Sailing and Lightning in Florida

[Angel Fernandez]

Hi All:This is a basic question, but I write this as one "hell-u-va" storm rages aroundme in my office building in Miami. I was told to attach a long chain to my mast andthrow it overboard in a lightning storm in lieu of a special lightning "diffuser"as sold in stores. I would appreciate all comments and advice.

 

[John Revenboer]

Lightning

What model of sailboat do you have?

 

[Mark Fabre]

Florida Lightning

The Related Link (below) is a good article by William Becker of the University of Florida. It covers why lightning strikes, minimizing damage, protecting boats and what to do if caught in a storm. It also references the National Fire Protection Association, Lightning Protection Code which is the final word on lightning protection.(www.nfpa.org)Happy sails,MArk

 

[Pete Albright]

Best Information by Ewen Thomson

Check the link, and download the video."This page addresses some of the problems caused by lightning on boats with an emphasis on the physical fundamentals. The author, Ewen Thomson, an active sailor and windsurfer, is a lightning researcher and teacher at the University of Florida who has been concerned with this particular topic for more than a decade. His 1991 IEEE paper concerning the US lightning protection code was responsible for the rewriting of that code by NFPA and ABYC, and his 23 minute video "Lightning Protection of Sailboats" is now used by the US Power Squadron in their courses on boating safety."

 

[Mark Fabre]

Another lightning protection article

Here's another article by Kathy Barron describing the difference between an ion dissipater and an air terminal.MArk

 

[Wanderer138]

We've had this discussion several times before

We got the same problem up here. The archives have quite a few articles on the subject.The general consensus seems to be to provide some way of leaking any charge off your boat to ground before it develops enough potential to trigger a leader and then a strike. Whether this is done by air dissipators or grounding the rig to the water with a chain or wire braid doesn't seem to be that important. What's more important is grounding the entire rig. Even though I have a large iron keel, I also clamp a long piece of 2 inch wide wire braid to the base of my (deck-stepped) mast and drop the other end overboard (about ten feet submerged).The ultimate goal is to reduce the chance of being hit by making your boat electrically identical to the water. Bear in mind however that lightning still has to strike somewhere, so there really is no guarantee that you still won't be hit.PeterH23 "Raven"