[Rhodes22-list] Roger, I need your input...

[Roger Pihlaja]

Carol,

The aspect of all of this that I'm having the most difficult time
understanding is; why would ions from the air tend to accumulate on your
body when, only a few feet away, are literally acres of water in which these
same ions could flow to ground potential?  Ions, either + or -, mutually
repel one another & they seek the lowest energy state.  If there were so
many ions present in the air that your body could build up a static charge
just by sitting there; then, why didn't the ions just flow into the water?

The earth has a natural electric field.  During fair weather, the field
gradient is about 100 volts/foot of elevation.  During a thunderstorm, the
local field gradient can be somewhat greater.  In fact, lightening is the
local field gradient trying to even itself back to the global average value.
I have two reasons why I think a shorted electrical connection inside your
mast is the root cause here:

The 1st reason is the field gradient.  The tip of your mast is something
like 28 feet above the water.  At 100 volts/foot or more, that means there's
at least 2800 volts of potential across the mast.  An internal short in the
mast would directly introduce that voltage into the boat's electrical
system, potentially causing all of the symptoms you've noted.  Contrast that
with the much lower potential generated across the length of your, much
shorter, body.

The 2nd reason has to do cause & effect plus frequency of occurence.  The
boat has been located at the same marina since 1999 with no electrical
shocks until this year after the mishap with the mast.  Now, these
electrical shocks seem to occur fairly regularly.  What has changed?  Again,
a short inside the mast caused by the mast lowering accident potentially
explains all the data.

Here in Michigan, we have what I like to call the "Standard Summer Forecast"
(SSF).  The SSF goes something like this: Mostly fair skies, 5 - 10 knot
breeze, waves 1 - 3 feet, scattered afternoon thunderstorms, wind & waves
briefly higher during thunderstorms.  If that forecast kept you off the
water because of the thunderstorm potential; then, you would miss over 50%
of the sailing days in the summer!

I don't claim to completely understand what happened to you.  But, I'm not
prepared to attribute it all to the common lightening "urban myths" yet
either.

Roger Pihlaja
S/V Dynamic Equilibrium

----- Original Message -----
From: <CarolN8 at aol.com>
To: <rhodes22-list at rhodes22.org>
Sent: Friday, August 06, 2004 5:01 PM
Subject: Re: [Rhodes22-list] Roger, I need your input...


> 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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