all shapes and sizes. We had a strike on the house that smashed a wall switch and broke a light bulb. There was another time when a dead tree a couple of hundred feet behind the house got hit and it blew chunks of bark into the back yard a hundred feet from the house. Sometimes lightning will start a fire and sometimes it just blows things apart.
What is lightning? Sorry I am in So California..
..we don't have as much fun as you guys. We occ get some...but few know of any boat striked by lightning. abe
..we don't have as much fun as you guys. We occ get some...but few know of any boat striked by lightning. abe
An answer to your real question
You said you are worried you would fry your family. The mast of a boat, properly grounded, offers a cone of protection. Yes, want to avaoid touching any part of the conductive path lest you become the path of least resistence. You family though will be well protected in a lightning storm. I am surprised nobody has mentioned this already - If you have ever been out in open water during a lightning storm the scale of a sailboat compared to the size of a summer storm is awesome. A sailboat, even a good sized sailboat, is miniscule when compared to the miles a lightning bolt will travel. It is no wonder that the last (actually the first) few feet of a lightning bolt seem capricious in choosing it's endpoint. Andy (yes, I have personally been struck by lightning and survived)
You said you are worried you would fry your family. The mast of a boat, properly grounded, offers a cone of protection. Yes, want to avaoid touching any part of the conductive path lest you become the path of least resistence. You family though will be well protected in a lightning storm. I am surprised nobody has mentioned this already - If you have ever been out in open water during a lightning storm the scale of a sailboat compared to the size of a summer storm is awesome. A sailboat, even a good sized sailboat, is miniscule when compared to the miles a lightning bolt will travel. It is no wonder that the last (actually the first) few feet of a lightning bolt seem capricious in choosing it's endpoint. Andy (yes, I have personally been struck by lightning and survived)
Cone is true
Abe, I'm from CA and while we don't know what lightening is, we sure know what an earthquake and forrest fires are. The California Republic flag should also read "shake, bake and burn" The cone of protection on a sailboat is true. But, I'd take the precaution of staying inside the boat, not touching any metal and praying during a lightning storm. I've only been hit by lightning in my house, and I've seen a few things blow up; like a power transformer...that was awesome!
Abe, I'm from CA and while we don't know what lightening is, we sure know what an earthquake and forrest fires are. The California Republic flag should also read "shake, bake and burn" The cone of protection on a sailboat is true. But, I'd take the precaution of staying inside the boat, not touching any metal and praying during a lightning storm. I've only been hit by lightning in my house, and I've seen a few things blow up; like a power transformer...that was awesome!
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