Date
1 - 12 of 12
Lightning prevention
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Ruslan Osmonov
Hi, I know most people do not believe in lightning protection devices, but lightning strikes happen and they cause ton of damages. Can you share your view on how to stay protected from lightning?
Is there anything to do or is it just pure luck? Have you heard of CMCE Lightning Suppression Products? is it worth looking or is it another "I don't know if it will save me, but want to have it just in case it works"? -- Fair winds Ruslan Osmonov Phantom, A54 #44 |
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sbmesasailor
Certainly everyone will have their own response to this question relative to their experience because as far as I know there is no authoritative resource on the topic as theories can not be tested -requires sitting in an electric storm and being hit by lightning. That being the case, this is my experience: My insurance company assured me that the chances of my 1982 Maramu being hit by lightning was 1 in a 1000. On our trip to El Salvador enroute to our crossing the Pacific we encountered about 50 cruisers. Four of them had been hit by lightning. That's considerably better than 1 in 1000 but still quite remote. Not only that, but in each case the lightning found alternate routes to strike other than the mast. Most strikes were in the water nearby and the bolt travelled through the water into the boat. The methods on "lightning protection" are based on routing the bolt from the mast to the water creating a cone of protection. The failure of this concept is ignoring the power of the bolt of lightning. The extremely high level of voltage permits the charge to go where ever it wants. It conducts through water and will arc where ever as the examples above indicate. I do not believe the expense of a lightning protection system is worth it due to the relative low likelyhood of a strike and the possible failure of the system to protect you. The best things you can do is: 1) Make sure your insurance covers a lightning strike. 2) Be aware of the areas you intend to cruise in and the incidences of lightning storms. 3) If you encounter a storm, place your hand-held GPS and VHF radio in the oven (Faraday cage). 4) Use your radar to navigate through the least intense parts of the storm. 5) Avoid touching metal objects during the storm. 6) Carry redundant navigation, communication, and steering equipment. Dennis Johns Libertad Maramu 121 |
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Danny and Yvonne SIMMS
Hi Denis, I agree with you. Lightening goes where it will. In 2012 we were anchored among 50 boats in Musket cove Fiji when there was a massive lightning storm that lasted hours. We did not get hit but lighting struck the water about 50m meters from us. We got a power surge into the boat. It came in through all the aerials. It turned the radar on, the LED light in the saloon flashed for about 20m seconds. All our electronics and instruments were wiped out. We had two digital Furuno GPS. One had a deck mounted aerial, it failed, the other aerial was below the deck, that one survived. We had a spare unconnected chart plotter stored below deck, it was fine. There was no burning, there was just enough power to affect the equipment. The radar and the SSB and VHF, gone, the dolphin chargers, gone. Our cell phones were OK, So a fancy bird nest on the mast, or an earth into the water would have done nothing for us. Our insurers did all they could to avoid paying the cost and we had to fork out for a lot of it. Boat has been fine since with all new equipment. Dolphin were fantastic. They gave us a big discount on a 100 amp and a 30 amp charger, and free shipping from France to Fiji and had them there in 6 days
Amazing service.
Danny
SM 299
Ocean Pearl
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While we were cruising the San Blas islands of Panama, a Kuna Indian Chief told me that the Kuna avoid settling on islands that have a lot of lightning strikes. I asked how they know which ones to avoid. He said that it was easy, "just look at the tops of the palm trees, the palms without leaves have been hit...we don't settle on those islands." That was both funny and true. Bill
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You might find this
an interesting read:
https://loosecannon.substack.com/p/proven-lightning-protection-that
With best regards,
Mark
Skipper Sailing Vessel - Cream Puff - SM2K - #275 Currently cruising - Tahiti, French Polynesia
On 3/12/2023 2:59 PM, Ruslan Osmonov
wrote:
Hi, I know most people do not believe in lightning protection devices, but lightning strikes happen and they cause ton of damages. Can you share your view on how to stay protected from lightning? |
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Ruslan Osmonov
Thanks Mark, somehow I'm even more sceptical of this "Faraday" cage and definitely not drilling holes along the perimeter of my boat. :) On Mon, Mar 13, 2023 at 3:29 PM Mark Erdos <mcerdos@...> wrote:
--
Fair winds Ruslan Osmonov Phantom, A54 #44 |
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Ruslan Osmonov
Thank you Dennis and Danny. I agree, there are many opinions on the topic, but this forums has many knowledgeable and experienced people, so I thought to ask around.
For the side strike I also found this statement, although need to dig deeper into this. "To protect the electronic equipment from EMP’s we recommend to install a DINFIL ground filter which reduces the high frequencies. The remaining low frequencies will be discharged to ground by a Surge protector (SPD)." -- Fair winds Ruslan Osmonov Phantom, A54 #44 |
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Dennis Johns
Hi Mark, I didn't see a guarantee that lightning would not damage your boat with this system installed? Dennis On Mon, Mar 13, 2023 at 12:29 PM Mark Erdos <mcerdos@...> wrote:
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Eric Freedman
Hi Russ, We were hit by lightning at the dock at my yacht club. 100k later all was well, that was about 40,000 miles ago. It blew the propeller off of the bow thruster and everything electrical/electronic back to the alternators and the genset circuitboard.
I believe lightning is like the joke—What do you get when you cross breed King Kong and a parrot? I don’t know but when it talks you listen.
I believe there so many variables with respect to lightning and boats that is just a crap shoot. I do keep some spare electronics in a metal toolbox. All the items are wrapped in aluminum foil. Fair Winds
Eric Kimberlite Amel Super Maramu #376
From: main@AmelYachtOwners.groups.io On Behalf Of Ruslan Osmonov
Thank you Dennis and Danny. I agree, there are many opinions on the topic, but this forums has many knowledgeable and experienced people, so I thought to ask around. |
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Ruslan Osmonov
LOL. Thank you Eric.
-- Fair winds Ruslan Osmonov Phantom, A54 #44 |
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Best advice I ever received was from a BoatUS agent at the Miami boat show.
"Park right next to a Catamaran", he said. So, I had to look it up and sure enough, nearly twice as likely to take a strike in a Cat. I gather that's because they have so much extra hull in the water. Other than that, I'm not sure that my studies haveed me to believe that anything is foolproof to thwart a bolt of electricity that can travel miles to get you :) Gary W. Former-SM209 Adagio |
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Ruslan Osmonov
That is good to know, but that means you should pick marinas without cats 🙂 knowing that Id like to be away as much as possible from a cat, because indirect close hit will also cause lots of pain to deal with. On Tue, Mar 14, 2023 at 12:30 PM Gary Wells <gary@...> wrote: Best advice I ever received was from a BoatUS agent at the Miami boat show. --
Fair winds Ruslan Osmonov Phantom, A54 #44 |
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