Prone to lightning strikes or less prone?

Maine Sail · Sep 9, 2015

Nodak7 said:
Ok.... I think I just got struck by lightning and here is the situation.

My boat is on a lift and when it is lifted it is not grounded. It sits on wooden piles and the support pads are wood as well. No metal contact. By not having the boat grounded is it more prone to a lightning strike or less prone? I have always had the theory that it is less prone since there is no easy path to ground and therefore less attractive to lightning but my recent strike has gotten me thinking I might be off base. Your thoughts?

The lightning traveled miles through very low conductivity air/sky so 6" of wood block is mere child's play...

In the water bonded/grounded boats get hit slightly less than non-lightning bonded boats, this based on the data we currently have. I know of a number of boats hit on the hard and have seen it jump from a thru-hull to ground (nearly 6') and from keel to ground (approx 6")...

Bottom line, if lightning wants you, it gets you....

Benny17441 · Sep 9, 2015

I'm of the opinion that lightning will strike where it may at random. There is statistical data that indicates that most lightning strikes on boats occur at or near land as opposed to on boats out to sea. Is this a factor of more boats being at dock than out to sea or perhaps more thunderstorms fueled over land by the heating of the sun? The problem with this data is that it can be interpreted different ways with no real scientic basis behind it. I like to think it is safer out to sea where the cone of protection afforded by the mast is the strongest. I take this on faith as science currently cannot really prove it or disprove it. It is really a crap shoot and today your number may come up or it may not no matter what you do. This brings us to insurance, it may not save your life but can replace electronics.

uncledom · Sep 10, 2015

Benny17441 said:
I'm of the opinion that lightning will strike where it may at random. There is statistical data that indicates that most lightning strikes on boats occur at or near land as opposed to on boats out to sea. Is this a factor of more boats being at dock than out to sea or perhaps more thunderstorms fueled over land by the heating of the sun? The problem with this data is that it can be interpreted different ways with no real scientic basis behind it. I like to think it is safer out to sea where the cone of protection afforded by the mast is the strongest. I take this on faith as science currently cannot really prove it or disprove it. It is really a crap shoot and today your number may come up or it may not no matter what you do. This brings us to insurance, it may not save your life but can replace electronics.

Benny, I wouldn't put a lot of faith in the "cone". If lightning strikes that mast and your under the "cone" whats left of you might not be recognizable. You don't need to be hit directly to get D E D, dead. Again lightning goes where it will, it creates it's own path of least resistance.

Benny17441 · Sep 10, 2015

Uncledom, the cone of protection is an imaginary cone with the pointy end beginning at the top of the mast and with a circle at the water level with a radius equal to the length of the mast. It does not take much math to calculate that if you are anywhere in the boat that you are also under the cone of protection. It has been compared to a Faraday Cage but it is not technically one. The claim is that many mariners have felt protected in lightning storms from this imaginary cone. Since its properties cannot be either proved or disproved by current science then it has to be ignored or accepted as a matter of belief. The number of sailors killed by lightning is insignificant and guess what lower than those killed in power boats so it is an absurd and the same time logical conclusion to accept that there might be something with that stick up in the air. When sailing it is not likely that we will outrun a thunderstorm but the odds of not getting killed by lightning are heavily in our favor. You are right, lighting "goes where it will" but you could be at ease or scared to death. They call Tampa the Lightning Capital of North America. The name Tampa is an indian word which means fire stick. If I did not expose myself to thunderstorms I would probably not get to sail at all. There are two things I probably will not experience and those are winning the lottery or getting hit by lightning and the odds of getting hit are better.

Sailgunner · Sep 10, 2015

Don't know about Tampa being the lightening capital but Miami has to be in there as well. Been hit twice while sailing around Miami, once on my boat and once on a freinds. Electical and electronics on both boats damage but all crew were safe. I'm living with the cone of protection.

uncledom · Sep 11, 2015

Benny and Sailgunner, I'm going to have to rest my case with this.

http://blogs.mprnews.org/updraft/2012/08/fatal_duluth_lightning_strike/

You can feel your safe because the probability is so very low but really you are unprotected. Fair winds.