Lightning Strike's?
- Thread starter ttac
- Start date
The bigger they are...I should have gone full-on Faraday a couple of days ago. So far I'm about $400 deep, still less than my deductible.
Do as much of the work you can, yourself.
I'm much more inclined to work on my boat than on my house.
Do as much of the work you can, yourself.
I'm much more inclined to work on my boat than on my house.
I was hit several years ago, boat was in slip, shore power plugged in and turned on, running the air conditioner in dehumidify mode. Batteries and DC was off. Probably a small "feeder" bolt.. Killed the VHF radio, blew the antenna off the mast; blew out a thyristor in the air cond fan speed conrol. Blew apart the dc breaker controlling the nav lights; Blew up the bulb in the stern nav light (I mean exploded the glass, not just burnt). Blew the reverse polarity indicator bulb and holder across the cabin. Blew fuses in the LORAN unit and the bilge pump circuit. When I pulled the boat a couple of years later, there were strange fan-like patterns where the barrier coat had been loosened from the cast iron keel; not positive if that was a result of the strike, but I suspect it was; I didn't claim that on insurance, but ya might want to make sure bottom paint was not blasted off. Insurance, Safeco at that time, was quick to act and guy they sent out knew what he was doing. Not much above the deductible, I did the repair work, including replacing the air cond controls and the VHF myself. I had no alternator or other engine damage.. Had rig stays/shrouds inspected for damage and found none.
Had a strike at the slip, living aboard with wife on boat at the time. Vaporised the VHF antenna, blew the VHF , SSB , inverter, autopilot, alternator ( diodes), AC speed control, and wiring in the mast.
The boat was hauled to check for any damage to ground plates but ok. Total cost around $13k.
The boat was hauled to check for any damage to ground plates but ok. Total cost around $13k.
The VHF antenna was our entry point also. And the exit point was the prop shaft and the keel. We are still totaling up the repairs at this time so I will reply here later with the total repair parts and cost.
I'm adding some photos of what is left of the VHF antenna and the prop shaft that had just been serviced one month before.
I'm adding some photos of what is left of the VHF antenna and the prop shaft that had just been serviced one month before.
Attachments
I was hit at my dock in the canal behind my florida home. It looked like Lightening hit the nearby tree then through the ground to the shore power and entered the boat there. Knocked out everything electrical including all gps, wind speed, depth sounder and other instruments on the boat. Bilge pump was fried, battery charger gone most mast instruments were not working. But it got some and passed some. No,real,reason that anyone could tell. All in all about 10 grand. Insurance ( boat us ) covered it all but deductible. Took a few weeks. Sw florida, lightening capitol of the world, they say.
Besides pulling the mast, do you think you could have done the work yourself?
Good START of the discussion people !
I had suffered a lightning strike 4-5 yrs ago as well. I was the only boat in the mooring field for ~75yds....and was the 'most attracitive' target the static charge!! It vaporized my VHF antenna, the pressure wave blew my Windex wind indicator apart , fried my VHF radio and 2 bilge pumps, and shot a couple of fuses / fuse holders across the cabin from the power panel.
Yes, I did have a grounding cable attached to the mast...a #6 awg crimped with large spade lugs to ensure good electrical continuity at both ends (mast foot and the keel bolt). No, I did not take an installed resistance check from mast to keel bolt, but periodic visual inspections yielded no corrosion / high resistance connections, and my PM is to dismantle, clean as necessary, and replace as necessary, then reinstall yearly.
BTW, it's not ONLY the strike itself, but secondary (induced) current IS serious...i.e., essentially all of the "non-direct circuits" in the boat are involved in the lightning strike as if they are a secondary winding of a transformer. And, as such, when the voltage is high, as in a lightning strike, the current / voltage that is produced in these secondary circuits is directly proportional, but the amount of induced current / voltage drops off exponentially as the distance away from the lightning actual travel path increases.
Now, granted this induced current / voltage is produced from a DC spike and acts like a PULSE to the secondary circuits on the boat, but nonetheless, all those electronic gizmos contain printed circuit boards, IC chips..etc, and WILL be affected. They are not designed for the "higher VOLTS" range, but rather MILLI-volts or less. They will certainly get flashover arcing, to various degrees, on the circuit boards / chips / wiring...thus frying various parts, and good luck trying to repair individual circuit components these days !!
It boils down to "black box" replacement of the entire affected unit(s) (VHF, GPS, bilge pump, etc...) because gone are the days of diodes, resistors, capacitors, inductors and transistors, where one could troubleshoot and service some equipment yourself.
I did all of the repair / (mostly)replacement work...cost ~$800. I got off lucky with NO hull damage.
Once again, good discussion topic...!
I encourage your inputs, perspectives, and ideas...!
I had suffered a lightning strike 4-5 yrs ago as well. I was the only boat in the mooring field for ~75yds....and was the 'most attracitive' target the static charge!! It vaporized my VHF antenna, the pressure wave blew my Windex wind indicator apart , fried my VHF radio and 2 bilge pumps, and shot a couple of fuses / fuse holders across the cabin from the power panel.
Yes, I did have a grounding cable attached to the mast...a #6 awg crimped with large spade lugs to ensure good electrical continuity at both ends (mast foot and the keel bolt). No, I did not take an installed resistance check from mast to keel bolt, but periodic visual inspections yielded no corrosion / high resistance connections, and my PM is to dismantle, clean as necessary, and replace as necessary, then reinstall yearly.
BTW, it's not ONLY the strike itself, but secondary (induced) current IS serious...i.e., essentially all of the "non-direct circuits" in the boat are involved in the lightning strike as if they are a secondary winding of a transformer. And, as such, when the voltage is high, as in a lightning strike, the current / voltage that is produced in these secondary circuits is directly proportional, but the amount of induced current / voltage drops off exponentially as the distance away from the lightning actual travel path increases.
Now, granted this induced current / voltage is produced from a DC spike and acts like a PULSE to the secondary circuits on the boat, but nonetheless, all those electronic gizmos contain printed circuit boards, IC chips..etc, and WILL be affected. They are not designed for the "higher VOLTS" range, but rather MILLI-volts or less. They will certainly get flashover arcing, to various degrees, on the circuit boards / chips / wiring...thus frying various parts, and good luck trying to repair individual circuit components these days !!
It boils down to "black box" replacement of the entire affected unit(s) (VHF, GPS, bilge pump, etc...) because gone are the days of diodes, resistors, capacitors, inductors and transistors, where one could troubleshoot and service some equipment yourself.
I did all of the repair / (mostly)replacement work...cost ~$800. I got off lucky with NO hull damage.
Once again, good discussion topic...!
I encourage your inputs, perspectives, and ideas...!
Took a hit about a year ago. Lucky for us, VERY minor. Only damage was to the old SH wind speed indicator.
Boat us paid for a haulout and surveyor plus all repairs minus deductible. Electronics are covered new for old, no depreciation.
Boat us paid for a haulout and surveyor plus all repairs minus deductible. Electronics are covered new for old, no depreciation.
Not on a boat.... but we had a near hit to my house many years ago. My wife was digging the wet laundry out of the washer and moving it to the dryer and took a side shock. She gave out a yelp and said her arm tingled. The next day when I asked her about it.. she did not remember it happening. She still does not believe me when I tell her she was struck ....
Apart from the mast I did replace most of the items myself - I got the quotes to supply and and install direct replacements from the yard then negotiated with the assessor to but upmarket items at no greater cost to the insurance co.
In my case i got quotes for the replacement items and installation. The insurance company ( boat us)! Just cut me a check ,less deductible, and said here you go. Part i did myself, part i contracted. Ended up fine.
I have to wonder
I got hit not too long ago. Mine was really a strange thing, and at the time I wondered if it was a glancing blow. Blew every fuse on the boat except the bilge pump. Nothing on the boat turned on. No shore power on. Every single light bulb blown. VHF fried, but antenna and cable un harmed. Solar controller fried, but panes unharmed. Macerator pump fried. The only thing on the boat that was turned on was the bilge pump, and it was undamaged. Fuse not even blown. I have a neighbor who has a 50' Benny, who has been hit twice. Major damage both times. He is a NASA engineer, and has every anti lightning device known to man. All I got is a keel stepped mast, and I have to wonder if maybe that makes a difference, as the mast is directly attached to 4 1/2 inch keel bolts. There was no damage to the bottom paint. But there is no doubt, every strike has different results.
I got hit not too long ago. Mine was really a strange thing, and at the time I wondered if it was a glancing blow. Blew every fuse on the boat except the bilge pump. Nothing on the boat turned on. No shore power on. Every single light bulb blown. VHF fried, but antenna and cable un harmed. Solar controller fried, but panes unharmed. Macerator pump fried. The only thing on the boat that was turned on was the bilge pump, and it was undamaged. Fuse not even blown. I have a neighbor who has a 50' Benny, who has been hit twice. Major damage both times. He is a NASA engineer, and has every anti lightning device known to man. All I got is a keel stepped mast, and I have to wonder if maybe that makes a difference, as the mast is directly attached to 4 1/2 inch keel bolts. There was no damage to the bottom paint. But there is no doubt, every strike has different results.
I had a 1980 28' lancer. Two years ago I got hit with lighting while sitting on a mooring in the delaware river. I didn't have much electrical equipment on the boat but what I did have was ruined. The bilge pump, mast lights and batteries were fried. That's not the worst of it. The boat caught on fire, setting the foam cushions on fire. The strike hit the top of the cabin mounted mast and entered at the head partition wall running down the wall to the seat. No one at the marina noticed the fire which occurred at night. The fire self extinguished due to the boat being closed up and the heavy smoke concentrate it smother itself. The next day I went to the boat and discovered 2 feet of water in it. A friend and myself started bailing. I got the boat over to the dock with the aid of the tender boat. I had the boat hauled and discovered 50 to 100 holes in the gel coat below the water line. The holes were tiny maybe the size of a pea. At the holes you could see the fiberglass was burnt black not the typical white or cream color. I guess you can determine that the boat was a total loss. The insurance company paid the full amt less 500 deductible. I had only minimal coverage but I took a chance thinking nothing will ever happen to me. Just a side note. Old timers at the marina can't remember anyone being hit by lighting before me. Another thing my mast was not the tallest in the fleet. The boat didn't have a lighting grounding system.
I believe it was last year on the news... probably went virale? There was a big storm, and someone was panning their camera over the marina from the office. It recorded a lightning strike. The bolt passed up a sailboat, but hit the smaller power boat in thew slip next to it. It goes where it wants to go, it seems.