On Wed, 20 Aug 2008 23:09:52 -0400, "Eisboch"
wrote:


wrote in message
...

On Aug 20, 7:57 pm, Vic Smith wrote:


This is the best thing I've seen on lightning, and think it pretty
well hits the mark on what you can do on a boat.
It's geared toward sailboats, but the principles are there.
For electronics gear, I would do the same as I do at home with my
computer and other electronic gear if I anticipate lightning:
unplug it. An insulated non-conducting case might be appropriate
for a radio when at sea.http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/pdffiles/SG/SG07100.pdf

--Vic

That is a good article.

Thanks


It is a good article in terms of what happens when you get hit and how to
design for a hit.

The other school of thought is a design to minimize your chances of getting
hit in the first place.

Both approaches are not fool proof, as the effects of a hit are not 100%
predictable, nor is a system designed to minimize the chances of a hit 100%
effective.

Personally, having many years of experience in designing vacuum processing
equipment that contain controlled plasma discharges, (basically the same as
lightning, except it is a sustained and controlled electrical discharge
through ionized gas), I am more of a believer in the concept of minimizing
the conditions that would lead to a strike in the first place. Ironically,
the approach is almost the opposite of trying to design a system to capture
the energy of a strike and safely transfer it to ground.

Biggest trouble with avoidance is that any boat is the tallest thing
around, and will attract any lightning that would have struck anywhere
near there without it. You get a choice of the mast or the lightning
rod. No strikes on boats just isn't doable. They even put masts on
powerboats to get the radar and VHF antennae higher for more range.
The only counter measure that really works is radar and a very big
engine.
Hiding under a bridge works, if there is room. A powerboat in a marina
next to sailboats won't be hit. Someone checked statistics on one make
and model of powerboat and found that more than ten percent had been
hit in the last five years.

Casady