Lightning.

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1

Posted by andre laviolette (andrelaviolette@…>)
Hi all, Carbon masts conduct electricity very well. In case of a strike, the electrical flow would follow the path of least resistance which is the big fat mast. A wire would not help much, if at all. A very good, very heavy gauge wire from the mast base to a keel bolt is your best bet. Connections should be redone regularly. Even then, lightning does what it wants, like 10,000 pin holes in the hull bottom. I have seen it. And that boat’s mast was grounded ? ! Andre
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2

Posted by Lorman, Alvin J. (ajlorman@…>)

Having had a lightning strike this past summer, I want to note that most strikes do not sink boats regardless of the mast material. Regular readers may recall that I had a strike that, upon investigation, appeared to have hit my VHF antenna, traveled down the mast cable to the panel and basically blew out most, but not all, electronics. My mast and other gear was all properly grounded.

The lightning gods will probably get even with me for the following. I spent some time investigating what I could/should do going forward and came to the conclusion that, since I wasn’t going to be cruising in a heavily lightening-prone area, my best course of action was to make sure I had a paid-up insurance policy. I found no information that gave me any confidence that a future strike could be avoided no matter how much money I spent. One knowledgeable fellow noted the military specs for lightning protection, but also noted that the gear would sink your boat. There are lots of theories, no expert consensus and precious little scientific data. Contrary to popular opinion, lightning CAN strike the same place twice, but I’ve decided there’s little I can do to prevent that.

Al Lorman
F30 Ab Initio

-----Original Message-----From: freedomyachts2003@yahoogroups.com [mailto:freedomyachts2003@yahoogroups.com] On Behalf Of andre lavioletteSent: Thursday, December 01, 2005 10:03 AMTo: freedomyachts2003@yahoogroups.comSubject: [freedomyachts2003] Lightning.
Hi all,

Carbon masts conduct electricity very well. In case of a strike, the electrical flow would follow the path of least resistance which is the big fat mast. A wire would not help much, if at all. A very good, very heavy gauge wire from the mast base to a keel bolt is your best bet. Connections should be redone regularly. Even then, lightning does what it wants, like 10,000 pin holes in the hull bottom. I have seen it. And that boat’s mast was grounded ? !

Andre



Find your next car at Yahoo! Canada Autos =00IRS CIRCULAR 230 NOTICE. Any advice expressed above as to tax matters was neither written nor intended by the sender or Mayer, Brown, Rowe Maw LLP to be used and cannot be used by any taxpayer for the purpose of avoiding tax penalties that may be imposed under U.S. tax law. If any person uses or refers to any such tax advice in promoting, marketing or recommending a partnership or other entity, investment plan or arrangement to any taxpayer, then (i) the advice was written to support the promotion or marketing (by a person other than Mayer, Brown, Rowe Maw LLP) of that transaction or matter, and (ii) such taxpayer should seek advice based on the taxpayers particular circumstances from an independent tax advisorThis email and any files transmitted with it are intended solely for the use of the individual or entity to whom they are addressed. If you have received this email in error please notify the system manager. If you are not the named addressee you should not disseminate, distribute or copy this e-mail.

3

Posted by mdurki (vaughan@…>)

This happened so long ago that I can’t give specifics, but at some
point I was given a harness by Freedom (probably Mark Edwards, who I
found to be the most knowledgable and nicest person there) that not
only grounded my mast but grounded the pulpit (remember that
the “stay” leads from the mast to the pulpit base.

— In freedomyachts2003@yahoogroups.com, “Lorman, Alvin J.”
<ajlorman@y…> wrote:

Having had a lightning strike this past summer, I want to note that
most
strikes do not sink boats regardless of the mast material. Regular
readers may recall that I had a strike that, upon investigation,
appeared to have hit my VHF antenna, traveled down the mast cable
to the
panel and basically blew out most, but not all, electronics. My
mast
and other gear was all properly grounded.

The lightning gods will probably get even with me for the
following. I
spent some time investigating what I could/should do going forward
and
came to the conclusion that, since I wasn’t going to be cruising in
a
heavily lightening-prone area, my best course of action was to make
sure
I had a paid-up insurance policy. I found no information that gave
me
any confidence that a future strike could be avoided no matter how
much
money I spent. One knowledgeable fellow noted the military specs
for
lightning protection, but also noted that the gear would sink your
boat.
There are lots of theories, no expert consensus and precious little
scientific data. Contrary to popular opinion, lightning CAN strike
the
same place twice, but I’ve decided there’s little I can do to
prevent
that.

Al Lorman
F30 Ab Initio

-----Original Message-----
From: freedomyachts2003@yahoogroups.com
[mailto:freedomyachts2003@yahoogroups.com] On Behalf Of andre
laviolette
Sent: Thursday, December 01, 2005 10:03 AM
To: freedomyachts2003@yahoogroups.com
Subject: [freedomyachts2003] Lightning.

Hi all,

Carbon masts conduct electricity very well. In case of a strike,
the
electrical flow would follow the path of least resistance which is
the
big fat mast. A wire would not help much, if at all. A very good,
very
heavy gauge wire from the mast base to a keel bolt is your best bet.
Connections should be redone regularly. Even then, lightning does
what
it wants, like 10,000 pin holes in the hull bottom. I have seen it.
And
that boat’s mast was grounded ? !

Andre

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IRS CIRCULAR 230 NOTICE. Any advice expressed above as to tax
matters was neither written nor intended by the sender or Mayer,
Brown, Rowe & Maw LLP to be used and cannot be used by any taxpayer
for the purpose of avoiding tax penalties that may be imposed under
U.S. tax law. If any person uses or refers to any such tax advice in
promoting, marketing or recommending a partnership or other entity,
investment plan or arrangement to any taxpayer, then (i) the advice
was written to support the promotion or marketing (by a person other
than Mayer, Brown, Rowe & Maw LLP) of that transaction or matter, and
(ii) such taxpayer should seek advice based on the taxpayers
particular circumstances from an independent tax advisor

This email and any files transmitted with it are intended solely
for the use of the individual or entity to whom they are addressed.
If you have received this email in error please notify the system
manager. If you are not the named addressee you should not
disseminate, distribute or copy this e-mail.