NavList:
A Community Devoted to the Preservation and Practice of Celestial Navigation and Other Methods of Traditional Wayfinding
Re: Lightning at sea
From: Steve Moss
Date: 2004 Oct 15, 09:45 +0100
From: Steve Moss
Date: 2004 Oct 15, 09:45 +0100
The best place for your handheld GPS (and VHF etc.) during an electrical storm is in the oven! It acts as a Faraday Cage, all your boats electrics may be fried but your handheld should still work. Don't forget to remove it before cooking supper.... Steve Moss Food Features / Farnham Forge Studio 5 Upper Church Lane, Farnham, Surrey GU9 7PW, UK On 15 Oct 2004, at 01:32, Gary Harkins wrote: > In a message dated 10/14/2004 7:20:21 PM Eastern Standard Time, > lisa@COPYCAREPACIFIC.COM writes: > I guess what I'm asking is that if we're ever in that situation again, > what should we do: > > > Lisa: > > I'm no "lightning" expert but I do have a degree in electronics and > know some of the principles of ultra high voltage. I would think that > the steel hull would be of great advantage. When lightning hits a > typical fiberglass boat it has a low resistance path almost all the > way to the water. (assume aluminum mast). If the boat is not properly > grounded the lightning will experience a high resistance due to the > nonconductivity of fiberglass. This will sometimes cause the > lightning to "blow" through the hull, leaving a hole. Note, this > doesn't always happen. I was hit last year and the hull experienced > little damage. A steel hull should have nearly infinite low > resistance paths to the water. This is ideal and should result in no > hull damage. Electronics are an entirely different story, with > anything except a very minor hit you will probably loose most if not > all of your electronics. The area of concern would be the crew. > Every attempt should be made to keep the crew from touching metal > objects. In fact, the better they are insulated from any metal > objects the better. > > > Gary Harkins C400 #140 "Cygnus" > Website http://www.hometown.aol.com/htycgary/myhomepage/index.html > Harbour Towne Marina, Muskegon, Michigan Slip C-28 > Harbour Towne Yacht Club, Life Member > C400 National Association > United States Power Squadrons-JN > > NRA Life Member > MCRGO (Michigan Coalition for Responsible Gun Owners) > JPFO (Jews for the Preservation of Firearms Ownership)
