Would a lightning strike be a deal-breaker?

[Frankly]

"You could run a dozen 0000wires down your mast and a direct hit would laugh at them"


Not so. I used to design, specify, and inspect (before and after) lightning protection systems. Every day thousands of strikes are safely conducted away from their protected structures. I have high confidence that my IP can take a direct hit and still be left floating. Electronics and some wiring might be toast but beats dead sailors and sunk boats.


Frankly

[Jeanneau 45.2]

Mark: I spite of the listing identifying this boat AICW friendly, 64' 3'' (plus antennae) is NOT going to transit without serious problems. In my experience, bridge clearances can frequently be less than 65', given that tide and wind driven water can raise the water level above the clearance measuring datum. 65' clearance at all times at all fixed bridges not likely. If the AICW is not in your plans, then not an issue, but running the inside to avoid weather or Cape Hatteras is an option you need to keep open, IMHO.

BTW, a beautiful vessel. A lightning strike given elapsed time and apparent upkeep would obviate any concerns.

Alan.

[n5ama]

Originally Posted by GreenWave

Ever seen what lightning strike does to a tall tree?

I think those trees are usually blown up from the inside with the large amount of liquid located under the bark of the tree. I think the tree liquid instantly turns to steam with a lightning strike.

I suspect wooden masts are made with dried(cured) wood and the moisture content is much lower.

Just a guess😁

[GreenWave]

Originally Posted by n5ama

I think those trees are usually blown up from the inside with the large amount of liquid located under the bark of the tree. I think the tree liquid instantly turns to steam with a lightning strike.

I suspect wooden masts are made with dried(cured) wood and the moisture content is much lower.

Just a guess😁

Yes, that is the reality of trees vs. wooden masts. I liked the dramatic effect though.

[Captn_Black]

Originally Posted by GreenWave

Yes, that is the reality of trees vs. wooden masts. I liked the dramatic effect though.

Yea, I doubt it would be as explosive, but I don't fancy testing it with my masts Fortunately as a schooner my masts aren't that tall, I just need a neighbour with a taller aluminium mast and I'll be ok. That won't save me at sea though, which is why I am looking for a solution.

[Ericson38]

Originally Posted by Mark0808

Question for the experienced in the group:
After several years of planning and prep... Im getting close to the point where im ready to buy. I'm retiring in just a a couple of months. I'm interested in a particular boat in the 200k neighborhood, but it suffered a Lightning Strike a few years ago. All of the electronics have been replaced and upgraded. It's stated that the only damage was to the electonics. The boat looks to be in very nice condition.
I'm not at the point where I'm ready to make an offer, but wanted to solicit the opinions here on if it's worth pursuing, before paying for a full survey. What other damage, besides electronics should I be concerned with?
Would a lightning strike cause you to walk away and look elsewhere?

The boat is a '95 Tayana 48. It checks a lot of boxes for me. The link is below, and I'd love to hear objective opinions of this particular vessel.

https://www.yachtworld.com/boats/199...na-48-3659296/

Thanks as always... I appreciate and value the wisdom of this forum.

Mark

We seriously considered a 1995 Tayana 48 (1995) ourselves.

Here's a survey for it in 2011.

https://themarinesurveyors.com/pre-p...yana-sailboat/

I learned that the mast is held upright port/starboard by only two chainplates (as you can see in the pictures on Yachtworld). This is for single lowers and the upper stay on each side. They use jumper stays to keep the mast in column at the upper spreader in 1995. The chain plates are not accessible to the surveyor. Only the washer-nut backing plate on the bulkhead is accessible without cabinet work on the inside to see how the chainplate is getting along. I know a T48 owner who had his redone (2000 model) back in 2017. There was corrosion. I got bids on the 1995 model of around 5000 to create inspection hatches and redo the ones on the boat we were looking at, as a rough estimate. There were no 'panels to remove' as per the referenced survey. You had to create them.


The other thing I didn't care for was the lack of mast pulpits each side of the mast to lean into and allow yourself to brace into with your hips and legs as you operate the main halyard winch. Not being a roller furling main means this is a large heavy mainsail, and I doubt there is a electric winch for a halyard ran aft, due to the running friction. But pay close attention to this aspect also.

[Robyd]

Is there any way to protect boat from lighting strike?

[St. Elsewhere]

Originally Posted by Frankly

"You could run a dozen 0000wires down your mast and a direct hit would laugh at them"


Not so. I used to design, specify, and inspect (before and after) lightning protection systems. Every day thousands of strikes are safely conducted away from their protected structures. I have high confidence that my IP can take a direct hit and still be left floating. Electronics and some wiring might be toast but beats dead sailors and sunk boats.


Frankly

I agree with Frankly.



I had a lightning rod above the high point of the boat, and have been in areas with active lightning. The rod is connected to wiring that goes to the water under the boat. I think that it works by dissipating a charge buildup around the boat before it gets to a level that results in a strike on the boat. In 22 years I've had no strikes!

[Haluk Bilgin]

1995 made means built before widespread use of vacuum infusion. You should check for osmosis. $ 253.000 is too much for a 48' '95 made boat, no matter what the fancy wording. You should aim for $ 150 K at most.

[Tingum]

Not to derail the thread but I suggest you sail that particular boat in both heavy and light air before committing.

[rlh1246]

I have personally been struck by lightning and don't like it, it hurts a lot, so when bought my Hans Christian 34 I designed and built a substantial dissipation system for it. A lightning rod is at the top of the mast and is grounded to a wetted copper hull plate with 2/0 copper cable. Each shroud is also grounded to the plate. I built the plate out of a 6" x 9' x 1/4" buss bar and through bolted it with 1/2" copper bolts. My boat was struck by lighting a few years ago and other than a lot of noise and bouncing on the water, there was no damage to anything on the boat.

[EwenT]

Obviously this is not a yes/no question. Here are a few pointers from my experience:

1. Is the rigging carbon fiber? Walk away since I can think of no practical way to protect a vessel with CFC rigging.
2. Is the mast CFC and rigging stainless? If the mast has been replaced after the strike, maybe, after a very thorough survey, especially of the chain plates.
3. Are there any CFC structures on the boat? If so, these need thorough investigation to establish that they were not involved in the lightning discharge.
4. How badly were the electronics damaged? If there was extensive blackening (carbon deposits) inside or near the circuits then the wiring is suspect, and possibly the hull near wiring harnesses.
5. Assuming the mast is aluminum and the rigging stainless then the fiberglass near all chain plate attachments, mast base supports, and large metallic fittings should be investigated closely.
6. Were all large metallic fittings on the boat bonded with a view towards lightning protection? This helps a lot.
7. Was there any attempt at lightning protection such as a ground cable from mast base to keel bolts? The effectiveness of this is still in question: it makes the boat safer for crew but may not be sufficient to save the hull.
8. How thorough was the insurance investigation after the strike? This is key.
9. Does the boat have any inherent lightning vulnerabilities such as metal structures embedded in the hull? If so, these are all suspect.
10. Is there any sign of the keel flexing or damage to the hull/keel seal? If so, walk away.

So, in summary, the short answer is "It depends".

[ELC]

I've worked on numerous boats struck by lightning. They have ranged from losing some electronics to a basketball sized hole below the waterline that sank the boat. Oddest one was one with a grounding system that traveled through the engine mounts fore to aft. It spot welded the bearings in the engine.

Go with a good survey and due to age it needs a good rigging inspection as well. If there were issues they should have shown up by now but it's on the buyer to fully inspect.

Florida has done a lot of research being the lightning capital of the country. The research results have been eye opening.

A strike can be surface to sky or sky to surface. All depends on the charges building up where. The idea of fully protecting the boat works, except when it doesn't and can even attract a strike on the rare occasion. Being shorter or taller than surrounding objects is NOT protection. Again, it's about the charges that are building up and where your boat is in the relationship.

Once talked with one of the researchers there while doing insurance surveys. As he put it, it's a bit of a crap shoot. Lightning protection can help much of the time but not all of the time. Then it can hurt. Me, I still like it.

[Training Wheels]

Originally Posted by Robyd

Is there any way to protect boat from lighting strike?

Yes, I believe there is one sure way to protect your boat from lightning.



Keep your boat in an area that does not have lightning.

[DHHerndon]

In my 70+ years of boating, my boats have been hit twice by lightning. The first time, my Kittywake sloop was hit hard even though I had solid protection to include a base place on the hull and a lighting rod on the top of the mast. A strong lightning bolt blew off the grounding cable on the mast and blew out a transducer in the hull making the boat sink. I had to fix the hole in the hull and replace most of the boat's wiring and all the instruments. The boat then worked great for the next ten or so years. The second time that I was hit (about ten years ago), my Fisher motorsailer received an indirect hit where the lightning struck a tree about 100 feet from my boat. The indirect current from this stroke knocked out a hull depth transducer and a top-of-mast wind transducer. I replace these two instruments and everything has worked fine since that time. The bottom line here is to fix what was damaged and everything else should work fine.