Re: Is my 8' VHF antenna a Lightning Rod
I'm well aware that they are referring to transmissions, not lightning. My question was whether or not there was a way to ground to antenna against lightning in case of a strike. I'm not counting on getting hit but If do get hit...I want to know that I've safeguarded the vessel the best I could to ensure the safety of my passengers and myself.
I'm not sure which storm you speak of but, let's just say vermont lakes don't frequently produce "high seas". We can see maybe a couple of miles...We all live in different areas with different operating requirements (try to think outside the box)
I've had the same questions you had about lightning and small boats. I've already looked into grounding before I mounted mine. You can do a search for that thread or I might have posted it over on theHullTruth.com since that site is mostly salt water and bigger rigs. Do a search over there too.
Bottom line is many big boats can have special grounding systems where there is a plate mounted on the outside of the hull, below the water line to which the strike would be diverted through a wire. These systems protect the elaborate electronics on the bigger boats too.
Do a search on google to learn all about lightning.
But this line of yours . . . Quote: We all live in different areas with different operating requirements (try to think outside the box)[/QUOTE]
My answer to that is if you get hit by lightning try and think "inside the frying pan"
In my opinion that statement is somewhat rediculous. A lightning strike can happen ANYWERE. In a small boat all we can do is try and lower our odds of getting hit by listening to the weather alerts, watch the skies and run like hell when you see certain patterns of clouds forming (I'm not going to tell you which pattern, look it up).
Some people carry a simple portable AM radio where through the static when you move the dial off a station, you can here lightning coming your way from 50 miles off!
Last year on one of our local rivers (Mohawk River) a canal system that goes west the entire length of NY. Kids will swim around the lock systems jumping off the canal walls.
When it started to rain this particular day, these kids didn't know enough to get out of the rain so 1 kid was standing near a grill with it's pole in the ground, lightning struck the grill, traveled into the ground thru the pole and up thru the kids's "bare and wet" feet. He died instantly.
The canal in only a few hundred feet across yet he was only standing on it's banks. So lightning does not care what size body of water you are on.
How many golfers each yaer get toasted when lightning hits the metal club they are holding onto in the rain. Or they run under a tree for cover and the tree being the tallest structure gets whacked.
On Lake George, when I'm on the run from a lightning storm I still see Morons towing a skier heading in the other direction, right into the storm
I say most of these accidents are caused by parents never teaching their kids common sense (like don't swim in the rain or stand barefoot on wet grass in the rain).
At least take a boating CG course and you could ask these same questions about lightning to the instructor.
Just put the antenna down, drive like hell and try and reach a port. This is one reason I always now get the max hp outboard for my boat.
My next boat is (I'm keeping the Lund too) usually is sold with a 150, but can take a 200. First chance I get I'm swapping it out for the 200 just so I can outrun most storms and find a safe haven since this second boat will also be all aluminum.
