Lightning

[Hal]

LIGHTNING ONBOARD

Of the 13% hit I wonder how many of you were onboard at the time? If so did anything interesting happened?

 

[Bob Durand]

Lightning path example

As an example consider lightnings path like a latex glove filled with water. Squeeze off the hand so there is pressure in all fingers. Pierce each finger tip with a pin. Now squeeze until there is a rupture. All fingers will elongate (take load) all will leak (dissapate energy) and the weakest one will rupture ( fail to ground). It is possbile depending on the spring of the fingers or the resistance to ground for more than one to rupture, but one will generally leak more.

 

[David]

My two bits

I drag my mac 26S to lake mojave on the colorado river. On my last visit a couple of weeks ago. Thunder storms where brewing above the mountains on both sides of the lake. Lightning strikes where also hitting randomly on the mountains. The temperature was somewhere around 110 degrees. I was watching this on particular cell starting to drift over to the cove we had anchored in. Then the winds picked up and ultimately started pushing us up on the shore. Once the stern of the boat went onto the rocks I waded out and pulled the bow into the wind and started to drag the anchor out. The wind seemed like it was howling and the whole time I was thinking of lighting hitting my mast or me. Luckily that never happened. No strikes even close to us. I eventually got the boat in to a protected part of the cove. But that night was one of the worst so far. I am looking forward to my next sail.

 

[Mike Aston]

Grounding Plate

I would like to install a grounding plate on the outside of the hull of my catalina 350. Has anyone any experience of doing this.How do you make sure the hole drilled will not allow water to soak into the hull? How is the grounding cable terminated to the grounding plate?