It Ain't The Thunder....

[Avenger]

It's the lightning!

Was at the yard a few days ago and they had a 24 ft Regulator center console that had been hit. Every piece of electronics was fried, including on the engine. That was an 8 ft VHF antenna, now it's about 5 ft.

Part of the charge traveled through the rub rail and actually welded one of the joints together:

I didn't get a picture, but all the transducers had the wires blown off and black rings around them. Here's a pic of the transom (already somewhat cleaned) where the rubrail charge went to ground:

This happened to the boat when it was on a lift, but it made me consider that if you're 100 miles out and get hit it's possible to lose all propulsion, communication and navigation. So what I took away from this was that a portable backup radio and GPS that's stored in a "safe" place would be a really good idea.

 

[bobk]

Make the safe place a Faraday cage.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Faraday_cage

Bobk

 

[MikeP]

One of my most vivid memories as a kid (actually, a teenager) was going to a museum and seeing a demonstration where a guy got into a cage, they lifted it up about 20 feet into the air and then hit it with huge lightning bolts from a Van deGraff generator for probably 30 seconds. Tremendous noise and the entire cage flashed with the electrical charges. They lowered the cage and the guy got out. I never forgot that demo. Wonder if they still do that anywhere?

 

[Jaxfishgyd]

Last summer the boat 75' from ours took a direct hit..... ALL the wiring and all the electronics were fried to a crisp...... Luckily the couple were not onboard at the time... But in a lot of places you could see the black lines on the walls behind which the wires were run...

 

[captainwjm]

A microwave oven serves as a very efficient Faraday cage.

 

[Fanfare]

A surplus army ammunition box would be good too. Also waterproof.

 

[krush]

A microwave oven serves as a very efficient Faraday cage.

Until someone like me does something stupid, like turn it on with whatever radio is trying to be protected inside it! LOL

 

[OBXTucker]

Amen! Heck, I store our bread in ours during cruises and can NEVER remember to take it home when the cruise is over. It's always a rude awakening the next time I open the door. Of most likely, the Admiral opens it and starts hollering!

 

[MikeP]

We stored all sorts of stuff in the regular oven that was part of the oem "Modern Maid" stove/oven.

Turned it on once to pre heat it for making a pizza. A bag of Oreo cookies makes an interesting chemical compound and odor at 450F!

 

[Avenger]

Good ideas on storing the backups in a Faraday Cage. Actually the microwave could work as a quick emergency cage as long as you have a way of tagging it out, like on the circuit breaker. Although one would hope that one would open the microwave to put something in it before turning it on. You can't preheat a microwave.

Or you could just put rubber tires on them. Because everybody knows that in a car you're safe from lightning because the tires insulate it. Right?

 

[Avenger]

We stored all sorts of stuff in the regular oven that was part of the oem "Modern Maid" stove/oven.

Turned it on once to pre heat it for making a pizza. A bag of Oreo cookies makes an interesting chemical compound and odor at 450F!

You posted while I was typing... I learned that lesson the hard way when I melted the plastic handles on some of Mom's cookware. Since then I never @$$ume that an oven is empty.

 

[MikeP]

"Since then I never @$$ume that an oven is empty."

That sort of safety-oriented proper thinking has no place on this site!

 

[bobk]

I think a Faraday cage needs to be grounded. Don't know about the microwave door.

Bobk

 

[Avenger]

"Since then I never @$$ume that an oven is empty."

That sort of safety-oriented proper thinking has no place on this site!

Oops, thought I was logged into the SeaRat forum's raft-up page. Sorry.

 

[Avenger]

I think a Faraday cage needs to be grounded. Don't know about the microwave door.

Bobk

Since you mentioned it I started paying more attention to the doors of microwaves. They all seem to have some kind of screen in them which I assume is part of the cage. Not sure about the grounding part, but I don't think it's necessary. That was the basis of my remark about people thinking cars are safe becuse they're insulated by the tires. You're safe inside a car because the metal body is effectively a Faraday cage. Lightning that just traveled through a mile of thin air isn't going to be put off by a couple of inches of rubber.

Actually, now you've got me wondering if it's necessary to unplug the microwave so a spike in the line doesn't charge the inside of the "safety cage".

 

[krush]

Actually, now you've got me wondering if it's necessary to unplug the microwave so a spike in the line doesn't charge the inside of the "safety cage".

Only one way to know for sure hehehe