[Rhodes22-list] lightning protection

[brad haslett]

Bill, several sources I've read indicate that is a
mis-conception.  The statistical data for boats at
moorings don't indicate a higher mast being more
likely to be struck than a lower one. Brad.
--- Bill Effros <bill@effros.com> wrote:
> Sail or dock near a boat with a 30' mast.
> 
> Bill Effros
> 
> 
> ----- Original Message ----- 
> From: "brad haslett" <flybrad@yahoo.com>
> To: <rhodes22-list@rhodes22.org>
> Sent: Tuesday, November 19, 2002 7:58 AM
> Subject: [Rhodes22-list] lightning protection
> 
> 
> This all got started while doing research on
> installing a mast antennae.  Several vendors lightly
> addressed surge protection from lightning strikes to
> the mast and I thought, "who cares about electronic
> euqipment? I want the boat to survive!"  Yesterday I
> spent eight plus hours on the net researching the
> issue and downloaded a 3" binders worth of material
> including the R-22 site info.  My conclusion is
> this;
> sailboats take more lightning strikes than one would
> think, freshwater boats without grounding don't fare
> well, and, protection is not that difficult.  While
> there are many different opinions and several "old
> wives tales" the general concensus among the experts
> is that having a protection system on board does not
> make one more likely to be struck.  All protection
> systems pretty much do the same thing, they provide
> a
> path from the mast to the water.  While at dock its
> a
> simple matter of attaching a #4 cable or flat
> conductor to a 1' square or bigger conductor in the
> water.  The straighter the path and the fewer the
> bends the better (lightning doesn't like to turn
> corners).  Under sail is a different story.  No one
> wants to sail with cables on the foredeck and plates
> dangling in the water.  Therefore, a portable and
> quickly attachable system is needed (battery cables
> get knocked off at the moment of strike).  The
> StrikeShield system is perfect but expensive.  I am
> presently researching a "homemade", ie, Home Depot
> approach that will do the same thing for far less
> money. Most boat manufacturers don't address the
> issue, probably for liability reasons.  Catalina
> issues a bulliten from the ABYC on the subject and
> basically tells you "you're on your own".  Over the
> past fifteen years I have been caught at least three
> times in thunderstorms in powerboats and once in a
> canoe.  Now that my boat has a 26ft tall lightning
> rod
> I'd like to better my chances.  Ideas?
> 
> Brad Haslett
> "CoraShen"
> 
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