Spent the weekend on the lake, and my boating bud asked a question?

tawcat

tawcat

New Member
Apr 14, 2007
699
Lake Ouachita, Arkansas
Boat Info
320 Sundancer
Engines
6.1 V drives
Okay the weather wasn't perfect, but we managed! Water very high, actually had to wade in about 3" of water for several feet to get to the dock ramp!

Water was high and alot of floating stuff, but it rendered to a nice weekend.

Today as we were cruising in his 320, while the gals were playing a game of scarbble, he asked this question; "if we get caught in a lightening storm, should I lower the VHF antenna?"

And I know this answer? Not!!!!!!

So what do ya'll do?
 
I do. Why throw something a little higher up to tempt the lightning gods? We don't get much around here, but I always lower it and hope for the best.
 
I agree don't lower the ant. on a 320 the radar arch is only a few feet lower really it would't matter. Most important try to run for home or around the storm in open water around has often worked for me. Radar will show the storm and the path to avoid. Also set your radio to an am station(not your vhf) it will pick up a lighting strike long before you see or hear it. As a safty routine every one should put on PFD, the crew should go below and try the best not to be touching anything metal. There are several anti lighting devices on the market that puts the strike to ground. The have a conductive atraction the causes the energy to be directly safely. I been looking into installing one as always safty first.
 
I can't really lower mine... I have a mast on the hardtop right over my head and I'm always worried that thing will attract lightning. Bottom line is that lightning sucks and is unpredictable. I'm not afraid of wind, rain, and waves but lightning scares me a lot.

High items that are grounded are going to be more susceptible to lightning as it is going to look for the easiest path to ground: the lightning rod concept. Things that are not grounded are the things where lightning can strike and jump all over the place (like through a human body) as it looks to get to ground.

I'm not sure a VHF antenna is going to matter much as it does not have a direct ground... A grounded antenna, like for a SSB radio, is going to be magnet for lightning. I've read several stories about people that go to there boat and there SSB antenna is "missing" because of lightning.

So how's that for not saying anything useful?
 
Last year in MKE for our 4th of July fireworks - we had really bad storms roll in - I don't like going out that night - way too many people - and way too many people who don't know what they are doing...so I stay in - I was at a friends condo overlooking it all - and a storm rolled in - I couldn't believe how dumb the people were all staying out there.

While there are lots of questions / theories as to what would happen if lightining strikes. I have heard, blow a hole, blow the boat, short all out, or nothing...

I just don't want to be the one to find out!!

even if there is talk of a storm - don't go out! And get a good weather system to watch for one!
 
I don't think it matters about the antennae. We actually received a near miss in '06, on the previous boat when we were running three miles offshore at 23 knots. I thought the electric storm was several miles away,...guess not. My VHF went crazy so I took the vessel off autopilot reached for the (metal) steering wheel and received a huge ZAP! Every time I went to touch the wheel I got zapped. The instruments went blank but the engines kept running. Eventually I got the boat turned away from shore and everything returned to normal after about ten minutes. It was a bit unnerving and concluded that it was a lightening near miss and the associated static charge that got us. Fortunately no permanent damage but the four of us on board the boat that day won't forget it.
 
Kinda weird but we don't get lightning up here in the Great NW... Probably too much rain... Nice to know what to do now... thanks...
 
I found another interesting site. This one explains on ways how to protect your boat from lightning.

http://www.cdc.gov/nasd/docs/d000001-d000100/d000007/d000007.html

For more results, simply google "lightning and boats" and many other usefull links will come up.

I'm pretty sure that none of our boats have lighting protection, except having most electonic and engine components connecting to a grounding. But, I don't think this is good enough for lightning. I'm still learning and hoping to find more tips and ways (if possible) on having something aboard that could be used only when needed. Something like copper rods or wire that I could quickly install (from very top going in to the water) and take off when storm is passed. If anyone knows how to do it, please share it with us.

Thanks,
Alex.
 
I've been caught off shore a few times and bring the throttles back to idle and go below until the storm passes which is usually only a few minutes. There is not much else you really can do. I've had the hair on my arms and head stand up before and heard the the VHF antenna hum with static electricity. I've also seen lightning strikes hitting the water so close our boat that the color of the lightening is bronze and appears to be more than a foot wide. The sound is deafening. This is not a good experience. Fortunately, the boat has never taken a direct hit.
 
This is probably a dumb question (but that's hardly ever stopped me before) .. does your boaters insurance pay for such electical damage? ( I know I could check my policy but I'm not near the lakehouse this week.
 
Yes. Electronics are covered in typical policies and may or may not be subject to deductibles.
 
thanks for all the input. think i'm gonna tell my bud that the best bet is to ensure to have a kite and a key onboard at all times. that way he won't waste gas running the genny!!!!!
 
This is a slightly different story of lightening hitting a VHF Antenna.

My parents keep their boat (an 18' Stingray Bowrider with a Mercruiser stern drive) on a metal lift, next to their dock, have for years, still do. One summer they had this huge storm go thru the area, and they had a few claps of lightening hit real close. They were hunkered down in their house about 100' or so up on shore from their boat.

After the storm, my Dad went down to the dock to check on his boat. The VHF antenna was missing. The lightening had hit it, and it was fiberglass, and exploded. We found pieces of it in the water around that side of the boat. Then, the best we can figure, the lightening went into the boat on the VHF cable, jumped to the steering/shifting cables, and exploded out the back of his boat, leaving a fairly clean 22 caliber sized hole out the back of the boat.

His insurance covered all his electronics. He took his boat in and had it repaired and checked over. He still uses that boat, but always puts his antenna down when he leaves it on the lift. The boat can still get hit, but hopefully, it'll hit the lift first(preferably without taking out the lift motor).

-Garth
 
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