Lightning damage

[steve brown]

Last week we had a severe storm on Saratoga Lake, NY. My boat apparently rode out the storm OK except for the anchor and masthead lights. The fuses were blown and upon replacement the panel board switches did not light. Could it be that the bulbs are shot or something is wrong with the ground wire? Thanks for anyones opinion. Steve

[skip1930]

Your lucky she did not take on water from millions of fissures in the glass from a direct hit.
This close call was bad enough.

skip.

[Eagleye]

Steve,
Sorry to hear about your incident.  Just curious...were you at a mooring or were you docked at the time the boat was hit?

Unrelated.... We took our Eclipse out for her shakedown cruise on Saratoga Lake last Sunday.  We will be looking for your Sun Cat next time we are up there. (Maybe tomorrow morning.)

Allen

[steve brown]

Hi Allen, My boat was moored in a slip at Point Breeze Marina near the 9P bridge. They had a wicked storm when I apparently lost my mast lights. I think I will have to lower the mast and check the bulbs, continuity, etc. Nice to hear about your new Eclipse. Where did you buy it? Where on the lake are you keeping it? There is a Compac 23 in our marina; belongs to a Vet at the Track. Hope to see you on the lake. Kind regards, Steve

[Eagleye]

Hi Steve,
Yes, checks to see if you have power from the fuse panel and then go from there.   It might just be a blown fuse in the panel. 
Suzie and I keep our Eclipse on the trailer and we have been launching form South Shore Marina the last 2 weekends.  We live 8 miles from the Hudson near Catskill so that is an option for us once our sailing skills are a bit better.  There is not a lot of room for maneuvering on the river.  We also have plans to sail in Sacandaga Lake in the near future and we have made plans to spend a week on Seneca Lake in July. 
   We found our Eclipse near Syracuse and John from the Sailboat Shop in Skaneateles brokered it. She had been neglected for 2 years but there was only minor damage and a LOT of cleaning needed.   We hope to come up to Saratoga Lake this weekend but we're not sure what day. 
   The website for Point Breeze does not indicate anything about launch fees.  Do you know if they allow non renters to launch and how much?   Hopefully we will meet up someday.   Hmmm... a Sun Cat, a 23 and an Eclipse.   Is that enough for a Saratoga Lake Rendezvous? J

Regards,
Allen

[skip1930]

If a strike hit the mast it may have 'javelin'ed clean through the cabin to the keel's sole.

skip

[MacGyver]

Skip

We have a cnc 30 took a direct strike on the mast. We saw it nail the boat. It blew a thru hull out and ruined the electric.
we pulled the boat imediatly as she started to sink from the thru hull.
the only other damage was cracks around the rudder skins from it exiting the rudder post into the lake.
No fissures.....etc....lol. Have you seen that happen? Im just curious because that would be awesome since this big strike really was uneventful.
A Catalina 36 got nailed while being moored out from CSA and it took out all the electronics.....nothing else......direct strike also.
i got splash damage from a secondary strike myself and can attest that people dont die from strikes....but we get screwed up royally. I did wish i had died a few times....but God has his reasons.....

At any rate. Seems in most situations lightning isnt as catastrophic as one would think...

Check your wiring for continuity and for structural solidity. Make sure no fusion of the wires has happened. Etc. I can tell you what to do if you need. Simple job. Keeps from possibly having a unintended fire.

I also worked on that CNC and it has been in the water for 5 years now. The 36 has all new electronics and in good shape.

Happy sailing. And always remember if you hear it, fear it. If you see it, flee it.   
Let me know if i can help more.

Mac

[skip1930]

Dave Biddick's boat at Kewanee, Wisconsin. They were in our United States Power and Sail boat club. Link at bottom of this post to our club...see picture of boat prior to strike under 'Other links'.

On dry land sitting on 6 x 6 blocks and balanced with those hull jacks...a strike fisher ed the hull with 'millions' of daylight showing hull cracks and a maybe 4 inch hole near the keel where the bolt went to ground.

The boat was a Morgan 30/2 at 30 foot and it was the racing version offered by the manufacture.

Since he could not fix the boat, and could not take the liability if he sold the boat, he gave it away...just to get out from under the storage costs at the boat yard.

skip.

[MacGyver]

Skip

My guess would be that since it was out of the water it didnt have the easy path to ground on the dry. That probably compounded the damages to the boat.
I know im my lightning group it seems the dry struck people have more issues than the wet struck.
I was soaking wet when i got shocked and many people credit that for my survival. If dry i probably would have been burned worse or knocked out......or even worse yet.

We havent had a boat struck on dry dock yet. But i am sure one day it will happen since there are tons of lightning rods all around.

Mac

[kickingbug1]

   another member and friend from springfield illinois told me of a direct strike on a catalina 22. it suffered the million holes syndrome. it was sent back to the manufacturer for repair but when it began to leak again in a big way it was scrapped. i have to agree with mac----watch the sky and know the signs.

[MacGyver]

Kickin
Was it in water for strike or dry docked?

Mac

[steve brown]

Hi Allen, Nice to hear from you again. I plan on checking the boat again. Sat. or Mon. I did not see any damage inside the boat other than blown fuses and the switch LED lights. I am going to drop the mast and check the bulbs and wiring. Point Breeze has a launch and they charge you. It is very crowed the also due to docks not in yet, boats trailers, etc. I do not like their launch. I launch across the road (9P) at the State launch. They have a day use meter in place. You launch and raise the mast after you cross under the 9P bridge. I bought my boat from John at the
Sailboat shop. Quite a character but still a nice guy. they are the Syracuse boat show every winter.
Regards,
Steve

[kickingbug1]

    in the water in a slip

[Eagleye]

 Steve,
I also met John at the Boat show in Syracuse this winter.  He sent us tickets so that was a good enough reason to go and we did get to meet Tyler Hutchins and see the Pilothouse.   I had contacted, what I believe was every Com-Pac dealer on the east coast when I was searching for my Eclipse so I guess I was on his mailing list and I agree...he is a character.

Suzie and I will be launching from South Shore on Sunday and as it was we had planned on stepping the mast on the water this time just for practice.  I had anticipated on using the state launch in the future so that would be necessary.  We drove by early this spring and it looked like a nice ramp site except it is on the wrong side of the bridge!   Do you know what the day use rate is?

Good luck with you lighting,
Allen

[steve brown]

I finished checking my boat today and it turns out that lightning did not strike her. It was my fault. When raising the mast with help from two others, we managed to pinch some of the mast wires. A case of too many cooks stirring the soup, so to speak. When I threw the switches the fuses blew. The bulbs were fine. Is there any way to render these wires less vulnerable to damage? I tuck them up into the mast and that seems to help. This is not the first time this has happend. When single handling the mast it is almost impossible to final check the wires. Thanks for your input. Steve