You guys have me crying here. 😂 I mean, everyone has one of "those days" but that doesn't make it any less funny... Great information, followed by a wonderful belly laugh. Thanks, I needed that. 💓

@followtheboat

4 жыл бұрын

Our pleasure, Michael. If we can inform and entertain all at the same time, then our work here is done 😊

@maxtontrevor6094

2 жыл бұрын

instaBlaster.

@jaunsmith9760

2 жыл бұрын

Jrhyrh4urytudhwjsu364726364grrhdhdhrbhdjrhe73736ry46364yrhrueuhrdjfjejrb3jdjrbjefjbejdrbebebdhhrbdufhebdj3hheh3ehhdhhhhddjjejeh3

I've owned 11 yachts based out of Singapore over the past 30 years and six of them have been hit (and not all in Singapore). Some, while at sea, some on moorings/at docks and one while on the hard in a yard in Singapore. Oh, and in a 7th strike, I was also showing a friend my X-99 (32ft racing yacht) in the slings in a yard in Singapore in my bare feet while pointing at a blister on the keel (with a dark cloud over head) when a blue arc of electricity jumped from the keel to my pointing index finger, across my chest and down my body through my wet, bare feet to earth, which leads me to the key additional point I wanted to make about your video. It is very important to note that, contrary to popular belief, lightning does not always hit the tallest object when it strikes. In fact, it invariably follows the most efficient path to ground (or earth) and often this can be a shorter object or one that is more conductive (like carbon fibre). In 2018 we were on the hard at Marina Yacht Services in Singapore parked two yachts over from a 52ft carbon fibre racing yacht and this yacht took a direct lightning strike at it's masthead one night and lost all electronics on board and had a sizeable hole blown through it's hull near the mast step (approx 10cm in diameter). The lightning did not ground there, however, but travelled horizontally and struck our yacht as well...2 cradles away! No visible point of entry or exit was evident on our yacht, however, damage to the radar, auto-pilot, mast head wand and depth transducer was suffered. So this was either static discharge from the initial violent strike or the bolt eventually found the most efficient path to earth through our yacht. As there is no way to determine the conclusive answer to this, I won't speculate on which it was...it WAS bloody expensive, I can conclusively say that. I won't tell you about all the other strikes but one blew an instrument display clear across the cabin below decks and left black burn marks in a spider web pattern on the synthetic white nav desktop. Another, on our TP52, occured when we were out for a practice sail and encountered 3 waterspouts in a line underneath a very low, knife-shaped cloud at the SW tip of Singapore that emitted lightning that struck our masthead and blew the B&G wand, VHF antenna and windex to smithereens. There is no rhyme or reason for how lightning will behave. One might've thought there was a very good chance Esper would've been hit in that storm in your video, but you weren't. In the Anambas Islands last year, I altered course away from a fast-moving and concentrated line squall to avoid lightning and when it passed and we arrived at our intended anchorage a very modern (carbon) catamaran that was also in the anchorage, and in the direct path of the same squall, were directly hit and had absolutely all electronics fried, including starter motors on both engines. We rendered assistance and they limped into Tarempa the next day to better assess things. I'm terrified of lightning because I know how commonplace it is in this part of SE Asia (Singapore and vicinity) and as a result carry spares that are most likely to be damaged in a strike. These include two extra masthead wands, spare bilge pump, spare starter motor, alternator and some Jabsco pumps. You just never know hey! Great video Esper crew, and one that anyone who is new to this part of SE Asia should view. Cheers!

@followtheboat

4 жыл бұрын

Wow, fascinating stuff, Bill. Well, more scary than anything. SEAsia can be an intimidating place to sail and the only place that comes close to it is South India at the beginning of the SW monsoon. Singapore is up there with Florida as the most struck place in the world so your experience of storms doesn't surprise me. I bet its taught you to be more cautious, both on the water and in the yard. You were lucky that strike to your finger wasn't any more serious. I dislike sailing in this kind of weather intently, even more so when offshore, or somewhere remote. Western Sumatra towards the bottom had me scared the most. If we'd been struck down there we'd have been pretty screwed. The Anambas is no great place to get stuck either. How did the guys fare in the end? Not being able to motor back towards Johor, and with no instruments, I mean, what do you do? You can't exactly nip into the locally chandlery to replace the gear.

@williambremner9022

4 жыл бұрын

@@followtheboat The cat that was struck ended up in Puteri Harbour, I believe (I lost touch with them after we parted ways in Anambas). I believe the made a full insurance claim and had the yacht re-fitted. I don't know anything about their sail to Malaysia from Anambas. They took pix of my Navionics charts from my iPad to nav to Tarempa and procured paper charts for the rest of the passage I believe.

@24hourtravellers

3 жыл бұрын

6 out of 11 boats hit! Worst area to sail is the Melaka Straits and around Singapore? I want to just cry now. There is so much lightning around here - high chance of getting hit and so expensive too after that happens!! How now?!! BTW Jamie you looked so grumpy with Liz during the bloopers part of the video!! lol Reminds me of the many times Rene and I were shooting our Vlogs, we couldn't run the fan coz of live recording and so we got really HOT temperature wise and mood wise. Hahaha

@captainotto

2 жыл бұрын

With that many strikes including one on your body, I have to ask: Have you ever considered buying lottery tickets? You seem to have some serious luck.

2 instances where I survived lightning strikes in the Army. First: 2 Tall radio antenna set up, 2 tactical radios operating, 2 5KW generators, large aluminum bleachers with aluminum roof. Platoon of soldiers. Sudden squall, hard driving rain, immediate close lighting with immediate thunder .. some ran into a small wooden building, some got under the bleachers, some ran to an old steel boxcar set up full of small arms ammo and metal racks full of machine guns. Within seconds both antennas were totally destroyed, both radios were completely blown up and melted, both generators completely blown up, the gasoline engines exploded, the generators were both dug into the ground and sandbagged, Grounding rods driven into the earth. Gasoline 5 gal jerry cans on fire, wooden building on fire, bleachers hit, partially destroyed, no one injured. The boxcar full of ammo and half a dozen soldiers got hit with no damage. Most likely the faraday cage effect. Within 5 minutes the storm blew over. An hour later the commo shop sent a jeep with a private and a small tool box to "fix" the radios, antenna, and generators. Second incident in the desert sitting on a hilltop in a humvee monitoring vehicle mounted field radio in the middle of the night when a lightning storm approached. No rain but strong winds. The radio and then the entire humvee started to glow brightly with a green/bluish glow. We both jumped clear of the vehicle and lightning struck, destroying the radios and all of the electronics in the humvee. Radio and antenna destroyed, vehicle towed away never to be seen again, driver and I scared really badly.

I used to work at a large site that was frequently struck by lightning. The fire alarm panel was often disabled by these strikes until a fire alarm engineer fitted voltage surge suppressors at all the various panels. They worked like a charm, we never had a panel blow out afterwards despite many other lightning strikes,

@followtheboat

4 жыл бұрын

From the research I did they certainly seem like the best line of defence for the electronics. Thanks for posting, Pete 👍

@svbarryduckworth628

3 жыл бұрын

I will certainly look into TVSS devices for our electrical systems on our boat.

had a direct hit last May in Koh Lipe. Early night, nice and calm evening, nothing forecasted , woke up at 2am, my body was in convolutions, immediate thought was some kind of heart attack, but then heard the thunder and lightning, and there is a 200 AH AGM under my bunk and realised I had been shocked. I have a lightning disapator that is grounded, direct hit on my VHF antenna. All wind, nav, auto pilot, alternator regulator, solar, gas LPG regulator, inverter, VHF, SSB, AIS, all reaters and guauges at control panel, except the kill switch haha, all gone, and there was a catamaran behind me as well, just showed up that day. Replaced a lot myself but the list grows. Just last week, so 10 months later, my Victron step down transformer PCB gave in. Week before the fridge packed in. It has just gone on and on. Kill switch went yesterday. My advice is do not rush an insurance claim, have everything looked at and also potentially what could go wrong. Even if it is still functioning, things will start to malfunction 6 months plus down the track.

@brieneaton8578

4 жыл бұрын

Ouch ! I wish it had, , " missed you by that much ". Love your picture.

@joannshuttleworth6359

3 жыл бұрын

You ask the agent to keep the claim open to additional items for a year- mine did.

@vikingrchronicles

3 жыл бұрын

What kind of lightning disapator you have ?

@boatsandbeards303

3 жыл бұрын

@@vikingrchronicles non at the moment. Dismastered 30nm off shore last month. Looking for a new mast.

@vikingrchronicles

3 жыл бұрын

@@boatsandbeards303 My English is not always very good. But, I understand you say you have a lightning dissipator. If I'm not mistaken, could you tell me which one? I am currently looking at this option for my Alberg 30.

Was hit by lightening in the Tasman sea. We only lost the instruments that we had at the masthead (everything was green goo from the printed circuit boards), all our wind speed/direction & VHF, etc. It also blew the windex to smitherines as well lol. I attribute the lack of more serious damage to the fact I had deployed very heavy welding cables into the water. These were clamped & attached to the cap shrouds and streamed alongside the boat as we sailed. While everything in our boat was grounded dead to water, the cables gave an additional direct path to water in the manner of a "cone". I firmly believe this kept us from more serious damage. The cables were kept coiled up in sunbrella bags the were attached to the lifelines at midship were the could be easily deployed when needed but otherwise were easy & ready to store or deploy at a moments notice. (Tin the ends heavily to prevent corrosion). Other advice I would offer is cross the ITCZ at right angles as much as possible to minimize your exposure to this area of potential violent & frequent lightening storms. We crossed this four times as in our cruising & I gotta say it's a freaky area for lightening. The other technique we employed was to heave to when particularly heavy lightening activity was ahead of us & let it pass. Usually 30 minutes would do it & it also saved us the usual hassle of having to reef & then deal with the usual zero wind & flopping around scenario after the passage of a violent squall. The only other thing I can say about lightening is it's completely unpredictable and the most scary & frightening thing on the ocean. You can't cruise without encountering it. Itll make you pee your pants so make good use of the head prior to engagement! 🤣

@followtheboat

4 жыл бұрын

Very interesting, Mike, and fortunate no one got hurt. I say interesting because I used to run large battery cables from our stays into the water in the (vain?) hope that it would provide an extra ground. Sounds like your setup was a bit more considered than ours! Our underwear draw is packed full of spare pants 😉

Very well researched episode! 6:20 "counting and divide by 5" I guess that this applies if you want to know the distance in miles? As sound travels with a speed of about 340 m/s it takes about 3 seconds for sound to cover 1 kilometre of distance.

@dato6490

3 жыл бұрын

Yes, they are referring to miles.

Diesel motors do not run on electrical, that is why they should be left running. You shut them down by decompression. If your batteries get destroyed you will not be able to start a motor after a lightening strike. Hope this helps.

@NPCSN

4 жыл бұрын

Wow, great point! I wouldn’t have thought of that.

@paulmerron3947

3 жыл бұрын

@@NPCSN Actually Russell a diesel engine built in the last 40 years, stops by a fuel cut off solenoid in the injector pump. A faulty fuel solenoid or its associated wiring is sometimes the cause of an engine not starting.

@peterbrooks9984

3 жыл бұрын

Some modern diesels have electronic controls for the injectors, which could be vulnerable to lightening.

@svbarryduckworth628

3 жыл бұрын

Almost every marine diesel I've seen on sailboats are stopped by solenoid or cable-driven fuel shutoff at the throttle body that controls the injection pump(s). Many new diesels have high-pressure common-rail injection systems that are microprocessor controlled to meet modern air-quality/particulate requirements. They will be easily damaged by a lightning strike as the motor and drivetrain are part of the ground path that the lighting will follow to exit the boat. Without their electronics they will not run. Our lighting strike took out the starter relay but not the starter itself so it could be easily jumpered. I had the engine running within a minute or so of discovering that key-starting was not working. Our alternator was also fried but the older mechanical diesel needs little electricity other than for the oil and temperature gauges and idiot lights/alarms. Since our solar charge controller was also damaged our only means of generating electricity was the wind turbine which was mercifully spared. Luckily this was when tropical storm Elsa was traveling through the area so we had ample wind to keep our batteries fully charged. We went days operating on wind turbine power alone to run refrigeration, lights, plus a soldering iron and heat gun for making a ton of essential electrical repairs so we could continue on with our journey.

I was an engineer for radio stations, and FM stations get struck 20 times more often than AM stations. FM towers are directly grounded. But AM stations use a Spark Gap. As a AM station, you want your mast to Float at the surrounding conditions, but if you get struck, the energy will go thru the Spark Gap to your ground. Spark Gap,; 2 metal plates about 6x6, with a 1/8 gap. One plate goes to your mast or rigging, the other to your grounding point on your boat. Make the path to ground on the outside of your boat. Finally, Isolate your 12 v ground and 120 v ground from mast or riggins. Never connect your 12v ground to your 120 volt ground. I have been sailing for 40 years.

@74Bdn

2 жыл бұрын

Hi Ken, this is a really helpful comment. Logically boats with good path to ground will actually attract a strike. While those with no path to ground will be destroyed with a direct strike. So in your AM scenario best solution would be good path to ground with a spark gap. Hoping the marine industry can learn from your experience.

As a professional lightening photographer (retired), I can tell you that your presentation was SPOT ON. I personally know a couple who changed all their rigigging to dinema except for the manually opperated stay sail, this was connected to a stainless steel plate that ran down the bow of the yacht below the water line. Theory being that lightening would travel down the mast and stay sail rigging keeping its impact forward of the helm station, dissipating into the sea. Its a solid theory, I pray it's never tested.

@windmill1965

4 жыл бұрын

So they assume that the dinema rigging would not conduct electricity from the lightning strike? That could be true if the rigging is dry. But what happens if the rigging is wet from rain? The water can conduct electricity. I don't know the answer, but hope that they considered this aspect.

@thylacine1962

4 жыл бұрын

@@windmill1965 it's a good question. The mast & Stay sail being metal would conduct electricity much faster than wet dinema. So the Theory goes. Their idea has merrit, but lets face it. A severe storm has a mind of its own. But it just mite be enough to keep all crews members alive in that storm. I hope they never have to test the concept. Cheers.

@SteelDoesMyWill

4 жыл бұрын

@@thylacine1962 I'm a professional Rigger and I work exclusively with Dyneema Rigging. This is a question that deserves attention and a mitigation strategy, but not many boat owners (that I know of) have really considered it fully nor do we have any known case of a lightning strike on a Dyneema rigged boat to understand what could happen. With that said, I always advise that you should have a ground from the mast to your keel or a bronze plate (the same as is suggested in this video), this is true weather you have a synthetic rig or not. To answer the question above, Dyneema is completely non conductive... its plastic. If you have a properly grounded alloy mast, hopefully this is the path of least resistance that the strike will follow and the current won't get to your shrouds and stays in any case, wet or not.

@thylacine1962

4 жыл бұрын

@@SteelDoesMyWill yes I agree with you 100%. Both our trades have exposed us to the dangers of lightening & we learned because of it. My friends boat has a deck stepped mast. Brass plates below the water line (although prefered as you sujest) was not impossible to install but the stainless bow plate was much easier to install. The principles you mention are very sound in my opinion. Match my experience filming the lightening beast. Let's hope they never get their theory tested. But in Australian waters they just mite. I think we are the second most lighting active country in the world. Some thing like that. I made good money from it once. Cheers Mate.

@tiborkiss9186

3 жыл бұрын

@@windmill1965 the whole thunder protection concept is based on the fact that electricity travels towards to least resistance. So the staysail needs to be of less resistance to electicity that the aluminium mast - which is not possible. Grounding the staysail AND the mast is the solution.

We were struck by lightning on a catamaran at anchor in the North Channel off of Lake Huron in Ontario Canada in summer of 2020. We knew the wind was picking up at 7AM and decided to go check on the anchor. Just as we were stepping out of bed a large crack of sound was heard I mean LOUD!!! We got out of our bunks and smelled electronics and fibreglass burning. I knew we were hit. My wife followed me around with fire extinguishers as I probed the cabinets and drawers looking for fire. After the fire emergency was put to bed we started looking for leaks. AND WE FOUND THEM!!! Many Many leaks. It seemed wherever lay metal on the inside of the hull lightning wanted to attack it. The head(electric) area, the bow thruster, both rudders (internal metal structures), the sound deadening foil under bunks. Luckily our through hulls were made of Marelon. Every piece of DC electronics was fried except those that had been shut off at the panel of unplugged at the time. Some lager holes we used this putty (Stay Afloat) to cover the holes which held the water at bay. We had a Yanmar 3YM30 that didn't seem affected nor did the batteries. The engine started thank you Lord!!! We knew there were many small holes in the hulls so made the SOS to the Coast Guard who were excellent and were able to get to safety after a 4.5 hr. motor to Port in Little Current on Manitoulin Island. We didn't use the sails on likeliness the rig may have been compromised but it was very rough with 30Knots blowing and 4-5' seas. We had a buddy boat with us so were ready to abandon ship if needed. When we got to port we were hauled out by a very generous yard who incidentally had the only travel lift wide enough to pull us out at 16' of beam. After haul out it was time to inspect. I counted 10 large holes accompanied by large crack emanating from the epicenter of lightning egress and about 160 or so small pin holes some large enough to stick in a punch. Lightning had ate away at both hulls and seemed to start at the top on the mast enter the water from bow to stern and literally split the 2 rudder right out of the back. Surveying the damage....our DC systems and panels were completely fried but the batteries seemed like they were supercharged. The AC system seemed uncompromised and we actually used the air conditioning when we initially got to port as the heat was unbearable as the slings were put under the boat to keep it from sinking while we were suspended in the water. In the end the damages to the hull/electronics and various other bits were in the 6 digits and the Ins. company deemed it a total loss. We are now building an aluminum trawler with 1/2 plate to perhaps not have a repeat performance. I know one thing for sure from this experience. Regardless of what we little humans think we can control, after living that experience I can assure you if lightning wants you it will take you and you are the mercy of mother nature herself!! We count ourselves lucky we are still on the right side of the grass and lived to see another day. An unfortunate casualty was our dog Skipper who suffered ear injuries that rendered him deaf.

unplug all the electronics you do not need during the thunderstorm. unplug the microwave and put all your electronics you do not need at the moment and which fit into the microwave into the microwave: microwave ovens are faraday cages by design.

Love the video clip of holding onto the mast during lightning... marvelous example of what not to do...

And Liz demonstrates at the end why I would personally never want to make videos of our own. You guys must have a lot of patience. Keep up the good work.

@followtheboat

4 жыл бұрын

It was wearing thin, James! We take it in turns to write these kind of scripts and it's always harder for the one who didn't write it. Even so, BoatUS isn't difficult to remember 😉

@svbarryduckworth628

4 жыл бұрын

Very familiar with UboatS here. We are even members of their towing services and get a discount at East Marine with membership.

Can add to your scentific part: Look at the electrical field under a thunder cloud as a cone. This cone travels along with the cloud. When the electrical tention is high enough, it releases. This cone can have a radius down to 10 metres. That's why a bolt of lightning can hit the sea just a short distance away. Not all lightning bolts have the same energy. That's why protection in some cases helps, in other cases not. sv Hulda is welded from steel, hull, keel and deck. Not too worried. Dismountig all electronics and stay inside.

@followtheboat

4 жыл бұрын

Ah, you're a steely, lucky you. I envy steel boats when caught out in these squalls!

Thanks for informative video, the bloopers, and for encouraging others to post their experience with lightning strikes on boats. This has been very informative! Thankfully, I have not been struct (yet), especially living in Florida, but I've met plenty of sailors who have been struck in Florida and the Bahamas. In all cases their electronics were shot. One catamaran lost their electronics and a bunch of their wiring and breakers went nuts. Flipping on one breaker would activate something completely different in the circuitry. I was on one dive boat with beautiful, clear sunny skies but a storm was moving in our direction 4 miles south. At one point all the metal rigging and antennas started making a audible buzzing noise. Super eerie but thankfully we never got struct. I've lived in Florida 46 years and if you think the lightning is scary it is nothing compared to the politicians!!!

I arrived here at your site as I was looking to see if an EPIRB would survive a strike. Dreamweaver was struck, possibly by a side strike. A 3 story house across the 100' wide channel was also hit. We were not on the boat. The only ground on the boat runs from the mast step to a ground plate outside. No hull damage but everything electronic on the boat was fried, the batteries were fine, starter fine, alternator fried. Our first indication of the strike was the melted aluminum on the deck from the mast mounted wind indicator. Antenna was fine. The 3 story house burned to the ground as the owner stored illegal fireworks on the third floor so the firemen took shelter behind their trucks until the fire works were spent, so later they put out the the ashes that remained of the house. I did not have an EPIRB at the time. There are those who insist that a Faraday cage must be grounded to work, insist the oven is NG with out a ground. Oh, propane solenoid survived.

I love the out takes and so does my partner 😄

@followtheboat

4 жыл бұрын

I'm so embarrassed… 😄

Here's a story about being hit by lightning, then a little bit about protecting equipment from the consequences. In 1967 I was ten years old and our family sailed a 6mR yacht (11 m / 37 feet long) built in 1939. At this time there was no electrical equipment on board to worry about, nor any engine. What could be damaged was then only the boat, rig and people. we were moored at an island one night when thunder passed by and we felt a loud bang in the boat, so strong that at first we thought we had been hit by another boat .... then we realized that it must have been lightning. We found no immediate damage and sailed happily on. A few weeks later, unfortunately, the mast top fell down without much provocation. It was probably a consequence of the lightning strike. Three years later the boat was sold and I continued sailing with it as a crew at regattas. During the first winter after the sale, it was revealed that the rivets that attach chain plates to the mahogany hull were surrounded by 15 mm charred wood. But I have to thankfully say that they worked well as a lightning conductor, I slept with my head 20 cm from the chain plates at the event. When it comes to protecting a modern boat and its electrical equipment, I think it is important to have a "DC block / gas tube" surge protector installed on the coaxial cable if you have a radio antenna in the mast. I have been developing mast mounted equipment for the telecom industry for a couple of decades, where we developed and used these successfully to protect other connected equipment. It is also well used in the ham radio world. That type of protection could be worth a little more attention when talking about the risk of lightning strikes. And now I wish you fair winds and a happy 2021 !

Brilliant post guys cheers.

@followtheboat

4 жыл бұрын

Cheers, glad you like it. Did you learn anything? We did from researching it. Liz

aw bless . i can see the message at the end . great post guys glad you got there in the end

@followtheboat

4 жыл бұрын

😁👍

As always a brilliant video. Cheers from the Adriatic

@followtheboat

4 жыл бұрын

Cheers, glad you enjoyed it! Liz

Fully bonded with 1 1/4 X 1/4 inch copper multi strand . Lightning took off our wind indicator and was mostly dissipated down our shrouds. Lost a laptop and CD player took out one 12 volt breaker and one 110 breaker. Happened Sunday 11 July. So far all though hulls and such seem not damaged. We will haul out soon and do a good check on things. Having the rigging looked at Wednesday.

Excellent video and information, thanks for doing it.

@followtheboat

4 жыл бұрын

Pleasure 👍

I knew a fellow who collected fares for British Rail. Hit by lightening 10 times without any side effects. Scientists were amazed and couldn't work out why. Turns out he was just a poor conductor.

@kenpole1840

4 жыл бұрын

Terry Baker 🤣

@followtheboat

4 жыл бұрын

Shall I get your coat?

@svbarryduckworth628

4 жыл бұрын

Choo choo!

@playb4work447

4 жыл бұрын

😂😂😂😂😂

Continuing to love you guys!!! Very informative.

@followtheboat

4 жыл бұрын

Cheers!

Thanks thanks thanks! Great piece of advice. Love you guys.

@yampo77

4 жыл бұрын

One question. Wouldn`t adding extra above the mast lightning rods increase the chance of lightning finding the boat as a ground object? Either if at sea or in a marina the lightning will hit the mast anyway won`t it? Thanks!

Lightning strikes and aviation. I'm a retired C-130 navigator with over 10k hours. I've been hit several times. The massive tail on a 130 is the entry point and the exit point is the radar nose dome. A conical hole the size of a quarter will get blown out of the honeycomb nose dome. A sharp crack sound over your headset is the only indication you've been struck. Never had any electrical systems fail because of lightning. Weather is deadly in flying but it's the wind shear, down drafts and hail rather than lightning that will do you in.

Loved the bloopers at end of video..your wife is a sweetheart . She got me to like and subscribe..thanks for the smiles !!

@followtheboat

4 жыл бұрын

Thanks, Deborah ✌️⛵

Always enjoy your episodes, thanks!!! thumbed

@followtheboat

4 жыл бұрын

👌

Very nice informative vlog, spot on. To add on the part how lighting does develop, they will move horizontal too if more storms nearby. I have sighted lightings move form Houston to New Orleans and back with in seconds. See here if that is happening the charge difference will be way bigger than at one storm.

@followtheboat

4 жыл бұрын

Very interesting! Thanks for that insight. There were so many lightning storms during the crossing of the South China Sea that we saw quite a lot of horizontal forks. Liz 👍

@kell7195

2 жыл бұрын

Yes sheet lightning (Horizontal) not a problem and Forked lightening (Air to Ground) Dangerous

Thank you valuable information, well done 👍

Thx. Really good info

Great information 👍. "Shoulders up," and I corrected my own slouch 🤣

@followtheboat

4 жыл бұрын

Hahaha! She's quite bossy... but she's normally right 😉

LOL, good ending and great to see researching was done. Liked hearing the stats on number of boats stricken, as it was surprisingly high to me.

@followtheboat

4 жыл бұрын

I thought that too, but I have heard that lightning is by far the largest insurance claim in SEAsia (I don't have any stats to back that up).

Just love your bloopers ❤️

@followtheboat

4 жыл бұрын

😁😁

Your outtakes made my day!!!

LOVE IT THSNKS

Good report thanks. One thing NOAA says is that if you hear thunder, there is lightning even if you don't see it - take all the precautions. And if you hear thunder a local lightning strike is possible. Once in China we'd just walked outside to the hotel portico to say goodbye to family. There was a thunderstorm. I was doing the 4.8 seconds/mile count. The first one was just about a mile, the second one was much closer, the third one was a couple of blocks away and the fourth one struck the building we were just outside of. (We all jumped straight up). All four strikes were within about 30 seconds. Denial is amazing. I was out on Santa Monica Bay paddling my sea kayak when it started to rain. (not forecasted). I love this so wonderful, but then I heard thunder, so I started back in. There were some stand-up paddle boarders nearby so I thought I should go over and warn them. Their response, "We're going to see the whales!" They all just kept chanting this. There were no whales around that day - didn't matter. They'd booked a paddle board rental whale watch for Saturday..... I got back to the dock and told the guy whose company it was. Again, "We're going to see the whales!" Nothing more to do. I drove my car over and as I loaded up he was telling his customers, "If you see lightning lay down on the board." I didn't expect them to get struck, but they were in complete denial. The electronic isolators? Yes, I'd install them. Working in an artist's studio one day we were trying out $40k of digital camera gear, computers, etc., plus our computers. Utility workers on a near by pole made a mistake and 500 volts went through the studio's electric system (US so 120 is the norm in these circuits. These voltages are absolutely nothing compared to a lightning strike.) We had surge protectors, an expensive one and a dirt cheap one. The expensive one made a snap noise and died, the cheap one had smoke coming out of it. They both had worked brilliantly protected all the gear, and both were dead. I think my sailing protocol would be 1. Install all the lightning rod stuff - but I'd have a much thicker grounding wire and I would run it up along the mast soldered on. (Reason? straighter path, no tight curves, and probably just nerd-juju). 2. If there was any lightning within 30 miles I'd put all the laptops and portable electronics in the oven (good tip -thanks) 3. I'd (now) run the diesel engine(s) as you recommend. Sounds like a good tip. Also, It might also be a good idea to carry a spare alternator and starter motor.. in the oven. And stay away from the mast even inside. A teacher's aid in my class while I was teaching lightning shyly raised his hand, "I was struck by lightning when I was 11 years old" He'd been about ten feet away from a tall tree that got struck. Knocked him out, he woke up in the hospital, burns that left scars. He didn't remember any of it. The thing about lightning is the voltage is so high it can jump across large gaps - it did after all come down several thousand feet from a cloud. So even if it strikes your grounded mast or a grounded tree, it can still jump. Great topic. Everyone should take all the precautions, and after close lightning strikes, maybe the boats that hadn't been struck should work around the anchorage checking on other boats. The boat that got struck and is battling a leak (Sailing Freedom KZread channel) won't have coms and may need an extension cord to run pumps. Hope this helps.

@crazyhorsetrading8655

Жыл бұрын

Yes the videos by Sailing into Freedom re the lightning strike was quite sobering. I think he did a brilliant job of saving the boat. He is now offering the boat free to a deserving person, it has been repaired.

Hahaha. Thanks for sharing how difficult it actually is getting it right! Hihihi. Great video on the matter, and again, thanks for sharing! Hugs from Norway!

Thanks for the bloopers, ridiculously funny

@followtheboat

4 жыл бұрын

😁

If odds are only 1000 to 1 or 1000 to 3.3...either way..if the lottery odds were that, I’d play often. I sail,often... We have never been hit by lightening...knock on wood...and hope we never are!! Another awesome video! -Rebecca

Regarding SPDs, Electricity always takes the ways of least resistance (the shortest route) and you have to keep that in mind when installing them. And they are not dimensioned for a direct hit. They do work for transients on the grid. But you normally don't have that on a sailboat........ Very good collection of information on the subject. Thanks 👍

Great information ! the bloopers where hilarious...

Hi, thanks a lot for sharing your knowledge and experience even in the end in doing videos. So much work behind. Like to ask about directing the charge down the outside to the water with cables attached to shrouds for instance. I know some people do it. Thanks, Paul

Great episode guys, your bloopers are fantastic, lets have more 😂

@followtheboat

4 жыл бұрын

😂😂😂

You can get a special surge protector that goes into the "fuse box" and routes any surge into the ground reducing damage from the strike. Always have your engine running is what I have heard, since you won't be able to get it started if struck. I would also immediately after a strike check the batteries for both house and engine, to ensure they haven't been overheated and started to spew flammable / toxic gases into the boat. You would think an anode would be the best grounding plate to send a strike surge into. bye bye sacrificial anode, we have to replace you 6 months early.

@nobody46820

4 жыл бұрын

Links please

@jaquigreenlees

4 жыл бұрын

@@nobody46820 This is the surge protector for the electrical panel: www.homedepot.ca/product/eaton-chspt2micro-general-use-surge-protector/1000726473 I just found the item, I'm sure you can find a better price with a bit of effort.

I can’t believe how patient Liz is......🙋‍♀️

We were recently hit by a direct lightning strike in New York City while on a mooring ball there. In my mind this video was from this spring a few months ago, so I was surprised when I searched for it that it was from last year. Time flies! Damage to our electronics was extensive. Just about everything that was connected to the NMEA-2K network was totally destroyed or damaged. The only exceptions may be the B&G Vulcan chartplotter and the V60 VHF radio. They still work and power up but they seem to have gremlins such as powering up on their own after being turned off and we suspect they will not be able to communicate to other devices on the network once we rebuild it. A short haulout with a surveyor/adjuster from our insurance company and removing of the mast showed not very much structural damage. A tiny bit of bottom paint was blown off of the rudder over some bronze fittings as the lighting sought the sea and exited the boat. Paint was also blown off the heads of the through-bolts which secure the heavy plate that holds one end of the hydraulic steering ram securely to the hull. We will need keep an eye on those bolta to ensure watertightness over time but I suspect they are fine, as are the substantial bronze fittings that make up the rudder gudgeons. Since we were on a mooring our engine wasn't running. After checking the through-hulls, transducer, stuffing boxes for leaks, the bilge for water, and ensuring the bilge pump worked we did attempt to start the engine. No go. I was able to get a short length of wire and jumper the solenoid on the starter and the diesel immediately cranked over and started. Knowing how to do this is an essential cruising skill. I had the engine running in less than a minute after the attemp at starting with the key initially failed. The starter relay was ruined but the starter itself was thankfully spared. We had recently had our alternator fail less than 30 engine hours before this, so we had just installed our fully-rebuilt spare alternator which had a very short life of a little over a week until the lightning took it out too. This was our only spare and we hadn't had time to have the old alternator rebuilt or replaced. We thought we had more time... In addition to all the networked electronics and sailing instruments we lost a bunch of other items such as the shorepower charger and the MPPT solar charge controller. This left us with little power to run essential systems like refrigeration especially since we were on a mooring ball. Our less than 1-year old Ozefridge was damaged and not working but Louie was able to walk us through troubleshooting from the other side of the planet and a dozen time zones. We were able to quickly determine that it was the motor controller module that was blown. Ozefridge very generously included a spare module with the original shipment when we purchased our fridge kit, so we were able to install that straight away and the very next day after the strike we were up and running again. We didn't even lose any food in the fridge. Bravo to Ozefridge for including a $150 spare controller module with their fridge kits! We ordered another one from Ozefridge just in case it is ever again needed. Very impressed with Ozefridge service and support. Great job Louie! Our less than 1-year old Furuno autopilot also is not working. It was the work of about 1.5 hours to strip and box up the entire system to ship back to Furuno to be evaluated and repaired on the bench. It will come back like new and with a new factory warranty. It should hopefully cost much less than the $3200 AP package deal was originally. The $750 hydraulic pump tested fine as does the hydraulic solenoid that isolates the helm wheel from the hydraulics when the AP is running. I was able to run the pump directly and move the rudder back and forth by jumpering the wires. Other things like the level sender in the fiberglass keel fresh water tank failed as did the float switch for the bilge pump. Luckily I had a spare float switch for that as well since this an essential piece of safety equipment. In addition to all the lights on the mast, we lost the bow nav lights, cockpit lights, side lights (additional white marker lights while at anchor at eye level) and the LED overhead light in the head which is very close to the mast cable entrance and terminal block. The LP gas solenoid control panel and explosive gas sensor also failed, although the Carbon Monoxide detector seems fine. I was able to get the stove back to cooking by installing a basic timer switch to run the solenoid. I suspect we will find more electronics and LED internal lights may fail as time goes on. All of our portable electronics, laptop, tablets and phones seem fine. I really miss not being able to stream music and audio from KZread videos and audiobooks through the now-fried Fusion marine stereo which was connected to the NMEA-2K network. A boat-wide multi-zone audio system is a must-have item for a cruiser. I am not the extreme audiophile that Jamie is but the sound of silence has been deafening these past couple of weeks. It is really missed when doing work on the boat which has been non-stop since the incident and will continue to be for another month at least until we are again made whole.

@followtheboat

3 жыл бұрын

Blimey, James, that's terrible news. Thank you for writing up your account of the damage. Don't forget that some of that damage may not manifest itself for months, so great that appears to be working may fail later. Sounds like it might be worth replacing the Vulcan and VHF anyway, just to be on the safe side. I was pleased to read about Ozefridge though. Their support really is very good. The one thing you've got going for you is that you're in a central location. Imagine if this had happened out at sea or off a remote island. I know it's not much of a consolation considering the amount of damage you've sustained but it's something. Keep us posted on your recovery... and it might be worth sending this account to one of the yachting magazines.

@rszkodzi

2 жыл бұрын

Where in NYC wass the mooring ball and which marina did you go to?

There are videos on KZread about LDs. The air 15 meters above sea level may well have a different voltage level from the ocean surface, and the lightning may well see the mast as a path with less resistance to the sea than the air around. The LD is supposed to use the mast etc. as a short circuit of the air 15m above to sea, making"sure" the air around the mast top is at sea level potential so the lightning doesn't find the mast route an easier route to sea level. That's my understanding of the theory behind it. If it improves the chances of not getting hit I don't know. .... UPDATE : I just read an article in Practical Boat Owner from a guy who experienced the opposite effect, getting struck 3 times on a boat with LD. .... And I guess, theoretically, it could work both ways. If it fails to equalize the air around, it could serve as an easy entry point towards "ground" sea. ..... So likely better without it then.

Two boats I follow were struck this month. Still waiting to see if one sunk. Blew a whole in the monohull. wouldn't want to happen on a long crossing. Thanks for the info. Well researched and presented.

@GypsyTinker2012

Жыл бұрын

Which boats? Are these sailing channels?

Thanks for the informative video, it also generated good constructive comments we can read 👍🏼

Hilarious! Great video guys and awesome outtakes....thanks

Idk about boats but yes electricity can arc out of outlets . I have seen it several times when i worked in a factory. I seen a busway blowup over head about 30ft away , it sounded like a cannon. The metal junction box that was on it , about the size of a shoebox was bent like a banana . I have seen touch safe relays fail and arc a couple inches to another close by. I wonder if a metal boat would be safer as long as the inside was insulated. Good vid

No microwave on my vessel, but a pressure cooker makes an excellent Faraday cage. I always kept a handheld GPS unit onboard that runs on two AA cells just in case it is needed. Without digging it out I believe the unit I have is a Garmin eTrex 10, or something like that. 😁 It helps to know where you are, but it helps a lot more to be able to get to where you are going. I've had lightening strike close enough on the water that it scared the crap out of me, but never suffered a direct hit in roughly forty year's on the water. I've seen a few vessels that have been hit with the weirdest one being a sailing yacht where the hull below the waterline was covered in what appeared to be thousands of pinholes. I never did find out if they figured out why that happened.

@followtheboat

4 жыл бұрын

Interesting. It's so unpredictable there's no knowing how a strike might affect your boat. We suffered some damage thanks to a residual shock. If it had been a direct hit I think it would have taken out more than our plotter and radar.

hahahaha, nice chat and very funny x

@followtheboat

Жыл бұрын

Glad you enjoyed it! Liz

Awesome yacht people. Well done and thank you. I have heard that the modern diesels are much more likely to be unserviceable after a strike, than the older engines. This because of the common rail fuel system they use which includes an Electronic Control Unit that can also become fried. Wonder if anyone here has knowledge of that. Cheers!

Are lightning strikes covered by insurance? All I know is that lightning strikes on airplanes are time consuming, very expensive depending on the area struck. The holes they make are very interesting. But then old aluminum airplanes are flying faraday cages and there are always burnt, melted, and blown up static discharges on the trailing edges.

@followtheboat

4 жыл бұрын

A good insurance policy should insure for lightning. Of course, the premium goes up in areas where lightning is more frequent. Nothing new there… Liz

Lightning is attracted to anything pointed like church spires or blades of grease. Run a wire from the tip of the masts into the water to Earth it and incorporate this advice.

lighting can also go over 60 feet underground. A farday cage box all metal outside and the inside completely lined with WOOD has been shown as the best designed for a faraday

@followtheboat

4 жыл бұрын

Good info, Ed, thank you. Can it travel that distance under water or just on land?

@edl617

4 жыл бұрын

@@followtheboat underground. There is a place in the western United States were government research is done by NOAA.

The bloopers at the end were hysterical. "We're gonna run out of battery soon." "Twat." :rofl

Thanks for the laughs 😂 unexpected and brilliant

@followtheboat

4 жыл бұрын

😁👍

When sailing out of Ft Lauderdale Florida There was alot of lightening. I was not struck but they were close as I tried to sail between the clouds. Very LOUD! within 1/2 mile. Not much I could do.

@followtheboat

4 жыл бұрын

That's the problem, often there is little you can do to avoid the storms. Hopefully the tactics mentioned will help minimise any risk though.

Out takes - so funny, cracked me up.

@followtheboat

4 жыл бұрын

😁😁😁

As a ham radio operator (KB2LDM) on land, I too was worried about lightening toasting my equipment. There are switches that you can install in between your radio and antenna that either contain a fuse that melts upon lightening strike (thereby breaking the path to the radio) or diverts the path to a coax that goes directly to ground. However, being a "worst case scenario" kind of guy, I set up a bus bar that goes directly to ground and then connected however many coaxes with connectors (2 in my case) to connect the long wire and vertical antennas so that a strike could go directly to ground and totally bypass my equipment. When lightening was nearby, I disconnected the antenna feed from the radios and reconnected to the bus bar. This setup could be relatively easy for equipment that won't fit into the microwave oven. Never had a strike but, when it comes to nature, O'Brian's Law prevails. O'Brian's Law: "Murphy was an optimist".

Liz and Jamie, good policy with the engine IF you have a mechanical fuel pump otherwise its best to isolate your starter / fuel pump / ems computer (just about all modern volvo and yanmar diesels) with double pole isolators... in my experience lightning surge arrestors either dont initiate quick enough or most commonly the strike simply has too much energy for them.. my experience is mostly in buildings and i would say surge arrestors in the initial and secondary grounding paths provided no protection at all its only when you spread further out that you see arrestors that possibly have saved circuitry... the grounding info you provided is spot on multiple flat plates never ground to anything that is covered in insulation below the waterline ie fiberglass Its important to remember the charge is looking to ground with the least possible resistance , if you have a low resistance conductive pathway to ground that bypasses your on-board circuits and hull integrity its your best chance (and it i s a chance, lightning is random like that ) oh and ps , your contuctive pathway will need reglular maintenance especially in a marine enviroment.. the type of materials requiredin order to create a low resistance path makes them magnets for corrosion. Like everything on a cruising boat, its a balance .

putting hand-held electronics in the oven and starting the engine are good ideas - I wonder if it would be better or worse to disconnect the masthead connections and tie some old chain around the mast and over the side ?

Would be nice to see what lightening protection you have installed on Esper.

In a house, I have had lightning go right through surge protectors and melt them. I have been hiking on top of the mountains and you can feel and smell when the air becomes ionized. If you feel or smell it you know a strike is going to come very close and very fast. To add a not take off all jewelry take off any belt buckle. It looks like a shotgun blast when it arcs through the belt buckle. And just a little tide bit lighting goes up not down.

@followtheboat

4 жыл бұрын

Good info, thank you. I think lightning can travel both up and down. In fact it can also travel horizontally too.

What about running a copper grounding rod from the mast to the water? Great episode!

My faraday cage is a metal ammunition box wrapped in copper sheeting then placed in a neoprene sleeve stored away from the mast

@followtheboat

4 жыл бұрын

That sounds pretty solid, Lee 💪

Excellent video! RE engine, it depends if you have a fuel solenoid and if that is normally energised when engine is running or energised to stop the engine running. A lot of bits on the cutting room floor then? 😂Sail Safe guys. Ant, Cid and the pooch crew.

@jaquigreenlees

4 жыл бұрын

If your engine is not running and you get hit with lightning you won't get it running afterwards.

and in today's episode Jamie gets a bit of a strop on, Liz soldiers on regardless :)

@followtheboat

4 жыл бұрын

Hehe. All I'm thinking is "I've now got 50 minutes of cock-ups to edit down to 14 minutes" 😊

"...potentially in danger..." cheeky!

@followtheboat

4 жыл бұрын

😁

If you are interested in discussing Sertec Marine lightning systems, please get in touch if you wish to explore this technology. This tech does PREVENT lightning...

Hi interesting video - thanks. We have a steel yacht so are we better off (very large grounding plate!) or worse???

@followtheboat

4 жыл бұрын

You're much better off, Ann. Doesn't stop the strikes so you should still follow protocol but the steel hull is much more likely to ground the lightning and therefore give better protection.

Great video. Is it better to be next to the land when Lightning strike?

@followtheboat

3 жыл бұрын

The advantage would be getting help easily after the electrics/electronics have fried or there's a hole in the hull. It's never going to be easy. 😱 Liz

Hi guys, this was really an interesting episode. Here in New Zealand we do not get too much lightning, but all it takes is one unlucky strike. Just one more reason to keep up with the insurance payments and to have a plan B for total electrical failure. Thank you. BTW, how is Milly doing?

@followtheboat

4 жыл бұрын

Hey Tony, yes agreed. One reason why we insure our boat. Right now Millie is stuffed full of squid so she's a very happy cat 😻🦑

I wasn't struck but my neighbor was while we were in the harbor, almost a year later and they still haven't had their boat repaired fully. That's the benefit of not having the tallest mast in the harbor I guess

@followtheboat

4 жыл бұрын

It's a problem over here in SE Asia, there's lightning most days for much of the year. We were hit in India, sustaining damage (lost the radar). You just have to get in with it, but important to check everything once you've had a hit! Cheers. Liz

Plucky from Sailing Into Freedom caught a lightning strike, as it hit his mast, and blew a hole in the bottom of his boat as it exited the prop shaft. Lost a lot of electronics over it as well.

Guys Thank you very much again for these useful informations.But where or how can we supply these equipments.? (lightning rod or any other useful equipments for protection) Do you know any companies.?if you could share a few useful links for that it would be better many thanks in advanced.

USB Oat Am Gazine, I think you'll find, but still. Great and informative evoid as reve.

@followtheboat

4 жыл бұрын

😂😂😂

@followtheboat

4 жыл бұрын

I'm so embarrassed, but it is funny! 😂 Liz

@simonw2750

4 жыл бұрын

@@followtheboat Haha, don't be, madam: it's very easily done (I speak from experience).

@simonw2750

4 жыл бұрын

@@followtheboat And, incidentally, I have done it live on national and international TV, including one notable occasion when I couldn't remember WTF I was going to say and sort of gazed off into the middle distance for what seemed like hours, unable to speak at all.

Do you not condition all your power with surge protection? Would that help?

As I understand it, those of us who sail aluminum sailboats have a bit of an advantage which is that our entire boat is a Faraday cage.

Thank you I think a Auto Queue might be quite useful at times :):):)

@followtheboat

4 жыл бұрын

We've tried autocue apps but to be honest we try to do these chats to camera using notes only. We don't like it too scripted. That said, Liz could have done with a copy of BoatUS magazine stapled to her forehead.

@simoncousin3241

4 жыл бұрын

@@followtheboat Cant wait to see the next ones ,big script and Molly flicking the pages with her paws :)

Doing segments is not easy. I have had a “professional” presenter do as many as ten takes. You two are very kind to each other through what can be the frustrating occurrence of a blockage in script delivery.

@followtheboat

4 жыл бұрын

There were loads of outtakes. When one of us researches/writes the other one is always a bit out of their depth. It was the other way round with the coronavirus one which I'd researched. Mind you, I was particularly dense doing this one. Haha! Liz

@rolybaker7770

4 жыл бұрын

Kind to each other, did you hear what he called her?...LOL

What if you have a steel hull? Is that safer? Would the lightning travel around the hull, keeping you safe inside like a huge faraday cage?

Wood, Carbon, GRP, Alloy... I wonder how different Hull and mast materials hold up to strikes.

From personal experience with lightning, the path MUST go straight down from the mast to the water. Anything else is taking a huge chance, such as a right angle to the rudder, which is suicide from the lightning path viewpoint. The lightning will jump off that conductor and go straight through the hull to the water below. I've seen it jump straight out of insulation and do this. One professor said "build yourself a Faraday cage. Good idea , you should be inside the Faraday cage and nothing which could conduct lightning should go into the cage. On a boat, inside the cockpit, that is a tough requirement. This is from the experts : In 2006, the American Boat and Yacht Council (ABYC) technical information report TE-4 [3], [4] recommended the following:- • lightning protection system conductors must be straight and direct and capable of handling high currents. The main ‘down’ conductor is recommended to be 4AWG, or 25mm2 in European sizing; see diagram. • A large enough area ground must be provided between the vessel and the water to offer an adequately low resistance path (ABYC recommends 1sq.ft. {0.1m2} in salt water; much larger in fresh water. NB this is not adequate for acting as the SSB counterpoise). Metal-hulled vessels naturally offer a large ground contact area with the sea, but the connection between the hull and all other electrical systems needs careful consideration. They also show a photo of the system and talk about avoidance of bends on the way down. www.iims.org.uk/approach-modern-lightning-protection-system/

Fair Winds!, my Mate's :)

@followtheboat

4 жыл бұрын

✌️⛵

Look up channel sailing into freedom he just got hit by lightning and it blow out his prop seal and put a hole under the boat almost sunk. He got it all on camera

@followtheboat

3 жыл бұрын

Yes, I watched some of it. Lighning's a bastard. Liz

Fantastic presentation. I wish more people would format their information as well as you do. Great info.

We were moored north Phuket just 300m from a sailboat that has hit. The double bang and sparks sacred the living daylights out of me. After that each time we saw a storm coming we turned on the anchor light, jumped into the dingy and headed for the land to hide. Over the next few days 3 more boats were hit and some suffered damage by just being close to the hit boat. It’s about the only thing that scares me.

@followtheboat

4 жыл бұрын

Agreed, Gavin. Big seas, fine. Lighting? I crap myself and my mind goes into overdrive about what could go wrong.

@Gavrick1965

4 жыл бұрын

Sailing followtheboat around Phuket and langkawi we know about lightning, sometimes every day we have the great show, but never comfortable when it is around. When out away from civilisation I always run the main engine as you say. It’s an old Perkins so no electronics. Comfort factor or sensible precaution?

Has anyone tried a lightening surge protector like they use on power poles, lines etc. If a mast is hit it should be able to be redirected to disipate in the water. SECOND IN AN ELECTRICAL STORM IS THERE A WAY TO PULL A DISCONNECT SWITCH TO SEPARATE YOUR EQUIPMENT FROM ITS ANTENNAS AND REDIRECT TO A grounding plate to be dissipated in the ocean. IE:an antenna that could be dropped in the ocean that is connected to a Grounding Grid protecting the equipment on the boat?

Makes me wonder if sailing in an aluminum boat or a fibreglass one would be better? Would the aluminum act as a Faraday cage? There'a a question to add to the next episode!

@followtheboat

4 жыл бұрын

It's a known fact that metal boats are a lot safer in storms as they conduct the strike to the ground, whereas grp boats don't. Instead the strike will find its way through the wiring.

I got hit or almost hit in Phuket 3 weeks ago at anchor Fried all electronics but mu batteries inverter survived. Solar controller and all b&g electronics knocked out. No insurance. Costly redo

I've heard of people putting chain around the mast and dropping the other end overboard, just wondering if anyone else has heard of that and does it really work to protect against lightening strikes ?

@billtoo4694

2 жыл бұрын

I've read several sources that recommend a conductive strap to the water. If the boat has a metal keel, a substantial ground strap from mast to keel is effective. A chain while better than nothing is a poor conductor, and "wrapped around the mast" is not a direct route. Also the charge has to dissipate once it reaches the water, and the chain has a very small surface area. Lightning strikes vary, but 9 square feet of surface or more is better for most average strikes.

What about electrical drives serial or paralel? Do u keep them running ?, Can they be damaged? , There is a fellow from Miami saying that he would get loghting strikes every other month, then he installed one of those diddipaters from Amazon, the striking on the Cat stopped. Then again he is from Miami, we like to spread urban leyends

Really good video. Although it is statistically unlikely to take a direct hit if you do it is the collateral damage which is the real issue. The effect on electrical/electronic equipment is so unpredictable, a piece of equipment may fail 6 months later. Never thought about damage to a hull that is terrifying. Have been involved in lightning protection systems on land which can be problematical, although for electronic systems you can buy decent solutions these days which help. Designing a system to protect your boat is fraught with challenges especially given how much electronics is "relied upon" for sailing these days. How is Millie, hope she is doing okay?

@followtheboat

4 жыл бұрын

It's that unpredictability that makes building an effective protection system on a boat so difficult. Millie is back on the meds and right now is behaving like her old self. It's a waiting game 😻

if i m close to the coast with mountains, will it make sense as i did to stay close to shore hoping the mountain will catch the lighting more likely than my mast?

@followtheboat

2 жыл бұрын

That certainly makes sense in theory but lightning is unpredictable.