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Question concerning boating and lightning...
Frogwatch wrote:
On Jun 3, 12:13 pm, wrote: On Wed, 3 Jun 2009 05:07:03 -0700 (PDT), wrote: On Jun 3, 1:50 am, wrote: On Tue, 2 Jun 2009 21:12:38 -0700 (PDT), Tim wrote: OK, hypothetical, but my quesiton is how do you handle being caught in a lightening storm in a boat. I have two fiberglass boats an 18' and a 23'. 18 has an enclosed bow, and the 23 a small cuddie. basicly a bigger enclosed bow. Where I boat is Lake Carlyle, and it's about 10 mi. long and about 3 mi. wide. Now 'pop-up' showers arn't uncommon this time of year, but sometimes that little sprinkle can turn into a lightening storm while the boater is unawares. So while being caught in the rain. the bilge [s] are on, and you're headed in. the baot is wet.. you're wet. what is the concern about lightening? I'm thinking at least sit still and everybody head under the enclosures. until at least the lightning quits. What say ye? We have thunderstorms all the time and most of us in open boats worry about getting hit by lightning but I haven't really heard any stories about it happening. The real trick is to be able to read the clouds and try to see them coming in time to get to a safe place to wait it out. If you do get caught in it get as low in the boat as possible and away from the T top. Sailboat guys probably have tips about grounding since that mast is a pretty attractive target. The real trick is to be able to read the clouds Or buy a hand held Barometer...... If you only went out when there was a rising barometer you wouldn't get away from the dock around here in the summer. One thought about "blue sky" lightning, be sure to look up! There are lots of times here in the sub-tropics where there will be blue sky and sunshine all around and if you looked straight up you would see a big white puffy cloud. It might be a tower 15,000 feet tall. Radar can be deceiving too. Until it starts raining, these clouds don't really look that bad on radar. That can be a pretty sudden occurrence. These are the kind of storms Florida is famous for where one guy can get an inch of rain in 15 minutes and the guy on the block over doesn't get a drop. Having had waaaaay too much experience with lightning, I tend to obsess over it. Living in N. Florida and being both a sailor and powerboater I have developed strategies for both. Your best strategy is avoidance of thunderstorms. If you cannot avoid them, here is what I do: Sailboat. Disconnect VHF and GPS from power AND antennas so they will work after a strike. Get passengers below decks so the wet decks and hull can form a "Faraday Cage" for them and minimize effects on them. Make sure nobody goes near metal stuff including the sink or the mast on a keel stepped mast boat. I drop my sails long before the storm hits and have my engine running and attempt to power into the wind. if it gets too strong I turn and run with the wind. Make sure everything is bonded to the engine shaft and hope the prop will dissipate a strike. I'd rather be at anchor during such a storm and I have a 2' x2' copper sheet soldered and clamped to a 00 guage tinned copper braided cable that clips to the mast as high as I can reach with another lead going to the shroud at the edge of the deck. All of this should give me a "cone of protection". I crouch as low as possible. Powerboat (outboard): I run like hell back toward shore. Beach the boat if necessary because I want trees near shore to offer a better strike path than me, but stay on the boat. IF necessary, I anchor. I also have a length of OO tinned braided cable I attach to my danforth anchor that I drop overboard with anchor line attached so it hangs in the water (Yes, I carry two anchors on my 20' boat) so the anchors area will dissipate the current of a strike. Lower the VHF antenna and disconnect the VHF from power and antenna. Crouch low in boat under RAISED bimini. The bimini is grounded and helps form a Faraday cage. Do not touch the wheel or throttle unless necessary. Stand one one foot or keep feet together, SERIOUSLY. This avoids current using your torso as a conduction path from one place on the hull to another, your body is a better conductor than the wet fiberglass. Nice to hear from you again, Dr. Emmett Brown. |
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