I searched on the web for information on lightning and found a great article. It said that grounding the mast using metal plates on the bottom of the boat (more for monohulls) will protect the boat but increase the chances of being struck. When Hobie offered the retrofit of the comptip mast for my '85 H-16, they pointed out that the shortening of the aluminum part of the mast would reduce the size of the cone of protection that the mast provided. The article on lightning ended up saying that there is only one thing more dangerous than being on the water in a storm on a boat with a mast and that is being on the water in a boat without a mast.

Howard