Lightning destroys comp tip

Lightning blew out the comp tip on my H21SC. Incredible thunderstorm, middle of the night, boat on the beach with rig up. About 6ft of the bolt rope track is gone and laminate shredded. Aluminum extrusion section for 1st reef found about 50 ft away with arc marks. A few other pieces of deformed plastic. Amazingly, no apparent damage to halyard, hobie bob or anything else. I'll post some pictures soon.

Anyone know if this comptip is use on any other Hobie model?

Thanks,

George

I found it sad yet thought provoking to read that a giraffe was struck and killed by lightning at Disney’s Animal Kingdom in Florida. She did not have a Hobie comp tip or a Hobie Bob. I bet she didn’t have a grounding wire either. Maybe she was peeing…

Can we, by chance, see the pictures?

GARY
retired composter

I take then, that you are suggesting that a giraffe would be a poor replacement for a Hobie comp tip? I agree, and foresee other problems as well. I would have to beach my boat near some trees where he or she could browse. You mentioned peeing... could precipitate a less than pleasant experience for the crew.

Of the giraffe?

It is sad about the giraffe, but statistics show that fewer giraffes than human beings are killed by lightning. According to NOAA, on the average lightning kills 200 people and injures 700 people per year in the United States. Another interesting factlet is that "it has been estimated that someone who lives to 80 years has a 1 in 3,000 chance of being struck by lightning."

Anyway, about the Hobie 21 that started this thread, I am most interested in the fact that the lightning apparently bypassed the Hobie bob to hit the mast below the bob. This kind of ties into one of my theories about lightning.

Welp, 2 of those 200 happened last weekend where my home sailing base is.

Picture a 90 degree day, the sun is out and the wind is out of the North 10-15. It is a Sunday and there are about 20-25 boats on the beach and 50+ people. All of us are drinking and taling about the wedding from the night before and all of the sudden a black/grey cloud comes over. Not big eough to cover the sun, but dark enough to make us wonder. It started sprinkling and we heard some thunder so we all ran for the shelter. Then we saw a flash of lightning hit a cell tower about 3 miles away. BANG! The two boat still on the water hauled butt back to the beach and jet skiers were doing the same.

So we are all watching this unfold... one cloud in a sunny sky is playing havoc with our lake. Then the next thing we knew BAM! a huge crack of lightning followed by the sound of ambulences. A few of us saw the strike which hit 3 miles down the beach. A pair of brothers 17 & 19 got hit. They had just pulled their jet ski up to the shore and were heading for shelter.

All this and the sun never quit shining. Then the cloud just disappeared. Tragic, odd, and also backs up my theory that lightning strikes are completely random and have very little to do with the height of any object. Not one boat was touched.

According to a program that was on the Orlando PBS station last night, lightning will be attracted to the tallest thing in the vicinity of the strike about to occur but can easily and quite often changes it's path to a lower elevated object in the last 100 feet of it's travel to earth. With that in mind, nothing is safe from a strike if it is within the charged area. Lightning's charge can also travel across wet earth and affect people standing upon it hundreds of yards apart.

My particular boat has a T6 aluminum frame and a 25' mast. I live in central Florida: the lightning capital of the world. Summer storms happen almost every afternoon. The thought of a strike is never far from my mind any time we're out there. Short of trying to get out of the way before conditions are ripe for a strike there is not much a sailor can do. Watching cloud development is the best warning.

OK, got some photos, as promised and requested. I got a quote for replacing the comp tip, but have also been advised to replace entire mast and standing rigging. Small entrance and exit arc marks in aluminum mast and in base.

Any opinions?

George

Another photo.

Florida fishing news report last Saturday: A powerboat was hauling a** back to the beach because of a Florida Gulf storm. All radio antennas & carbon fish rods were down except for a short trolling rod on the open console. Buzzing then Whango! Everything electronic was toasted- radios, radar, GPS, even the engine's ignition. A cell phone was in one guy's pocket in a zip-lok bag. It still worked and they were very happy to get a tow some hours later. No sails or masts were on this boat.

Also a fisherman was killed last week near Tampa in an open powerboat. Maybe having a tall mast isn't such a bad idea!

if they were hauling butt, then there could have been a buildup of static electricity on the trolling rod.... add charge to that, and you have yourself a nice lightning rod.

Funny thing about how lightning affects things.

I have heard of ligtning hitting an aircraft and putting a pinhole at the entry and exit points.

The craziest story I have heard is that an aicraft engine was hit and seemingly suffered no damage, but later the engine siezed up.

Apparantly the theory was put forward that the charge had magnetized the bearings in the engine and this caused the bearings to attract metal (obviously iron of some variety) and the iron on the bearings caused them to fail because they of course became rough.

My theory is that to certain degree if it is your day to meet your maker....

It's not the height of an object but the shape that affects your chances of being hit. Round objects are less likely to arc because of the surface area. Ie...the little balls at the end of your radio antenea on your car and at the top of flag poles. This is also why they tell you to lie down in a ball if your in a lightning storm. Lightning is great....can't wait for summer!

Reid Rechel
Lake Superior
N5.2

I would replace anything that shows any damage whatsoever. That lightning didn't hit your comptip and stop. It went down something and discharged somewhere in the ground. I would pick up your hulls and look for little pin holes in the bottom of the hulls. Shine light through to see. Also take a good look at the crossbeams as I'm sure it travelled through those. Anything that has been hit no longer has the same structural integrity. Your boat very well could be totalled upon closer inspection.

Mike Hill
H20 #907

Mike, sage advice.

The closer I looked, the more damage I found. After going over the boat with a fine toothed comb (figure of speech)the path of the electricity appears to have been as follows. or the reverse. Struck the Hobie bob pivot, a perfect lightning rod if there ever was one. Down to the comp tip, and down the bolt rope track and maybe inside, where it exploded the comp tip, probably from sudden expansion of heated air/steam. down the shrouds and the mast. Arced from mast base extrusion to front crossbar, arced to a carbon fiber pole (righting pole) that was lashed below the tramp to rear crossbar, arced to center fitting of tiller crossbar, arced into stbd tiller, down pintle and arc to screw in drain plug, maybe to ground from there.

Not done yet, remember the shrouds? there was also an arc path, both port and stbd from shroud adjusters to a fore-aft aluminum tube (custom) between the wing struts. Arcing evidence from rear wing strut to rear cross bar both sides. Also 1/8th in. gelcoat holes inside both hulls about 3 ft fromm the stern. Thought would find damage at centerboard pivot but none evident.

Unfortunately, my insurance co (Boat US) didn't see that all the arcing was from the lightning. They called it "corrosion damage" . 2001 fresh water boat. Can't recommend Boat US to insure your cat. They did pay for new mast, which was a help, but I thought, as you did Mike, that crossbars, wing struts, and anything else affected should be replaced.

Boat was on the sand when struck. Could not have been a full strike or there would have been more damage. Lucky or unlucky depending on your perspective.

Had a trip planned for several weeks after the strike. Damned if we weren't going to go. Patched the mast back together w epoxy-glass & aluminum tube for bolt rope. 5 days and 235NM over the top of the Michigan mitten . 4 days upwind with up to 25 kts and steep boat stopping chop. A pretty good stress test, though maybe not the most prudent. Anyway, no leaks or structural failures save a couple of broken strands of 1x19 at the swage.

Guess we'll keep sailing her. I think best protection on this boat would be to provide a better path to ground. Am considering installing a heavy insulated wire from topmast to aluminum section, then from mast base to metal stake in the ground. Should be beneficial under way too. Though I would be interested in other, more informed opinions.

George VS

Guess this wasn't the first time this happend to a 21SC.

Catman wrote in May or June 2003:


Ouch! That "corrosion damage" can get pretty bad down in Florida!

George

I fly for a living and have had a few lightning experiences. When in the Navy, I flew P-3's. Had one struck on the nose radome. Blew a large hole in the dome then the energy skidded along the cabin floor. When it exited the tail, it blew the entire 13 foot long boom off the tail. The electronics were never the same. Had an airliner that took a hit. Only found a tiny pinhole in the main cabin door. A thouough inspection revealed no problems except one of the control cables that had burned through all of the wires except a couple. These would have snapped in flight if they hadn't been discovered.

The boat hit by lightning obviously shows traces of arcing. It's hard to tell if other parts have been damaged but it certainly pays to make a close inspection of any part that is subject to stresses. Cables and hardware would be suspect.