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Lightning Damage.. HELP

Discussion in 'Technical Discussion' started by seatheworld, Aug 4, 2011.

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  1. seatheworld, Aug 4, 2011
    #1
    seatheworld

    seatheworld New Member

    Joined:
    Aug 4, 2011
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    Location:
    st pete
    My 65 footer was struck by lightning, has anyone heard or seen fiberglass that has softened from a lightning strike. The resin is not burnt thru, but it is discolored. a 3 foot area near the keel is oilcaned. and the shaft is bound, keel is pushing up into the hull.

    Thanks
  2. NYCAP123, Aug 4, 2011
    #2
    NYCAP123

    NYCAP123 Senior Member

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    Long Island, NY
    Welcome to YF SEATHEWORLD. Not sure what your question is, but it sounds like you've been melted. You may be seeing less of the world in that boat:
    "According to lightning expert Martin Uman of the University of Florida's Lightning Resarch Group, the average lightning bolt is about an inch wide and five miles long. However, there have been much longer bolts. The longest bolt ever recorded crossed an electrifying 118 miles in the Dallas-Ft. Worth area. Lightning can soar to temperatures of approximately 50,000°, five times hotter than the surface of the sun, and can contain as much as 200 million volts of electricity."
  3. Bill106, Aug 4, 2011
    #3
    Bill106

    Bill106 Senior Member

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    Location:
    Beaufort NC
    Welcome! Hopefully you have already hauled her out and now is the time to hire an accredited marine surveyor to evaluate the extent of the damage. Your insurance company will most likely have a list of them that they regularly use. If there is glass damage and a shaft is locked you probably had multiple exit points and there may be transmission damage or the bearing/strut and shaft may have been spot welded. A thorough inspection of all through hulls is also in order.
    There will more than likely be a lot of damage to electronic devices (engines?, nav equipment, HVAC units, anything with an electrical connection) and even though many may be working fine right now, they may fail in the near future for no apparent reason. Lightning can cause minute arcing across semiconductor circuits that may not fail immediately. The better insurance companies will allow for this "latent damage" and I've even had some adjusters keep the claim open for six months and replace equipment no questions asked during that period.

    Sorry for your loss but it isn't that uncommon for boats to be struck by lightning. You didn't say but maybe it was sitting in the marina and no one was aboard or injured, hopefully! I can tell you from personal experiance, being struck out on the water isn't any fun at all.