And if the bolt doesn't get you or your boat directly, anything that has a few coils of wire in it near such a large discharge of current, will have a very large electromagnetic pulse generated in it which will likely destroy it and anything that it is in the same circuit.
We had a lightening bolt hit a tree about 30 feet from our house a few years ago--the pine tree, not unexpectedly, didn't fare too well--basically exploded internally from the instantaneous heat/gases produces in the vaporized wood/sap. Fortunately it did not fall on our house. However, just about every motor in our house (garage door opener, clothes dryer, air conditioner/heater fan, washing machine) was destroyed by this EMP(electromagnetic pulse). Furthermore, given the vagaries of where such a bolt would find a path to ground, I remain fatalistic. No matter what one does to mitigate its effects, IMHO its a crap-shoot if the boat is hit by lightening or not. In theory, the mast (if properly grounded with a reasonably sharp lightening arrestor to bleed accumulated charge away quickly), the boat's extra charge is never very large and does not allow a large electrical potential to build up between the mast and the atmosphere/clouds. That said, we are talking about immense potential and currents which are changing quickly with the local weather--and if for only an instant your mast is the preferred path to ground, the bolt is going thru your mast--no matter what you have done to reduce the attractiveness of your mast as a place for the bolt to strike. FWIW Charles Nelson Water Phantom [email protected] -----Original Message----- From: Jake Brodersen <[email protected]> To: cnc-list <[email protected]> Sent: Thu, Aug 30, 2012 7:32 pm Subject: Re: Stus-List Isaac: Lightning on the hard Keith, You're just a regular ray of sunshine here.... Points well taken though. The amperage associated with a lightning strike is truly phenomenal, although I fortunately have no firsthand experience. Jake Jake Brodersen C&C 35 Mk-III "Midnight Mistress" Hampton VA -----Original Message----- From: [email protected] [mailto:[email protected]] On Behalf Of Morgenstern, Keith E CIV SEA 08 NR Sent: Thursday, August 30, 2012 8:30 AM To: [email protected] Subject: Re: Stus-List Isaac: Lightning on the hard I think if your "lightning rod" rig ever did get hit, you'd find that the heat from the bolt instantaneously melted the halyard to which it was tied.... Which would result in the how rig dropping 50 feet to your deck. Not sure how the deck would fair... Add to that injury the insult that the stuff that was dropping (the wood, the copper, the chain) was probably still on fire or certainly glowing red. Which may set the deck on fire or at least scar it... Unless it was a wire halyard. But the bolt may yet still melt the nicropress that forms the eye in the halyard..... Food for thought. -Keith _______________________________________________ This List is provided by the C&C Photo Album http://www.cncphotoalbum.com [email protected]
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