Zapped

Posts regarding the electrical systems and electronics on a Telstar.
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andrewm
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Zapped

Post by andrewm »

It looks like Triphoon was hit by lightning. The boat is kept at a mooring and we have had several storms over the week. No major burn marks that I can see (I've not seen the top of the mast yet), but the main fuse was blown and the VHF, ST60 depth and wind, and battery monitor are all gone, and the masthead antenna has disappeared. The stereo is working, but all the presets got changed to Spanish stations!
While checking the ST60 I noticed there are no ferrites on the cables, which is something you may want to check on your own installations.
I'm wondering what else I may find, and if anyone else has experienced a strike. The electricity must come out somewhere, but where? The outboard was up at the time, so I don't see any direct path into the water. The outboard runs, but I'm wondering if something could have been damaged there.

Andrewm
Bill
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Re: Zapped

Post by Bill »

What have folks done by way of lightning protection? We don't have anything metal (keel) to ground to in the water. I think connecting to the rudder post would be a terrible idea, mostly blocked by fiberglass, and why invite damage there? Thru hulls are all plastic. I'm think Florida folks must have figured something out.
BobS
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Re: Zapped

Post by BobS »

My Dad was an engineer and clamped a battery jumper cable to the backstay of his 40 ft monohull with the other end stripped of the clamp and about 4 ft if insulation and placed in the water as a ground.
Bill
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Re: Zapped

Post by Bill »

I had a cable like that on board my previous boat, which I planned to attach to the mast if I got caught out in a thunderstorm, thinking the aluminum mast would be a bigger, better conductor than the shrouds. But I didn't leave it in the water all the time, of concern for the effect on the cast iron swing keel (electrolysis).

The six bolts at the lower end of the chainplates are quite close to the water, a short piece of wire could do, but I don't think I'd want to encourage lightning to travel through a conductor (the chainplate) in the cabin, right near me in a bunk.

Given the relative lack of underwater metal, hanging a cable from shrouds or stays may work for a Telstar, other opinions?
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