Got hit by lightning - suggestions for repair path

[Piscis]

Good evening,

two days ago, in the middle of the night, we got hit by a lightnight strike, straight into our mast. Location: Koh Rok, Andaman Sea, Thailand. Very beautifull place... Great diving and very nice beaches.

Boat: 2017 Leopard 40.

Damage assessed so far:

- Battery charger (Quick SBC 700 NRG) Error 2 - open fuse - not working
- OEM Electric panel in salon shows damage of 12V circuit brakers and some blown out frames and bezels. open PCB´s looks burned
- Blue System DC Multimeter in panel not working (type: 8248)
- VHF (Ray 60) not working
- AIS (EMTrak B924) not working
- Raymarine Axiom 9 plotter not working
- Raymarine I70p not working
- Raymarine Autopilot not working
- Raymarine Radar not working
- The complete Yanmar instrumentation (B20 panels, Ampmeters, Fuelgauges...) at helm station are dead - however: i am able to start and stop the Yanmar engines with the start and stop buttons of the B20 pannels... so we were able to motor back to Krabi Marina, were the vessel is berthed.
- Anchor light not working
- Nav lights not working
- VHF Antenna seems to be "gone"
- Some of the LED interior lights are not working, most are still OK
- All USB connections in the vessel are dead

Strange behavior of the battery charging system: As the battery charger is not working, i expected no charging of the hose bank at all. However, when running the engines or the generator, there is a small charge to 12,4 Volts (not more as the usual 13 something Volts). Exactly the same voltage the engine batteries are showing.
Could there be some kind of "contingency" charging from the engine alternators or the generator, in case of the Battery charger failure?

How would you address the issues?

We just arrived back today in the Marina. First step was to open up the Battery charger and found a couple of blown internal fuses. Will replace them asap and check again the system.

Any help or ideas are very much appreciated!

John

[smj]

We got hit by lightning and had almost no damage to electronics but had below the waterline hull damage. My friend got hit by lightning and is still having electronics giving up the ghost month’s later.
I would get a full out of the water survey done.
On further reflection I believe Leopards are balsa cored below the waterline so a haul would be a top priority if she were my catamaran.

[MicHughV]

I got hit by lightning once. It fried a lot of things on the boat, a lot, but not all. Could not say why some escaped damage and others did not.

A strike can jump across a fuse and damage other electronical parts. I also had a problem with static electricity and was unable to touch any electronic devices for a good hour after.

You'll have to check everything one thing at a time. Problems may also exist in 12v power lines to a device, ie, the line could be fried and not the device.

Also, open the back of the battery selector switch or switches, see if there is a problem there, as a lightning strike can jump across a terminal, etc.

Many diesel engines have a built in fuse protector, find this and check it. Some have a spare fuse right under the blown fuse.

It's a time consuming process....no two ways around it...

[donradcliffe]

I see a trip to duty free Langkawi in your near future.

[argonauta1]

Originally Posted by donradcliffe

I see a trip to duty free Langkawi in your near future.

Yes, a lightening strike can be a real show stopper. While you can make do with a lash up to get somewhere with a full spectrum repair capability, I do no see Thailand as the best option. I would head for Langkawi. Given the normal routing you are likely to have taken if you are going westabout you probably have been to Rebak Marina. we found it good and close to Kuah which is a good sourcing location. The Royal Lankawi Yacht Club marina seemed less capable at the time we were there. Good Luck.

[SV Confianza]

Do you have insurance of any kind?

We got struck and we had to replace almost everything…

Part of that was because Privilege had custom relay boards for everything, and they’re not made anymore.

Lots of rewiring and replaced all Nav electronics and many other components. Took months. So sorry this happened to you.

[JPA Cate]

If you have insurance, do not settle on the claim till you've had a thorough survey. Some friends of ours were struck by lightning at the dock in Oz, totaled their electronics, and some things didn't show up for months. Be warned. I hope your damages are less than theirs.

Ann

[Bruce K]

I worked on a boat years ago after a strike, all electronics and electrics were dead. Riggers had to cut the pins out of the rigging toggles, because they were welded in. Many strands of 1x19 rig wire were fused together. I was told the owners watch also stopped working, but could not confirm this.

[nwh10]

The VHF antenna on our previous boat, an Albin 28TE, was hit by lightning at the dock in 2019. Most of the electrical components and electronics were damaged or destroyed including:

All electronics (MFD, radar, VHF)
VHF antenna burned (obviously)
Alternator
Battery charger
110V electrical panel singed; all breakers replaced
All DC breakers replaced
2 engine wiring harnesses (Cummins 6BTA)
110 wiring from shore power inlet to 110 panel exploded
Shore power cord insulation blown off in an 18" length
1 bilge pump
Stereo
Some 12V lights - random
Cummins instrument panel
Shower sump

There were no holes in the hull, but there were some strange star-like patterns. All were ground down and found to be very localized with only superficial damage.

Our insurance company - Travelers - was amazing.

I think you'll find that very little can be repaired and that replacement is the safest route.

We were able to run the engine, and initially thought that everything was fine, but soon discovered that the batteries weren't being charged and the hour meter didn't work. That's when we decided that the wiring harnesses had to be replaced along with the alternator. We weren't about to trust possibly compromised components. I suppose we might set the priorities differently if it had been a sailboat where we didn't necessarily have to rely on the engine.

I wish you lots of luck.

[Piscis]

Thank you very much for all your suggestions, advice and help. Very much appreciated!

Today i was able to replace the blown out internal 35A fuses in the Quick battery charger. After that, the unit did its job like before, charging from shore, engines or generator. So maybe i got lucky on this one... lets see.

I will keep you guys posted on the developement.

We do have insurance, but i have to check the fine print in the contract. Especially for deductables in case of lightning, how much they will pay for 5-6 year old equipment and for further requirements they are asking now.

John

[boatpoker]

Originally Posted by Piscis

Thank you very much for all your suggestions, advice and help. Very much appreciated!

Today i was able to replace the blown out internal 35A fuses in the Quick battery charger. After that, the unit did its job like before, charging from shore, engines or generator. So maybe i got lucky on this one... lets see.

I will keep you guys posted on the developement.

We do have insurance, but i have to check the fine print in the contract. Especially for deductables in case of lightning, how much they will pay for 5-6 year old equipment and for further requirements they are asking now.

John

You are heading into a long involved process. Some advice from someone who used to do marine insurance investigations (me)...

Do not talk to your insurance company, communicate in writing or e-mails and keep them all. Take photos of every fault you find and digitally date them.

Find your own surveyor with Marine Electrical Certification. Do not rely on the underwriters surveyor.

[Audeamus]

Having just spent 3 yrs in Phuket refitting during covid, then as mentioned anything not covered by insurance will be much cheaper shipping to Langkawi. If required PM me for my thoughts on contacts in Phuket who can help. Sorry don't know the ropes in Krabi.

[CaptainMarkS]

Gosh, that sucks! Fear of lightning strikes is what made us wait out going from Mexico to Panama until dry season. We also installed a static dissipator, though that might be snake oil. As several mentioned, the worst thing is damage can appear several months later, making proper insurance claims challenging. If it were we, we'd replace as much of the electrics as possible. Please keep us informed of your progress and approach.

[cottonsail]

I got hit with lighting. The boat was a Pearson 28 (Shaw design). This is a keel stepped mast with an encapsulated lead keel. It absolutely destroyed the wind instrumentation but that was pretty much it. Then we hauled the boat. There must have been thousands of pin holes through the keel. Many heat lamp hours later to get to zero readings on a moisture meter we epoxied the keel. No issues even years later. I still consider myself luck.

[AndyinAbudhabi]

Got hit twice in Hong Kong. Fried almost everything. As others have mentioned you really need to test everything before you settle the insurance claim. We missed a few things and the insurance company said no to any claims after settlement.