I had lightning hit the water about 2 boat lengths from me while sailing. It raised a nice splash of water/steam about 6 feet in the air. I then contemplated my shoulder sitting against the backstay, my hands on the stainless steel wheel grounded through the rudder cables, and moved over a bit! Thread creep – metal airplanes generally survive lightning strikes with little to no damage. I have been hit twice while flying and not much happened either time besides for having to reset the radios for one. Fiberglass airplanes can be blown to pieces by lighting and need to have a conductive mesh embedded in the skin of the plane to be certified for flying in bad weather conditions.
PS – If you haven’t read this, please do: http://www.marinelightning.com/Siedarc.htm Note the concept for maximum protection is making sure all metal is connected together on their sample sailboat with multiple terminals to discharge into the water. The idea is no lighting will be wanting to jump from one part of the boat to another with a person or expensive item potentially in the way. PPS – When I in the business, about 75% of lighting repairs we did were from lighting coming up the shore power cord from a hit on a nearby boat or power pole. Joe Della Barba Coquina C&C 35 MK I From: CnC-List [mailto:[email protected]] On Behalf Of Bill Coleman via CnC-List Sent: Wednesday, July 27, 2016 09:42 To: [email protected] Cc: Bill Coleman Subject: Re: Stus-List Grounding a mast - 30mki Now that would have made one hell of a YouTube Video! Bill Coleman C&C 39 Erie, PA Last week a soft ball player in Nova Scotia was hit and survived. As she reached out to open the door on a storage shed, the shed was struck by lightning. The current went up her arm and out her foot, with only minor burns to the surface of her skin, but her clothing was "blown to bits". After a night's observation in hospital, she reported still feeling weak from having all her muscles contracted, but otherwise ok. Steve Thomas C&C27 MKIII Port Stanley, ON
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