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Lightning strike!
SeaShift
Member Posts: 27 ✭✭
I took a direct hit from lightning last week through the VHF antenna. Just got the estimate from my mechanic and it's 15k. I have lost the battery charger, one engine ECM, both engine alarms, VHF antenna obviously, VHF radio, stereo, two Rockford amplifiers, refrigerator, air conditioning, all navigation lights, two bilge pumps, gps/chart plotter.. Trying to still love boating waiting on the word from the insurance company!
I'm wondering am I gonna have electrical gremlins for the rest of the life of the boat... Everything has power to it just won't power up. Has anyone had any experience with lightning?? Any advice would be great!
Comments
PC BYC, Holland, MI
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MTs advice to get a surveyor to have a look is very sound advice indeed. BA is right to question every wire and switch in the boat too.
As MT also said, thank your lucky stars (or whatever moves you) that you weren't on-board. It's NEVER pretty to be front and center when all heII (attn censors, that's a dbl cap "i") breaks loose in a split second.
Hate that random sparky stuff. Mike
PC BYC, Holland, MI
No lightening has struck, but that ain't exactly saying these things work, though, is it... Talk about a darling contract..
It reminds me of reviews for an android ap that warned you if dangerous weather.. it had 4.99 stars.. 499 people praising it and it's function saying things like "fantastic ap! Sent me text message warning of tornado warning!"... This went on and on... And then the one negative said "didn't work. Tornado destroyed my house, and it didn't warn me"..
I too am curious to hear what long range steel hull sailers do when they are caught out... I'm curious if the procedure involves putting your head between your knees, stretching, and kissing your butt goodbye..
If a storm is approaching I'll try to anchor within a few hundred yards of shore so I'm not the tallest thing around, put out plenty of anchor line, lower antennas/rods. Don't wait until the last min or you might get the old Ben Franklin kite experience. That said you have to know that hiding under a tree is counter productive. Just minimize/keep a low profile and stay below.
I've seen many boaters run for their docks only to underestimate the timing and end up in a narrow channel jammed with boats in limited vision conditions in storm force winds/rain/lightning. Make the call early or have a plan to lay out somewhere safe. It'd be safer than trying to tie up in the middle of a sparkin' gale.
When on-board and a strike seems imminent, store your handheld VHF radio in the microwave to protect it as a last resort call for help if the worst happens and stay below away from electronics or (heaven forbid) the base of a mast. People usually get slightly more religious if it's really cracking around you or especially if you see a nearby boat struck. It may help to put away the rum if that's the case.... but not too far away as a celebration of life will be in order after the storm....hopefully
I've been within a stones throw of a number of strikes on nearby sailboats and was actually stunned by one. It's REALLY frikken unnerving and changes your macho John Wayne attitude of immortality and Cptn Dan tough/crazy guy bring-it-on disrespect for a giga-watt infusion. The soles of my feet hurt for days afterward and my head was pounding. I'm a pretty salty guy but these days I get like a cat in a cage during an intense storm.
Be safe this summer and keep a cool head if the weather turns quickly. Everybody looks to the captain for calm assurance and good decisions when it hits the fan....and if you boat long enough it eventually will. As was famously said by the most famous/infamous of captains "If it's going to happen....it'll happen out there".
Cya on the water. Mike
Ouch.
I've heard of fishermen out on the water, and all of a sudden they hear static and their hair starts going up. Those graphite fishing poles are a great attractor to lighting!
Wow, I would crap my pants.
Boat Name: King Kong
"Boat + Water = Fun"