Here we go again, The Odyssey was struck by lightining yesterday morining while my family and I were on board.My wife was sleeping in the aft cabin and my son was in the v-berth. I was making coffee in the galley when we got nailed. I saw the lightning bolt shoot across the sky and strike a large power pole about 500 yards away from my boat. everybody saw woke and soon afterwards, smoke was comming out of the electrical panel. The boat received major electrical damage on both AC and DC circuits. I did not see any damage to the hull or keel. The damage assessment is still in its early stage and is still on going. We had the boat hauled out and trucked to a dealer 120 miles away for inspection and repairs. Boat/US and Racine Riverside Marine will make sure the boat is put back in new condition. My H310 is only 1 year old and has only 1,104 miles logged and it's just now getting broken in and now this. As some of you old timers of this site recall, 3 years ago my 1980 H27 took a lightning strike causing over $12k in damage. From what I have seen yesterday and today, this lightning strike has caused more damage. Well, It has been a very long day and I will be meeting with the Hunter dealer and Boat/US rep's tomorrow. I will post a follow up tomorrow night. Steve, s/v The Odyssey (H310)
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Bryan C.
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Mike DiMario
No injuries!
Steve, Sorry to hear of your misfortunes. Yo are also very forunate that no one was hurt. That is amasing. i guess I would be most concerned of being injured seriously from a strike. Did yo have any special provisions for lightening grounding? I know how much of a hassle that it can be when your relaxation machine is causing stress! Wish yo didn't need to go through this again; but things happen for a reason and have a funny way of working out at times. Keep your chin up Mike D.
Steve, Sorry to hear of your misfortunes. Yo are also very forunate that no one was hurt. That is amasing. i guess I would be most concerned of being injured seriously from a strike. Did yo have any special provisions for lightening grounding? I know how much of a hassle that it can be when your relaxation machine is causing stress! Wish yo didn't need to go through this again; but things happen for a reason and have a funny way of working out at times. Keep your chin up Mike D.
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Bill Young
Hit twice myself
Steve: My boat "Shadow Jack" was hit twice in 8 Mts. I know how you feel. After the second strike I installed one of those "Wire Brushes" atop the mast. Since then,2 other boats have been hit but I'm "smoke free" . Bill
Steve: My boat "Shadow Jack" was hit twice in 8 Mts. I know how you feel. After the second strike I installed one of those "Wire Brushes" atop the mast. Since then,2 other boats have been hit but I'm "smoke free" . Bill
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Andy F
Lighting Power Cord
Was your shore power pluggged in? I have been told that boats are more likely to get hit if the shore power cord is plugged in during an electrical storm. Comments
Was your shore power pluggged in? I have been told that boats are more likely to get hit if the shore power cord is plugged in during an electrical storm. Comments
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Steve Cook
I was plugged in
My shore power cord was plugged in both times I was it by lightning and I am having a lightning disipater installed on my mast. The Dealer That has my boat will not be able to look at my boat for anothere 3-4 weeks due to boat shows. So it is safe to say that I am done sailing this year. As for Boat/US, they are handling things differently this time and just starting to be a real pain in the ass!!! They are not willing to have the boat surveyed and Greg Emerson at Hunter says it's a must. Boat/US is also saying that dealers repair prices are high and they may not pay a dealer to rewire my boat. BTW, would any of you have your mast/boom and standing rigging x-rayed after a lighting strike? I thought I saw a arc on the mast. Thank, Steve, The Odyssey.
My shore power cord was plugged in both times I was it by lightning and I am having a lightning disipater installed on my mast. The Dealer That has my boat will not be able to look at my boat for anothere 3-4 weeks due to boat shows. So it is safe to say that I am done sailing this year. As for Boat/US, they are handling things differently this time and just starting to be a real pain in the ass!!! They are not willing to have the boat surveyed and Greg Emerson at Hunter says it's a must. Boat/US is also saying that dealers repair prices are high and they may not pay a dealer to rewire my boat. BTW, would any of you have your mast/boom and standing rigging x-rayed after a lighting strike? I thought I saw a arc on the mast. Thank, Steve, The Odyssey.
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Mark Kissel
Sorry to hear that.
Steve, If I understand you correctly, the strike hit the utility power pole and not the boat? If that's the case, your rigging should not have incurred any damage. You likely experienced damage as a result of the elevation in the utility voltage at your shore power supply. While this can create havoc with the boat's electrical system, there would be no reason for it to affect the rigging. If the utility pole that was hit carries three electical phases (three current carrying wires and a ground), and one of those phases was knocked out by the strike (i.e. failure in a transformer), this leaves two phases coming in to your marina. Since one phase is lost, a voltage imbalance can occur on the remaining phases depending on how they are loaded. If your boat's shore power is fed from one of these phases, you may have experienced surge or sag (brownout) voltage. Either event can be very damaging to electrical/electronic circuits. Poor voltage can result in burned circuits due to increased current consumption. I would not concern myself too much regarding the rigging UNLESS the boat was hit directly. Keep your chin up and think positive. I'm sure things will work out. I'll keep my fingers crossed for you. Mark Kissel Kittiwake/98H240
Steve, If I understand you correctly, the strike hit the utility power pole and not the boat? If that's the case, your rigging should not have incurred any damage. You likely experienced damage as a result of the elevation in the utility voltage at your shore power supply. While this can create havoc with the boat's electrical system, there would be no reason for it to affect the rigging. If the utility pole that was hit carries three electical phases (three current carrying wires and a ground), and one of those phases was knocked out by the strike (i.e. failure in a transformer), this leaves two phases coming in to your marina. Since one phase is lost, a voltage imbalance can occur on the remaining phases depending on how they are loaded. If your boat's shore power is fed from one of these phases, you may have experienced surge or sag (brownout) voltage. Either event can be very damaging to electrical/electronic circuits. Poor voltage can result in burned circuits due to increased current consumption. I would not concern myself too much regarding the rigging UNLESS the boat was hit directly. Keep your chin up and think positive. I'm sure things will work out. I'll keep my fingers crossed for you. Mark Kissel Kittiwake/98H240
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Steve Cook
My mast was hit and so was the shore power
As it has turned out, my mast took a direct hit and trashed my 12 volt system. The High power pole also took a hit and trashed my 110 volt systems. Afew other boats in my marina had problems from their shore power connection. Thanks to Eddie Breeden from Hunter, Boat/US is sending in a rigger to x-ray my mast and rigging and also a Marine Surveyor to look at the damage. My 1 year old H310 my get totaled!!! Steve, s/v The Odyssey.
As it has turned out, my mast took a direct hit and trashed my 12 volt system. The High power pole also took a hit and trashed my 110 volt systems. Afew other boats in my marina had problems from their shore power connection. Thanks to Eddie Breeden from Hunter, Boat/US is sending in a rigger to x-ray my mast and rigging and also a Marine Surveyor to look at the damage. My 1 year old H310 my get totaled!!! Steve, s/v The Odyssey.
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