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Interesting posts, and some very good info. I experienced a lightning strike on a boat I used to have. Sea Runner was a 38', plywood with glass over powerboat. She had a short wood mast topped with a 3' long, 1/4" diameter brass lightning rod. The rod tip was pointed. The rod was connected to a 10 or 12 ga multistrand wire (don't remember which) which ran straight down from the mast to a 1' square copper plate mounted on the bottom of the hull. When I built her in the 70's this was a standard spec set up.
One day, doing inspections, I found that the multistrand wire, immediately above the copper post that ran thru the hull to the grounding plate, was totally burned away for a short distance above the post. It had obviously taken a strike and done its job, as there was no damage on the boat.
Note - current literature will tell you to use a wire of much heavier gauge. My experience certainly supports this.
Regards, Paul
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