Lighting strike on an all electric boat????

[Paul L]

Originally Posted by Dirk01

What about Aluminum boats? Are they better protected? Are they more or less closer to a Farraday's cage? As far as I know current at high voltage flows over the surface (most of it). And hopefully discharge directly into the water...

In general metal boats probably fair a little better. A friends steel hull monohull was struck offshore with considerable damage. A fire in an engine room wiring harness and loss of nav electronics.

[wgoodbye]

There is some new technology out that can help prevent the chances of a lightning strike to your vessel. The technology was originally invented and patented by Nicholai Tesla circa 1900. I've personally done a ton of due diligence on the technology and believe 100% that it delivers.

Here is a link to EMP Solutions, that has copies of articles on Tesla's original patents on the device after which the EMP Solutions devices are fashioned after.

https://www.preventlightning.com/tesla-patent

For those of you with prejudices for Franklin lighting rod technology, please read the Tesla articles before commenting.

[Mike Banks]

I am not going to comment on the efficacy of one type of protection over another--that was not what the original post was about as I understand it--it was about the effects of a strike on an all-electric vessel.

The answer to that is a total disaster--limiting the crew to the use of whatever of the mast remains to try to hoist a jury rig to get safely to the nearest land where rescue can be awaited--since the radios will also be toast unless stored in a magnetically soft container. I always kept a small limited range radio transceiver and battery in a Mu-metal case for just such a purpose, although my vessel was powered by a diesel engine as well as sails--and yes--I did have lightning protection. I used to work in communications--and for all of the experts who never sailed or never had anything to do with lightning--to deliberately and knowingly set sail without some form of efficacious lightning protection is just asking for trouble.

let me tell you what will possibly happen if your vessel is not protected and takes a light lightning strike. The mast will probably be metal or have metal stays--in which case there will be a hole below the mast step or where it sits on the keel. If the keel is solid metal--count yourself lucky because you may only have a relatively small hole to pack and fother. Unless packed away in a magnetically soft container--the magnetic pulse from the strike will have destroyed all of your electronics as well as the windings in your electric motors, possibly your emergency genset and any electronic bits if it is a brushless motor. Either way--you are completely powerless, reliant only on your emergency Yuloh and whatever sails you can still manage to set.

Lets hope you bought that cheap two-way VHF radio and put it safely in a soft iron or Mu-metal box where it will not be affected by either a magnetic or an electrostatic pulse, so you may still be able to hail a passing vessel for rescue or a tow.

If the strike is a medium strength or full strength multiple discharge pulsing strike--you will not be alive to know what happened--and your vessel will be on fire if not already sunk.

[botanybay]

Originally Posted by Paul Howard

I know from personal experience that lightning strikes when far at sea kills everything. Batteries burst, inverter and circuit breaker panel nothing but melted wiring. LED lighting burns out, even bilge pumps had to be replaced. The engine the system was grounded through (on a catamaran with twin engines) was toast, thought the second engine with its own isolated system did work after the strike. The only thing that still worked was a handheld VHF.
Autopilot, compass light, refrigeration, even the solenoid for the propane cooking stove was all gone. Took three days to get to nearest port plotting a DR on a paper chart and using small LED flashlight while hand steering to light the compass. Not fun at all.

Exactly! I helped rebuild a boat after an offshore strike. Basically you are back in the dark ages independent of electric boat or diesel boat.

What type of propulsion is not a significant driver

[KTP]

Originally Posted by botanybay

Exactly! I helped rebuild a boat after an offshore strike. Basically you are back in the dark ages independent of electric boat or diesel boat.

What type of propulsion is not a significant driver

Except if you have electric propulsion you have probably learned how to sail most situations where if you have a diesel you likely are more likely to just motor when conditions are not ideal.

The guy with the sculling oar, sextant and paper chart is actually in the best spot after a major lightning strike but few of those around I bet.

[nwdiver]

I'm more worried blowing a 15k battery bank along with all the other components.......the EV types won't talk about thier lightening protection system, if I'm putting more money into being all electric than running a diesel I will work out all the components before doing it........

[ramblinrod]

Originally Posted by coopec43

A friend of a friend was in a 40ft fishing boat 30 mile off the West Coast of Australia. They were hit by lightning. The plastic instrument blew up and sprayed molten plastic over one of the guy's face, all the wiring had melted so they couldn't start the motor or use the radio.

Luckily the only boat in the area (on the horizon) saw them get hit and came to their aid. I suppose they could have used the flares if another boat came into sight otherwise the boat would have washed up in Africa about three months later with two skeletons on board.

Clive

PS Why is it that multi-hulls get hit more often than mono hulls? Do they know?

Could be the greater proportion of hull outside the cone of protection. Just a guess. Or maybe God just doesn't like multihulls? Or maybe their owners?

[GordMay]

According to Boat US insurance claims, multi-hulls are struck twice as frequently as monohulls of similar length.
- They do not come with an in-built lead ballast that can be used as part of the grounding system.
- Their two hulls mean that there is twice as much waterline to contend with.
- The bridge deck being suspended above the water introduces yet another vulnerability for sideflashes.
- They tend to be larger, and taller, than many monohulls.*

The probability of a lightning strike by type of boat, 2003–2013
Type of Boat Chances per 1,000
Multihull Sailboat 6.9
Monohull Sailboat 3.8
Trawler/Motoryacht 1.5
All – Overall Average 0.9
Bass Boat, Runabout, Pontoon Boat 0.1

*Larger boats have more lightning claims than smaller ones, and overall size is closely correlated to mast height, which is probably what really matters here.
Multihull sailboats are almost twice as likely to have a lightning claim as monohulls, but that's only true if that big, pointy thing is in the middle of the boat. The frequency of pontoon boat lightning claims is well below the average.

[Hardhead]

I've heard a pair of auto jumper cables, connected to the backstay and trailed overboard, might offer some degree of protection. (small I'm sure)

Anyone think this might have some merit?

[mako]

nwdiver, depending on how serious and concerned you are, you may consider selling your boat for a steel boat, and then installing a hand-started diesel. Smaller lifeboat engines have decompression releases with hand cranks (and an electric starter as well). It sounds like you're considering major alterations to your boat, so perhaps picking up a good project boat and doing a complete overhaul may be a good way to go.

[billknny]

If you have ever been involved in repairing a boat that has taken a direct hit by lightening you would know that all those "backups" you carefully put in your magic Faraday cage will be worthless, because you will have nothing to plug them into! Other than self contained handheld devices, everything else you put in there is a fantasy designed to give you a warm fuzzy feeling BEFORE you get struck.

In most cases some of the instrument and power wiring has shorted or melted. In severe cases ALL of the wiring is scrap. You literally remove every thing that was part of the electrical or electronic system and toss it in the dumpster. One 50 foot sailboat I knew got a $50,000 insurance check for one lightening bolt.

A direct lightening strike is a time machine. It takes ANY boat right back to the 19th century.


All you who think that you don't need traditional navigation skills, pay attention.

[mikedefieslife]

Originally Posted by ramblinrod

Could be the greater proportion of hull outside the cone of protection. Just a guess. Or maybe God just doesn't like multihulls? Or maybe their owners?

It interesting that practically none of the linked to articles or papers, or matter generally on the internet covers multihulls. Everything takes about attaching something to the 'keel'

[alctel]

Good info here.

I just checked and my mast does not appear to be grounded, and I can't see any easy way to do it (deck stepped). Does it make that much of a difference?

[SDChristian]

I recall reading in the OceanVolt manual that a lightning strike will simply result in a fully recharged battery bank. I may be mistaken on the details...

[GordMay]

Originally Posted by SDChristian

I recall reading in the OceanVolt manual that a lightning strike will simply result in a fully recharged battery bank. I may be mistaken on the details...

I'm fairly certain that you are mistaken about OceanVolt.
I'm absolutely certain that you are mistaken about lightning.