Lightning and Catamaran Sailing

was fun till the lightning started to pop overhead

I've often wondered about that. We don't do much sailing in CB's here. Do Cats ever get hit?
I'm thinking that tall aluminum stick is an easy target, & you are out in the open. I can see a lead sled cockpit protecting you, but Beachcats seem pretty exposed. Have people been hit, what are(were) the consequences?

I've never heard of someone that is sailing a beachcat being hit by lightning. I don't advocate sailing in a thunder storm, though.
On the beach is a different story. One of the guys on our beach witnessed someone get hit by lightning while lowering the mast on the trailer. Evidently, that is not recommended, no second chances.

I've never heard of someone that is sailing a beachcat being hit by lightning

i got hit twice in a row at the finish of the slip to ship regatta...i got it through the arm(tiller arm) and my crew got it through his leg. i guess the two of us split up the charge or something. people watching said it hit us directly but i think it was about 100' away and we got one of the smaller bolts that accompany the big daddy. the main bolt was about as round as a 5 gallon bucket and made a distinctive "SIZZLE" sound right before the big "BOOM!". then the strong smell of ozone was immediately all around us. boy did we have fun telling that story over numerous cocktails at the club that night. i still can't feel my legs...or is it arms?...it happens!

hollllllly shyyyyyte!

Glad your around to tell that tale....

did you gain any super powers?

i got hit twice in a row at the finish of the slip to ship regatta...i got it through the arm(tiller arm) and my crew got it through his leg. i guess the two of us split up the charge or something. people watching said it hit us directly but i think it was about 100' away and we got one of the smaller bolts that accompany the big daddy. the main bolt was about as round as a 5 gallon bucket and made a distinctive "SIZZLE" sound right before the big "BOOM!". then the strong smell of ozone was immediately all around us. boy did we have fun telling that story over numerous cocktails at the club that night. i still can't feel my legs...or is it arms?...it happens!

Have people been hit, what are(were) the consequences?

Living here in the lightning capital of North America ... I asked these question too...

I asked the oldest local sailor i knew (he owned the local sailing shop for dozens of years too).
He had only heard of 1 boat in our area getting struck, she was on a sunfish and it blew 1000's of small perforations into the boat where moisture vaporized ... she was unharmed

Rick White's answer to my question was:
He delivered 100's of boats and was never struck.
very few boats (cats / monos) are struck while moving ... but it can happen

boats on anchor (especially grounded boats he said too), beach, land, etc are much more likely to be hit for some reason

PS Steve's story about the guy who was struck while trying to lower his mast didn't include the consequences - I seem to recall hearing he didn't survive.

did you gain any super powers?

yes...the ability to doublefist cocktails at an amazing rate! some effects still linger...

Many moons ago I sailed out of a ditch on the beach side of the Manteo Causeway on the Outer Banks The guy who owned the place was Jake Spicer. He had some Hobies get hit. They were sitting on the grass. The charge came down
the mast, through the tramp frame, down the pylons, and out through the hulls to ground. The result was an 8x10 patch inboard and outboard, for and aft of disintegrated foam and de laminated fiberglass. They were repairable but it was ugly.

we have a new weather item to watch out for lately (3 in the past 3 days)

MN3 wrote: we have a new weather item to watch out for lately (3 in the past 3 days)

Yikes :help:

MN3 wrote: we have a new weather item to watch out for lately (3 in the past 3 days)

even a beginner would try and sail around that i think

you'd think -
https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=BnpftQHLruE

even a beginner would try and sail around that i think

I was told by a sailor that if i wanted to protect my rig at all times from Lightening he said to get some type of wire cable attached to a shroud and let it hang in the water. Has anyone heard of that? it seems like an idea?

I was told by a sailor that if i wanted to protect my rig at all times from Lightening he said to get some type of wire cable attached to a shroud and let it hang in the water. Has anyone heard of that? it seems like an idea?

From Rick White a few years ago
"I captained charter trips for 10 years and did yacht deliveries during that time and sailed through many, many lightning storms, never been hit. Had strikes nearby that would make things tingle a bit, but never been hit.
However, many cruising boats ground their boats to the water to dissipate any lightning strikes. Those were the only boats I knew of that ever got hit. Some had pretty bad damage -- they are sort of saying, "Come on! Give me your best shot!" And then trying to guide that strike to the water ground. That is when the lightning says, "OK, here is my best shot, and I am going to go anywhere I want once I hit."
As far as cat sailing goes, again no hits. Back in the 70s while sailing in Canada we were in a huge storm with strikes all around us. We had an aluminum tiller extension and could feel the shocks coming through it from strikes around us."

huge storm with strikes all around us. We had an aluminum tiller extension and could feel the shocks coming through it from strikes around us."

WOW that would freak me out!

I have sailed in more lightning that i wish... it sucks

ps one trick i learned ... sail and tie up near boats with bigger masts ..
the boat tied up 2' from my boat got hit last year on the beach. blew a small hole in his hull (below the side stay chain plate)

similarly, i dont swim in the gulf often but when i do ... I prefer to swim with fat(er) and slower people around.... just in-case

soulofasailor wrote:

huge storm with strikes all around us. We had an aluminum tiller extension and could feel the shocks coming through it from strikes around us."

WOW that would freak me out!

soulofasailor wrote: I was told by a sailor that if i wanted to protect my rig at all times from Lightening he said to get some type of wire cable attached to a shroud and let it hang in the water. Has anyone heard of that? it seems like an idea?

Great idea if you want to ATTRACT lightning strikes by being the best path to ground. :mischuge:

people tend to pray more when your surrounded by strikes...or drink more...your results may vary.

So if you're mast up sitting on the ground do you ground the mast? Would this send the charge straight to ground instead of through the hulls? Is this asking for trouble? If you're caught out do you huddle on the tramp and touch no metal? How about flipping it on purpose? Would throwing a line out and trailing behind the boat be a good idea?

So
if you're mast up sitting on the ground do you ground the mast? - if you wish to be part of a lightning rod, sure

Would this send the charge straight to ground instead of through the hulls? - not sure

Is this asking for trouble? - OHHH YEA

If you're caught out do you huddle on the tramp and touch no metal? - yup

How about flipping it on purpose? - why would you want to be in the water?

Would throwing a line out and trailing behind the boat be a good idea?

good for fishing, not so much in lightning storms (can conduct electricity back up to the boat)

I put out the idea of grounding the mast after remembering what hulls looked like after the charge jumped out through the fiberglass. Wouldn't straight to ground from the base of the mast be better. I'm not suggesting being anywhere near a stored, mast up, boat in a lighting storm.

one thing I know for sure is that it's some random stuff...this woman got struck in a supermarket in New Orleans today. sometimes it's your turn. hopefully you get a light dose, really light dose, like we had. being that close to huge bolts of lightning is friggin scarey...you can see why the greeks thought zeus controlled it...reach out and touch someone, with a tickle or blow them up! we prayed and drank...

Wouldn't straight to ground from the base of the mast be better. I'm not suggesting being anywhere near a stored, mast up, boat in a lighting storm.

i am not sure. it just seem when things are grounded ... some freaky thing happens and they are more prone to being hit...

my friends cat was struck right next to mine (we were both tied down with tree augers) and it left 1 small hole in the hull ... very easy repair (he got lucky, i have head of much worse results from lightning).

My personal belief is that it is better NOT to ground an unpowered fibreglass boat . Electricity is a lazy being, it always takes the path of least resistance. Even with a mast sticking up, the hulls are very good insulators, & since there is no path to the ground, it will look for an easier way. I think that the fibreglass tillers would also be safe to hold, as they are a very good insulator.
My understanding of the physics is that it is not simply a bolt that comes from the sky, looks for your mast & travels down it.
There must be a differential, of thousands of volts, between the ground & the charge building in the clouds. When it gets big enough it jumps the gap, much like petting a cat & reaching for a doorknob. The doorknob must have an opposite charge.
If you have an engine, they are generally connected right to the underwater portions, in order to prevent galvanic corrosion. This provides an easy path for a strike, & would do damage if not protected with a heavy ground.
Houses are a different entity, there is a path via the electrical service & copper piping. To prevent a strike from following that route,& possibly frying a person who happened to be turning on a water tap, most modern houses have a thick copper cable attached that ends in a metal rod in the ground. That doesn't stop all transient voltages, unless you have surge protector built into your fuse panel, you can fry alot of TVs & other electrical items.
I have been hit 3 times in airplanes, twice with no discernible damage. The other was into the nose of a Twin Otter,(they have a 4" probe sticking out of the nose cone) with the charge exiting the tail of the aircraft. It blew a couple of rivets out, & the white tail navigation light departed the plane. We only discovered that back on the water,(we were on floats).