Lightning strike! Now what?

[reed1v]

Originally Posted by Cadence

Reed, who speaks the King's English? I will guess some of the people that have it as a second language probably do better at it. I enjoy reading some of the various terms used by Brits, South Africans and Aussies and alike that it is their first language but not used in the US.

Oh, how far we have fallen.

[Davidhoy]

Update Aug 8th:

Yesterday the boat went into the yard to begin repairs. There had been no immediate signs of hull damage, and no water in the bilge, so we had not hauled the boat until yesterday. The only visible issue was that the shaft anode was missing - it was either blown off, or may have come off by itself. After a pressure wash, there were no signs of lightning "exit wounds", so after replacing the anode she went back in the water and that is where they will complete the repairs while afloat.

Since the boat will be laid up for a bit, taking the opportunity to complete some other maintenance items. Took both the headsails to the Doyle loft near me to get some wear and tear repaired, which also gave me a chance to check the roller furlers - no damage either, they spin nice and freely. Also brought the dinghy home to refurbish it, as it has some slow leaks and needs some general TLC.

Hopefully, I'll get a more comprehensive repair estimate from the yard this week, and then they can begin the work in earnest. Hoping to get her back in shape in time for Labor Day weekend :-)

-David

[Davidhoy]

Update Aug 18th:

Finally got the (almost) complete repair estimate yesterday - $28,600. That includes 2 new chart plotters, new radar, 2 new VHF radios, new autopilot, new charger/inverter, new batteries, plus all the other repairs and odds and ends.

Ran the estimate by the insurance company, and they are applying about 4yrs of depreciation to some of the items, leaving me with around $6k + my deductible to pay. For this, I'll have all-new electronics and navigation systems, new charger/inverter, new batteries, and a thoroughly reviewed and reconditioned electrical system. Could be far worse...

Any opinions regarding the selection of new electronics? I'm inclined to go with Garmin, as I've been impressed with many of their other non-marine products, and their customer support has always been outstanding. However, I am open to suggestions. Any suggestions regarding a new charger/inverter? The old one is Freedom 30, and the boatyard has suggested Outback - any opinions?

-David

[SailFastTri]

Originally Posted by Davidhoy

Update Aug 18th:

Finally got the (almost) complete repair estimate yesterday - $28,600. That includes 2 new chart plotters, new radar, 2 new VHF radios, new autopilot, new charger/inverter, new batteries, plus all the other repairs and odds and ends.

Ran the estimate by the insurance company, and they are applying about 4yrs of depreciation to some of the items, leaving me with around $6k + my deductible to pay. For this, I'll have all-new electronics and navigation systems, new charger/inverter, new batteries, and a thoroughly reviewed and reconditioned electrical system. Could be far worse...

Any opinions regarding the selection of new electronics? I'm inclined to go with Garmin, as I've been impressed with many of their other non-marine products, and their customer support has always been outstanding. However, I am open to suggestions. Any suggestions regarding a new charger/inverter? The old one is Freedom 30, and the boatyard has suggested Outback - any opinions?

-David

You didn't mention the brand, but Raymarine will replace your damaged equipment for about 50% of new price, if you send it in for repair. Perhaps other manufacturers would do similar.

[ErikFinn]

Outback is a quality manufacturer, I believe still made in the USA? I don't think you can go wrong with it.

[Davidhoy]

Originally Posted by SailFastTri

You didn't mention the brand, but Raymarine will replace your damaged equipment for about 50% of new price, if you send it in for repair. Perhaps other manufacturers would do similar.

Interesting, the only two Raymarine instruments I have, depth and wind speed/direction, both work fine after the strike. Of the electronics, it was the Furuno chart plotter and radar, Furuno autopilot, Garmin backup chart plotter, and Icom/Standard Horizon VHFs that died. I'm inclined to standardize on a single manufacturer going forward, to keep things compatible. Perhaps I'll ultimately replace the depth and wind instruments to get better integration with the new gear.

-David

[Cadence]

Originally Posted by Davidhoy

Interesting, the only two Raymarine instruments I have, depth and wind speed/direction, both work fine after the strike. Of the electronics, it was the Furuno chart plotter and radar, Furuno autopilot, Garmin backup chart plotter, and Icom/Standard Horizon VHFs that died. I'm inclined to standardize on a single manufacturer going forward, to keep things compatible. Perhaps I'll ultimately replace the depth and wind instruments to get better integration with the new gear.

-David

I doubt lightning strike failure is brand sensitive. My only suggestions might be to go with one brand for compatibility and possibly one supplier to give you some price leverage.

[Davidhoy]

Originally Posted by Cadence

I doubt lightning strike failure is brand sensitive.

I have discovered that lightning is a very strange beast, and has a mind of its own, it may well be targeting certain brands. Just 'cause I'm paranoid and wear a tinfoil hat does not mean that the men in the black helicopters (and the lightning) aren't out to get me... ;-)

[nhschneider]

A couple of thoughts:

1. If it were me, I wouldn't consider anything other than brand new electronics. The possibility of concealed damage or at least, weakened components, are too high for the cost savings.

2. My wife and I are about 35,000 miles into our circumnavigation and we use all Garmin instruments although our autopilot is Simrad and we have an assortment of radios. We have found our Garmin to be extremely reliable and easy to use - they were installed about 6 years ago and we've had no failures.

3. When we purchased our boat, one of the first things I installed was a Heart Freedom 30 inverter/charger and it worked well for about 18 years. We have since replaced it with a Victron which is only about two years old now but so far has been a great piece of equipment.

4. If you have the time and energy, I would encourage you to do the installations yourself. I did all of mine and the familiarity that I have with our systems is invaluable when it comes time to troubleshooting.

Good luck, fair winds and calm seas.

[DancesWDolphins]

Michael,

Thanks for your post. Our boat took a direct hit the last week of April. We are still working through the repair quotes.

We also have Boat U.S. and they have been helpful - but we have not finalized what they will pay for and how much.

Their insurance adjuster missed a bunch of things so we had to go back and have them check again. Your list looks very familiar to what was destroyed on our boat.

Did you have all the standing rigging inspected? I am concerned about everything at the top of the mast.

[Davidhoy]

Originally Posted by DancesWDolphins

Thanks for your post. Our boat took a direct hit the last week of April. We are still working through the repair quotes.

We also have Boat U.S. and they have been helpful - but we have not finalized what they will pay for and how much.

Did the insurance company depreciate a lot of things? While I'm going to have out-of-pocket expenses to cover the replacement of much of the electronics, my adjuster was actually more than fair and only applied 4 yrs of depreciation when he could have been much more aggressive. And he's left the door open for negotiation. He does sound quite keen to close out things promptly, which concerns me a little as I've heard that it takes a while to find everything. I hope I can get some kind of agreement to keep the case open for at least a few months after the initial round of repairs is complete.

Originally Posted by DancesWDolphins

Their insurance adjuster missed a bunch of things so we had to go back and have them check again. Your list looks very familiar to what was destroyed on our boat.

I'd love to compare notes sometime! And also hear how you decided on what equipment you would install as the replacements, and why. On the electronics front, I'm inclined to go all-in with Garmin, possibly even replacing (at my own cost) some functional gear with Garmin so that I get a fully integrated solution.

Originally Posted by DancesWDolphins

Did you have all the standing rigging inspected? I am concerned about everything at the top of the mast.

Yes, the yard that is managing the project has brought in a rigging specialist to thoroughly check the rig. Interestingly I used the same rigger to do a pre-purchase survey just a month earlier. The good part about that is that they could compare notes. Fortunately, they found nothing to be concerned about, other than the expected damage to the VHF antenna, masthead light and antenna cable inside the mast.

Feel free to PM me if you'd like to chat more off the thread about your experiences, or hear about mine. Since you're a little further along in the process than I am, your input may help me avoid some costly mistakes :-)

Regards,
David.

[DancesWDolphins]

Thanks David. I will.

We are expecting our first round of quotes this week (4 months later) and I am already anticipating significant omissions.

I will be interested in the depreciation of our Raymarine equipment, as it is the original 16 yo ST60 devices. All other major systems (reefer, inverter/charger, AC) I replaced within the past 5 years.


Sent from my iPhone using Cruisers Sailing Forum

[Davidhoy]

Originally Posted by DancesWDolphins

Thanks David. I will.

We are expecting our first round of quotes this week (4 months later) and I am already anticipating significant omissions.

I will be interested in the depreciation of our Raymarine equipment, as it is the original 16 yo ST60 devices. All other major systems (reefer, inverter/charger, AC) I replaced within the past 5 years.

Definitely check the quotes, and double check. When I got my estimate last Monday it was missing the AC, the ElectroScan MSD, and haul/launch costs, just from my first cursory glance. The yard is fixing that, but it drove home the point -check everything! Even then I'll probably miss something...

-David





Sent from my iPad using Cruisers Sailing Forum

[The Garbone]

When we got hit only thing that survived was the Garmin plotter. Even took out the USB adapters for the cell phones.

[captmikem]

Originally Posted by DancesWDolphins

Michael,

Thanks for your post. Our boat took a direct hit the last week of April. We are still working through the repair quotes.

We also have Boat U.S. and they have been helpful - but we have not finalized what they will pay for and how much.

Their insurance adjuster missed a bunch of things so we had to go back and have them check again. Your list looks very familiar to what was destroyed on our boat.

Did you have all the standing rigging inspected? I am concerned about everything at the top of the mast.

Yes, I did, only thing was the backstay insulators were suspect. So they were both replaced. No sign of any damage to the rig at all, other than blackening at masthead.

Good luck!

Michael