Parallax wrote:

In deep woods during a storm, I sat under a picnic shelter on top of a
dry picnic table on top of dry concrete. It jumped out of a nearby
conduit and to the DRY concrete floor in front of me.

Don't do that again - seriously. Here's the thing: Whether lightning strikes
something isn't related to the item's conductivity but to the amount of charge
it has built up. The arc will go between the highest charge in the cloud/air
and the highest opposite charge on the land. Wet or dry doesn't matter much.
You know this from rubbing a dry glass rod in dry wool or your dry feet across a
dry rug. It's worse the drier things are.

After the strike happens it is no longer a matter of charge, but power. The
amount of damage will depend upon whether there is a good path to earth. That's
where conductivity comes in. If there is no path the amount of 'surface effect'
increases, endangering people and things in the area.

Therefore it would be safer to stand next to a heavy copper flagpole embedded in
the earth than under a tree or in a 'dry' picnic shelter. Me, I'll stay here in
the Pacific NW and take my chances with tsunamis.

method is to try to get it to ground as quickly as possible. I have a
2'X2' copper sheet with a very large tinned copper braid soldered and
crimped to it that I drop overboard. The otehr end of the braid has
two welding clips that I attach to the upper and lower shrouds near
the deck. I turn off and unplug all electronics and stay away from
all metal fittings. I have even considered a retractable Faraday cage
attached to the mast head consisting of small wires to protect the
boat inside it. Am I too paranoid?

No, careful and sensible. The only quarrel I'd have is with braided conductor
to your plate rather than a copper band. Harder to handle, but better capable
of handling the juice. As you live in Florida you might consider having your
plate attached to the hull - tightly with no intervening water - and permanent
connection to your shrouds. The 'air terminal' can be anything - a pointy rod,
those little brush things... etc. I am not familiar with a Faraday cage, but it
sounds knobby. For your purpose you want something sharp, which should have the
effect of allowing static charge to bleed harmlessly off. Then you want a heavy
bonding strap running the length of the boat. Anything important is bonded to
it, at right angles preferably, and the bonding strap is attached to the
underwater ground plate as well.

Essentially with this bypass ground, you are making your boat disappear from the
competition for the lightning.

If lightning does strike then your installation can carry off the charge, but
the whole idea is to avoid static buildup.

However, I am curious about lightning protection for less afflicted
ppl. I have seen these ground plates consisting of sintered bronze
powder that are fairly small but have high surface area due to the
many sintered particles (Dyna-Plate). I can believe these may work
for low E fields and low current but I do not believe they work for
high fields and high currents (like lightning). I think the small
passages act like tiny Faraday cups allowing no field inside and the
effective surface area is not much larger than the external area.
What do others think?

Well, the minimum grounding plate is 1 foot square. Dyna Plates seem to be used
to ground single sideband transmitters. Stick with a copper plate. Two square
feet is overkill but does no harm and perhaps adds a comfort level.

Check into your local Power Squadron. Their educational offerings include
Marine Electronics which covers this subject, including the 'zone of protection'.

http://www.usps.org

In article ,
(Parallax) wrote:

We often see some discussions about lightning protection but here in
FL, it is really a major problem snip
My normal lightning protection
method is to try to get it to ground as quickly as possible. I have a
2'X2' copper sheet with a very large tinned copper braid soldered and
crimped to it that I drop overboard. The otehr end of the braid has
two welding clips that I attach to the upper and lower shrouds near
the deck. I turn off and unplug all electronics and stay away from
all metal fittings. I have even considered a retractable Faraday cage
attached to the mast head consisting of small wires to protect the
boat inside it. Am I too paranoid?

Having lived in Clearwater for 5 years, I'd say "NO!" to being paranoid.
Sometimes they ARE out to get you.

In that area of FL, I'd probably have leads hanging from all 4
"corners", permanently attached with bulldog clamps, not dinky welding
clips ;-) They would be clipped to something while under way. I figure
about 6' of copper strand in the water is sufficient and plates are
bulky, so would use zinc guppies to weigh them down so they could "live"
in the water while we were away from the boat.


However, I am curious about lightning protection for less afflicted
ppl. I have seen these ground plates consisting of sintered bronze
powder that are fairly small but have high surface area due to the
many sintered particles (Dyna-Plate). I can believe these may work
for low E fields and low current but I do not believe they work for
high fields and high currents (like lightning). I think the small
passages act like tiny Faraday cups allowing no field inside and the
effective surface area is not much larger than the external area.
What do others think?

That sounds sorta reasonable to me. Our iron keel is our ground, so I
haven't worried about it much. I believe most people hope that making
the mast "look" like ground with a good Dyna-Plate or similar will
protect them.

Personally, I think that making a Faraday cage out of the shrouds is the
best bet, but there are no guarantees. Friends put one of those bottle
brushes up on the mast -- factory approved tech did it -- and they got
struck a week or so later.

--
Jere Lull
Xan-a-Deux ('73 Tanzer 28 #4 out of Tolchester, MD)
Xan's Pages: http://members.dca.net/jerelull/X-Main.html
Our BVI FAQs (290+ pics) http://homepage.mac.com/jerelull/BVI/

Jere Lull wrote in message ...
In article ,
(Parallax) wrote:

We often see some discussions about lightning protection but here in
FL, it is really a major problem snip
My normal lightning protection
method is to try to get it to ground as quickly as possible. I have a
2'X2' copper sheet with a very large tinned copper braid soldered and
crimped to it that I drop overboard. The otehr end of the braid has
two welding clips that I attach to the upper and lower shrouds near
the deck. I turn off and unplug all electronics and stay away from
all metal fittings. I have even considered a retractable Faraday cage
attached to the mast head consisting of small wires to protect the
boat inside it. Am I too paranoid?

Having lived in Clearwater for 5 years, I'd say "NO!" to being paranoid.
Sometimes they ARE out to get you.

My 28' S2 has internal ballast, otherwise I'd use the keel as ground.
Being VERY familiar with high voltage discharges, I use braid because
such discharges have high frequency components so they need a lot of
surface area to carry the current. I considered fastening the copper
directly to the hull with the braid fastened from inside but
considered:

10,000 amps X10,000,000 volts = 10E10 watts dissipatted in about 50
nanoseconds,sorta like hitting your hull with a big sledgehammer.

Thunderstorms in Clearwater may be even worse.

In that area of FL, I'd probably have leads hanging from all 4
"corners", permanently attached with bulldog clamps, not dinky welding
clips ;-) They would be clipped to something while under way. I figure
about 6' of copper strand in the water is sufficient and plates are
bulky, so would use zinc guppies to weigh them down so they could "live"
in the water while we were away from the boat.


However, I am curious about lightning protection for less afflicted
ppl. I have seen these ground plates consisting of sintered bronze
powder that are fairly small but have high surface area due to the
many sintered particles (Dyna-Plate). I can believe these may work
for low E fields and low current but I do not believe they work for
high fields and high currents (like lightning). I think the small
passages act like tiny Faraday cups allowing no field inside and the
effective surface area is not much larger than the external area.
What do others think?

That sounds sorta reasonable to me. Our iron keel is our ground, so I
haven't worried about it much. I believe most people hope that making
the mast "look" like ground with a good Dyna-Plate or similar will
protect them.

Personally, I think that making a Faraday cage out of the shrouds is the
best bet, but there are no guarantees. Friends put one of those bottle
brushes up on the mast -- factory approved tech did it -- and they got
struck a week or so later.

Jere Lull wrote in message ...
In article ,
(Parallax) wrote:

We often see some discussions about lightning protection but here in
FL, it is really a major problem snip
My normal lightning protection
method is to try to get it to ground as quickly as possible. I have a
2'X2' copper sheet with a very large tinned copper braid soldered and
crimped to it that I drop overboard. The otehr end of the braid has
two welding clips that I attach to the upper and lower shrouds near
the deck. I turn off and unplug all electronics and stay away from
all metal fittings. I have even considered a retractable Faraday cage
attached to the mast head consisting of small wires to protect the
boat inside it. Am I too paranoid?

Having lived in Clearwater for 5 years, I'd say "NO!" to being paranoid.
Sometimes they ARE out to get you.

My 28' S2 has internal ballast, otherwise I'd use the keel as ground.
Being VERY familiar with high voltage discharges, I use braid because
such discharges have high frequency components so they need a lot of
surface area to carry the current. I considered fastening the copper
directly to the hull with the braid fastened from inside but
considered:

10,000 amps X10,000,000 volts = 10E10 watts dissipatted in about 50
nanoseconds,sorta like hitting your hull with a big sledgehammer.

Thunderstorms in Clearwater may be even worse.

In that area of FL, I'd probably have leads hanging from all 4
"corners", permanently attached with bulldog clamps, not dinky welding
clips ;-) They would be clipped to something while under way. I figure
about 6' of copper strand in the water is sufficient and plates are
bulky, so would use zinc guppies to weigh them down so they could "live"
in the water while we were away from the boat.


However, I am curious about lightning protection for less afflicted
ppl. I have seen these ground plates consisting of sintered bronze
powder that are fairly small but have high surface area due to the
many sintered particles (Dyna-Plate). I can believe these may work
for low E fields and low current but I do not believe they work for
high fields and high currents (like lightning). I think the small
passages act like tiny Faraday cups allowing no field inside and the
effective surface area is not much larger than the external area.
What do others think?

That sounds sorta reasonable to me. Our iron keel is our ground, so I
haven't worried about it much. I believe most people hope that making
the mast "look" like ground with a good Dyna-Plate or similar will
protect them.

Personally, I think that making a Faraday cage out of the shrouds is the
best bet, but there are no guarantees. Friends put one of those bottle
brushes up on the mast -- factory approved tech did it -- and they got
struck a week or so later.

In article ,
(Parallax) wrote:

We often see some discussions about lightning protection but here in
FL, it is really a major problem snip
My normal lightning protection
method is to try to get it to ground as quickly as possible. I have a
2'X2' copper sheet with a very large tinned copper braid soldered and
crimped to it that I drop overboard. The otehr end of the braid has
two welding clips that I attach to the upper and lower shrouds near
the deck. I turn off and unplug all electronics and stay away from
all metal fittings. I have even considered a retractable Faraday cage
attached to the mast head consisting of small wires to protect the
boat inside it. Am I too paranoid?

Having lived in Clearwater for 5 years, I'd say "NO!" to being paranoid.
Sometimes they ARE out to get you.

In that area of FL, I'd probably have leads hanging from all 4
"corners", permanently attached with bulldog clamps, not dinky welding
clips ;-) They would be clipped to something while under way. I figure
about 6' of copper strand in the water is sufficient and plates are
bulky, so would use zinc guppies to weigh them down so they could "live"
in the water while we were away from the boat.


However, I am curious about lightning protection for less afflicted
ppl. I have seen these ground plates consisting of sintered bronze
powder that are fairly small but have high surface area due to the
many sintered particles (Dyna-Plate). I can believe these may work
for low E fields and low current but I do not believe they work for
high fields and high currents (like lightning). I think the small
passages act like tiny Faraday cups allowing no field inside and the
effective surface area is not much larger than the external area.
What do others think?

That sounds sorta reasonable to me. Our iron keel is our ground, so I
haven't worried about it much. I believe most people hope that making
the mast "look" like ground with a good Dyna-Plate or similar will
protect them.

Personally, I think that making a Faraday cage out of the shrouds is the
best bet, but there are no guarantees. Friends put one of those bottle
brushes up on the mast -- factory approved tech did it -- and they got
struck a week or so later.

--
Jere Lull
Xan-a-Deux ('73 Tanzer 28 #4 out of Tolchester, MD)
Xan's Pages: http://members.dca.net/jerelull/X-Main.html
Our BVI FAQs (290+ pics) http://homepage.mac.com/jerelull/BVI/

I have one of those whisker brushes mounted on the top of my mast and
I have an oversized DynaPlate on my hull with heavy wire leading to
it. I've never been struck or had any lightning damage though my boat
has spent a lot of time in Florida and is in Florida as I write..
I've always believed that if my bvoat should be struck k lighting
would travel to the Dyna Plate and blow a hole of about the same size
right through my hull.

I regard those whisker brushes on my mast as snake oil. I just keep
my fingers crossed and hope that God doesn't get ****ed off at me. I
remember researching this subject 10 years ago when I was
commissioning my boat and I sort of remember concluding at the time
that no one (I repeat--no one) has an answer though there is no
shortage of people who pretend to have the answer. They are usually
recognizable because they speak in scientific (pseudo?) jargon and
sound quite impressive.

Hell, maybe the whiskers are working after all. Maybe the DynaPlate
has disappated (sp) several strikes that I'm not even aware of. I
guess in the end I would have to say that one can ever be too
cautious--or can one? Anxiety over an event seems to create a
peculiar magnetism that attracts that event. Ever tried not thinking
about it?

Joe

On 27 Jan 2004 08:02:49 -0800, (Parallax)
wrote:

We often see some discussions about lightning protection but here in
FL, it is really a major problem, especially for myself since I seem
to have a peculiar affinity for it.

I have seen it do the following:

While sitting on the toilet, it jumped from the faucet to drain
melting the fixture (literally scared the crap outa me)

After a thunderstorm while riding my bicycle, it struck the road in
front of me leaving a dry spot 30' in diameter.

Struck my phone lines and melted my telephone.

After a storm, ball lightning appeared about 30' up, slowly moved
along the shore while I tried to figure what to do. It hit a nearby
pine tree which exploded showering me with debris.

In deep woods during a storm, I sat under a picnic shelter on top of a
dry picnic table on top of dry concrete. It jumped out of a nearby
conduit and to the DRY concrete floor in front of me.


I sometimes think God is ****ed at me for some reason but can't figger
out why. This has affected my career (graduate work was "Free
Electron Charging of Fine Aerosol Particles) and made me VERY paranoid
about sailing during thunderstorms. My normal lightning protection
method is to try to get it to ground as quickly as possible. I have a
2'X2' copper sheet with a very large tinned copper braid soldered and
crimped to it that I drop overboard. The otehr end of the braid has
two welding clips that I attach to the upper and lower shrouds near
the deck. I turn off and unplug all electronics and stay away from
all metal fittings. I have even considered a retractable Faraday cage
attached to the mast head consisting of small wires to protect the
boat inside it. Am I too paranoid?

However, I am curious about lightning protection for less afflicted
ppl. I have seen these ground plates consisting of sintered bronze
powder that are fairly small but have high surface area due to the
many sintered particles (Dyna-Plate). I can believe these may work
for low E fields and low current but I do not believe they work for
high fields and high currents (like lightning). I think the small
passages act like tiny Faraday cups allowing no field inside and the
effective surface area is not much larger than the external area.
What do others think?

toilet brushes at the top of a mast are a classic example in physics as how to
*increase* the chances of a static electricity discharge. The reason you see
all that psuedo-scientific jargon on the subject is that people are trying to
sell you something to make your fears of dying a crispy critter death go away.

I have one of those whisker brushes mounted on the top of my mast and
I have an oversized DynaPlate on my hull with heavy wire leading to
it. I've never been struck or had any lightning damage though my boat
has spent a lot of time in Florida and is in Florida as I write..
I've always believed that if my bvoat should be struck k lighting
would travel to the Dyna Plate and blow a hole of about the same size
right through my hull.

I regard those whisker brushes on my mast as snake oil. I just keep
my fingers crossed and hope that God doesn't get ****ed off at me. I
remember researching this subject 10 years ago when I was
commissioning my boat and I sort of remember concluding at the time
that no one (I repeat--no one) has an answer though there is no
shortage of people who pretend to have the answer. They are usually
recognizable because they speak in scientific (pseudo?) jargon and
sound quite impressive.

Hell, maybe the whiskers are working after all. Maybe the DynaPlate
has disappated (sp) several strikes that I'm not even aware of. I
guess in the end I would have to say that one can ever be too
cautious--or can one? Anxiety over an event seems to create a
peculiar magnetism that attracts that event. Ever tried not thinking
about it?

Joe

On 27 Jan 2004 08:02:49 -0800, (Parallax)
wrote:

We often see some discussions about lightning protection but here in
FL, it is really a major problem, especially for myself since I seem
to have a peculiar affinity for it.

I have seen it do the following:

While sitting on the toilet, it jumped from the faucet to drain
melting the fixture (literally scared the crap outa me)

After a thunderstorm while riding my bicycle, it struck the road in
front of me leaving a dry spot 30' in diameter.

Struck my phone lines and melted my telephone.

After a storm, ball lightning appeared about 30' up, slowly moved
along the shore while I tried to figure what to do. It hit a nearby
pine tree which exploded showering me with debris.

In deep woods during a storm, I sat under a picnic shelter on top of a
dry picnic table on top of dry concrete. It jumped out of a nearby
conduit and to the DRY concrete floor in front of me.


I sometimes think God is ****ed at me for some reason but can't figger
out why. This has affected my career (graduate work was "Free
Electron Charging of Fine Aerosol Particles) and made me VERY paranoid
about sailing during thunderstorms. My normal lightning protection
method is to try to get it to ground as quickly as possible. I have a
2'X2' copper sheet with a very large tinned copper braid soldered and
crimped to it that I drop overboard. The otehr end of the braid has
two welding clips that I attach to the upper and lower shrouds near
the deck. I turn off and unplug all electronics and stay away from
all metal fittings. I have even considered a retractable Faraday cage
attached to the mast head consisting of small wires to protect the
boat inside it. Am I too paranoid?

However, I am curious about lightning protection for less afflicted
ppl. I have seen these ground plates consisting of sintered bronze
powder that are fairly small but have high surface area due to the
many sintered particles (Dyna-Plate). I can believe these may work
for low E fields and low current but I do not believe they work for
high fields and high currents (like lightning). I think the small
passages act like tiny Faraday cups allowing no field inside and the
effective surface area is not much larger than the external area.
What do others think?

toilet brushes at the top of a mast are a classic example in physics as how to
*increase* the chances of a static electricity discharge. The reason you see
all that psuedo-scientific jargon on the subject is that people are trying to
sell you something to make your fears of dying a crispy critter death go away.

I have one of those whisker brushes mounted on the top of my mast and
I have an oversized DynaPlate on my hull with heavy wire leading to
it. I've never been struck or had any lightning damage though my boat
has spent a lot of time in Florida and is in Florida as I write..
I've always believed that if my bvoat should be struck k lighting
would travel to the Dyna Plate and blow a hole of about the same size
right through my hull.

I regard those whisker brushes on my mast as snake oil. I just keep
my fingers crossed and hope that God doesn't get ****ed off at me. I
remember researching this subject 10 years ago when I was
commissioning my boat and I sort of remember concluding at the time
that no one (I repeat--no one) has an answer though there is no
shortage of people who pretend to have the answer. They are usually
recognizable because they speak in scientific (pseudo?) jargon and
sound quite impressive.

Hell, maybe the whiskers are working after all. Maybe the DynaPlate
has disappated (sp) several strikes that I'm not even aware of. I
guess in the end I would have to say that one can ever be too
cautious--or can one? Anxiety over an event seems to create a
peculiar magnetism that attracts that event. Ever tried not thinking
about it?

Joe

On 27 Jan 2004 08:02:49 -0800, (Parallax)
wrote:

We often see some discussions about lightning protection but here in
FL, it is really a major problem, especially for myself since I seem
to have a peculiar affinity for it.

I have seen it do the following:

While sitting on the toilet, it jumped from the faucet to drain
melting the fixture (literally scared the crap outa me)

After a thunderstorm while riding my bicycle, it struck the road in
front of me leaving a dry spot 30' in diameter.

Struck my phone lines and melted my telephone.

After a storm, ball lightning appeared about 30' up, slowly moved
along the shore while I tried to figure what to do. It hit a nearby
pine tree which exploded showering me with debris.

In deep woods during a storm, I sat under a picnic shelter on top of a
dry picnic table on top of dry concrete. It jumped out of a nearby
conduit and to the DRY concrete floor in front of me.


I sometimes think God is ****ed at me for some reason but can't figger
out why. This has affected my career (graduate work was "Free
Electron Charging of Fine Aerosol Particles) and made me VERY paranoid
about sailing during thunderstorms. My normal lightning protection
method is to try to get it to ground as quickly as possible. I have a
2'X2' copper sheet with a very large tinned copper braid soldered and
crimped to it that I drop overboard. The otehr end of the braid has
two welding clips that I attach to the upper and lower shrouds near
the deck. I turn off and unplug all electronics and stay away from
all metal fittings. I have even considered a retractable Faraday cage
attached to the mast head consisting of small wires to protect the
boat inside it. Am I too paranoid?

However, I am curious about lightning protection for less afflicted
ppl. I have seen these ground plates consisting of sintered bronze
powder that are fairly small but have high surface area due to the
many sintered particles (Dyna-Plate). I can believe these may work
for low E fields and low current but I do not believe they work for
high fields and high currents (like lightning). I think the small
passages act like tiny Faraday cups allowing no field inside and the
effective surface area is not much larger than the external area.
What do others think?

nospam wrote in message . ..
I have one of those whisker brushes mounted on the top of my mast and
I have an oversized DynaPlate on my hull with heavy wire leading to
it. I've never been struck or had any lightning damage though my boat
has spent a lot of time in Florida and is in Florida as I write..
I've always believed that if my bvoat should be struck k lighting
would travel to the Dyna Plate and blow a hole of about the same size
right through my hull.

I regard those whisker brushes on my mast as snake oil. I just keep
my fingers crossed and hope that God doesn't get ****ed off at me. I
remember researching this subject 10 years ago when I was
commissioning my boat and I sort of remember concluding at the time
that no one (I repeat--no one) has an answer though there is no
shortage of people who pretend to have the answer. They are usually
recognizable because they speak in scientific (pseudo?) jargon and
sound quite impressive.

Hell, maybe the whiskers are working after all. Maybe the DynaPlate
has disappated (sp) several strikes that I'm not even aware of. I
guess in the end I would have to say that one can ever be too
cautious--or can one? Anxiety over an event seems to create a
peculiar magnetism that attracts that event. Ever tried not thinking
about it?

Joe

On 27 Jan 2004 08:02:49 -0800, (Parallax)
wrote:

We often see some discussions about lightning protection but here in
FL, it is really a major problem, especially for myself since I seem
to have a peculiar affinity for it.

I have seen it do the following:

While sitting on the toilet, it jumped from the faucet to drain
melting the fixture (literally scared the crap outa me)

After a thunderstorm while riding my bicycle, it struck the road in
front of me leaving a dry spot 30' in diameter.

Struck my phone lines and melted my telephone.

After a storm, ball lightning appeared about 30' up, slowly moved
along the shore while I tried to figure what to do. It hit a nearby
pine tree which exploded showering me with debris.

In deep woods during a storm, I sat under a picnic shelter on top of a
dry picnic table on top of dry concrete. It jumped out of a nearby
conduit and to the DRY concrete floor in front of me.


I sometimes think God is ****ed at me for some reason but can't figger
out why. This has affected my career (graduate work was "Free
Electron Charging of Fine Aerosol Particles) and made me VERY paranoid
about sailing during thunderstorms. My normal lightning protection
method is to try to get it to ground as quickly as possible. I have a
2'X2' copper sheet with a very large tinned copper braid soldered and
crimped to it that I drop overboard. The otehr end of the braid has
two welding clips that I attach to the upper and lower shrouds near
the deck. I turn off and unplug all electronics and stay away from
all metal fittings. I have even considered a retractable Faraday cage
attached to the mast head consisting of small wires to protect the
boat inside it. Am I too paranoid?

However, I am curious about lightning protection for less afflicted
ppl. I have seen these ground plates consisting of sintered bronze
powder that are fairly small but have high surface area due to the
many sintered particles (Dyna-Plate). I can believe these may work
for low E fields and low current but I do not believe they work for
high fields and high currents (like lightning). I think the small
passages act like tiny Faraday cups allowing no field inside and the
effective surface area is not much larger than the external area.
What do others think?


I've tried drinking but that interferes with my sailing. Thunder
storms are sorta hard to ignore here. I see them as a kind of natural
selection thing for yankee golfers.

nospam wrote in message . ..
I have one of those whisker brushes mounted on the top of my mast and
I have an oversized DynaPlate on my hull with heavy wire leading to
it. I've never been struck or had any lightning damage though my boat
has spent a lot of time in Florida and is in Florida as I write..
I've always believed that if my bvoat should be struck k lighting
would travel to the Dyna Plate and blow a hole of about the same size
right through my hull.

I regard those whisker brushes on my mast as snake oil. I just keep
my fingers crossed and hope that God doesn't get ****ed off at me. I
remember researching this subject 10 years ago when I was
commissioning my boat and I sort of remember concluding at the time
that no one (I repeat--no one) has an answer though there is no
shortage of people who pretend to have the answer. They are usually
recognizable because they speak in scientific (pseudo?) jargon and
sound quite impressive.

Hell, maybe the whiskers are working after all. Maybe the DynaPlate
has disappated (sp) several strikes that I'm not even aware of. I
guess in the end I would have to say that one can ever be too
cautious--or can one? Anxiety over an event seems to create a
peculiar magnetism that attracts that event. Ever tried not thinking
about it?

Joe

On 27 Jan 2004 08:02:49 -0800, (Parallax)
wrote:

We often see some discussions about lightning protection but here in
FL, it is really a major problem, especially for myself since I seem
to have a peculiar affinity for it.

I have seen it do the following:

While sitting on the toilet, it jumped from the faucet to drain
melting the fixture (literally scared the crap outa me)

After a thunderstorm while riding my bicycle, it struck the road in
front of me leaving a dry spot 30' in diameter.

Struck my phone lines and melted my telephone.

After a storm, ball lightning appeared about 30' up, slowly moved
along the shore while I tried to figure what to do. It hit a nearby
pine tree which exploded showering me with debris.

In deep woods during a storm, I sat under a picnic shelter on top of a
dry picnic table on top of dry concrete. It jumped out of a nearby
conduit and to the DRY concrete floor in front of me.


I sometimes think God is ****ed at me for some reason but can't figger
out why. This has affected my career (graduate work was "Free
Electron Charging of Fine Aerosol Particles) and made me VERY paranoid
about sailing during thunderstorms. My normal lightning protection
method is to try to get it to ground as quickly as possible. I have a
2'X2' copper sheet with a very large tinned copper braid soldered and
crimped to it that I drop overboard. The otehr end of the braid has
two welding clips that I attach to the upper and lower shrouds near
the deck. I turn off and unplug all electronics and stay away from
all metal fittings. I have even considered a retractable Faraday cage
attached to the mast head consisting of small wires to protect the
boat inside it. Am I too paranoid?

However, I am curious about lightning protection for less afflicted
ppl. I have seen these ground plates consisting of sintered bronze
powder that are fairly small but have high surface area due to the
many sintered particles (Dyna-Plate). I can believe these may work
for low E fields and low current but I do not believe they work for
high fields and high currents (like lightning). I think the small
passages act like tiny Faraday cups allowing no field inside and the
effective surface area is not much larger than the external area.
What do others think?


I've tried drinking but that interferes with my sailing. Thunder
storms are sorta hard to ignore here. I see them as a kind of natural
selection thing for yankee golfers.