Yachting and Boating World forums: lightning conductor

<<The above qualifies the mast as lightning-protective and gives a lightning protective zone around the boat equal to the height of the mast.>>

"Lightning Conductors" per se are intended to be just that - a means of attracting the discharge to give it a direct and non-damaging path to ground thus creating a 'safe zone' in the vicinity. This is acheived by ensuring that the conductor produces a strong ground leader above any other ground point which may also be producing a leader so that the descending cloud leader always makes contact with the conductor first, thus creating a 'safe zone' around the conductor.

But it is highly undesireable for a boat to be fitted to attract lightning in the first place. It is not solidly enough built to absorb and disperse the heat and physical shock of a hefty discharge, and would almost certainly be damaged, destroyed or set on fire. The crew, feet away from the discharge would almost certainly be stunned or killed, electrics would be fried by the emf impulse, and the whole thing is to be avoided.

Lightning deterrents are arranged to to try and prevent ground leaders from forming in the first place. Most commercially available ones appear to have very questionable effectiveness, and many seem not to work at all on test!

Just consider a lightning bolt following a discharge cable through the boat at several million amps: the heat alone would blast a hole round the cable where it passes through the hull, quite apart from any secondary shock effects, sinking it fairly promptly. That at least would put out any fire that was started by the heat!

Not a good idea methinks.

But then how DO you protect yourself from lightning? Wish I knew, 'cos it gives the cold grues every time there is a distant rumble, and I look at 10m of metal mast sticking up above me in an otherwise empty area of sea!

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If you cant fix it, get a bigger hammer...

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