Struck by lightning?

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Cabinfever
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Joined: Mon Jul 14, 2014 5:57 pm

Struck by lightning?

Post by Cabinfever »

Has anyone's boat ever been struck by lightning, with you on it? We rode out a pretty good storm this weekend, a few strikes came very close. I have heard you should anchor during a lightning storm, the bolt will travel down the wet line and act like a lightning rod on a tower or building. The bow was tied to a tree so we didn't pull the anchor and start to drift, the anchor was out the stern, (it was pretty windy, 45MPH or so). Of course we stayed in the cabin until it was over, we even had a tow boat go by (almost got a video of it being struck, I'm sure all of them were inside and safe, check it out on the Facebook page). I feel safe in my BigM during lightning storms, as long as I'm in the cabin, wonder if it's false security? Thoughts?
Joe
1977 28 Express
Single 318
(RESTORATION IS ALL THE ROUTINE MATIANANCE AT ONCE)
Roger2
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Re: Struck by lightning?

Post by Roger2 »

2 years ago a plastic boat in slip next to our 37 double cabin was hit by lighting. Blew out every thing in his boat! it was a totaled insurance company.

Our aluminum boat had no damage, in spite of having taller & twin antennas. I think it is because the static is bled off in our boats do to the good ground of the metal hull to water.

Roger
"Sea Jay" a 37' Double cabin with twin factory Volvo diesels, 230 HP each. Twin Disk 1.54 Trans turning DynaQuad 19X21 props.
Roger Brown
Petersburg, IL
jralbert
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Re: Struck by lightning?

Post by jralbert »

Here's some background from Boat US (though it doesn't appear to address the metal boat question

http://www.boatus.com/seaworthy/swlightning.asp

Here's another citation that does (reference metal boats):

Ingeniero Naval
Location: Pontevedra, Spain
Have a look at:
http://www.cdc.gov/nasd/docs/d000001...7/d000007.html

Quoting from that link:
"There is no such thing as lightning-proof boats, only lightning-protected boats. All-metal ships are rarely damaged, and injuries or deaths are uncommon. These ships are frequently struck, but the high conductivity of the large quantities of metal, with hundreds of square yards of hull in direct contact with the water, causes rapid dissipation of the electrical charge".
__________________
Guillermo Gefaell
Gestenaval S.L., Naval Architecture & Marine Engineering

And finally, I have seen several references to this precaution: stay low and/or in the cabin. Praying, if you're a believer, may help. It couldn't hurt.
-joel-
former owner 1988 '32 FB Sedan
Chesapeake Bay
twin 318 / 240 hp
Potomac MD
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bcassedy
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Joined: Sun Jul 13, 2014 10:05 am
Location: Aurora, In.

Re: Struck by lightning?

Post by bcassedy »

I guess the question begs to be asked....

We do have metal boats, but with the bottoms painted with multi-coats of antifouling paint over multi-coats of 2 part epoxy, where's the direct contact between metal hull and water?

Bill
Bill & Sharon Cassedy
"Sunset Seeker"
'88 32' Sedan Bridge to be sold (updtd 1-1-22)
"Sunset Seeker Too" (SS2)
'88 41' Marquis hardtop. (as of 1/1/22)
Located in Aurora, In.
Always fresh water.
jralbert
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Re: Struck by lightning?

Post by jralbert »

Suspect (don't know for certain) that the large metal surfaces will bring lightning surge to the place where the bolt could blow right through the paint. Then, there's the props/shafts/rudders which are lightly painted especially after some seasonal wear and tear. And the keel anodes. Then there is providence and luck.

UPDATE:---Kind of fascinated by the question so I went back to Google this some more and saw this one:
"...I was struck by lightning in my aluminum pilothouse . . . blew all the damned bottom paint right off the boat and cooked the salmon in the fish box!!!.."

Again, here's the concensus: there are ways to better your chances of surviving a lightning strike (hundreds of thousands of volts/incredible heat) but there's no such thing as SAFE, just safer. Metal boats have a better track record than glass or wood boats. But they are still vulnerable and not a soul can predict how/when/where/why. See a storm brewing, get to port if possible.
-joel-
former owner 1988 '32 FB Sedan
Chesapeake Bay
twin 318 / 240 hp
Potomac MD
Cabinfever
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Joined: Mon Jul 14, 2014 5:57 pm

Re: Struck by lightning?

Post by Cabinfever »

We are preparing for 3 days on the water this weekend. A few rounds of storms are expected all the way to Monday morning, with 5 inches of rain through the weekend. It's supposed to get pretty nasty tomorrow night, nothing severe, just a fare amount of lightning is what the local weatherman is saying. I don't want to test the metal boat theory but, if I do....... and survive, I'll let you all know how it goes. We'll find a cove or a chute somewhere and hunker down in the cabin, we'll be fine.

Have a great Labor Day weekend everyone, watch out for the dummasses and be safe.
Joe
1977 28 Express
Single 318
(RESTORATION IS ALL THE ROUTINE MATIANANCE AT ONCE)
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