[Rhodes22-list] Carol's shocking experience

[ed kroposki]

Carol,

	Rummy was able to figure out the cause was Dacron from his
experience of rubbing his hands on other synthetic fabrics and getting
shocked.  He always thought he was getting slapped until it happened when he
was on the boat by himself.  Took him a while, but....

Ed K



-----Original Message-----
From: rhodes22-list-bounces at rhodes22.org
[mailto:rhodes22-list-bounces at rhodes22.org] On Behalf Of John Tonjes
Sent: Friday, August 06, 2004 5:14 PM
To: rhodes22-list at rhodes22.org
Subject: Re: [Rhodes22-list] Roger, I need your input...

Carol,
Placing a volt meter between the stern rail and the motor (in the water) 
will tell you where it's coming from. Anything other than 12 volts (give or 
take a volt here and there) is definitely static electricity. I have gotten 
multiple shocks, so don't think that it disapates with just one touch. The 
dacron sail is the culprit. Furling and unfurling is what causes the static 
built up.
I've had the sensation of the stays crackling also. Very cool at 
night.....especially if I've been drinking. We discussed this phenom about 
two years ago and Alex was the only other Rhodie brave enough to step 
forward and admit that he was getting shocked. (What a guy). I believe 
others have experienced it, just wrote it off as something other than an 
electrical shock.
I get it because I lean over the railing and manually raise my motor. The 
pulley system quit working about six years ago and I haven't gotten around 
to fixing it. :) Priorities I guess.
Another thought I had as to where it was coming from was the material for 
the cockpit cushions. As weather resistant as they are, I wonder it their 
rubbing on the fiberglass doesn't raise the voltage a little?
Good luck and have fun sailing. I plan on being out all weekend.

Rummy






>From: CarolN8 at aol.com
>Reply-To: The Rhodes 22 mail list <rhodes22-list at rhodes22.org>
>To: rhodes22-list at rhodes22.org
>Subject: Re: [Rhodes22-list] Roger, I need your input...
>Date: Fri, 6 Aug 2004 17:01:12 EDT
>
>Roger,
>
>Thanks for explaining the static theory everyone else is mentioning...I was
>getting confused (which is easy to do for me). I find it interesting that 
>Alex
>  had this problem in CO. Thanks for letting me know that Rummy (and 
>welcome
>back!) I've had this Rhodes out here since 1999 (when I bought it), and 
>this
>is  the first season I've ever had the shocking problem. That is why I'm 
>also
>somewhat suspicious of something in the mast. It was last fall that I broke
>the  connections.
>
>When the outboard shocked me, it was in the water. If static had built up  
>in
>me, once I the shock happened, it would be over, right? I don't think I 
>would
>  continually build up a charge again. It would shock me every time I 
>touched
>the  stern rail with my hand, and I wasn't moving around. It felt like a 
>live
>shock  (like touching an electric fence). I had no other symptoms like
>tingling or hair  standing up.
>
>The second time, there were five of us on the boat, and there was some
>static in the air and some hair was standing up which was why I was trying 
>to  get
>to shore as quickly as possible. That's when the stays started clicking, 
>and
>that's the most nervous I've felt being exposed on the water.
>
>I think a storm in the nearby area is feeding the problem but I'd be  
>awfully
>surprised to think it was causing it because this is the only season  it's
>happened. We have storms here all the time in the summer afternoons.
>
>For those who suggest I avoid these storms, that is a great idea in theory,
>but in CO, there is almost always a storm in the area in the afternoons and
>you  just have to keep an eye on how close they are to you, and what 
>direction
>they  are going. You can be in a downpour and lightning storm one minute, 
>and
>drive  ten minutes north and be in sunny blue skies.
>
>I'm hoping to go out tomorrow but may not be able to sail again until  
>Sunday.
>
>Carol
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