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Catalina/Capri 25/250 Sailor's Forums

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Lightning Strike

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bren737
Captain

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291 Posts

Initially Posted - 06/11/2004 : 23:22:53

LOTS of storms here in Central Texas once again. As two years ago, Canyon Lake is swelling and the marina road is about to go under water for an unkown period. Thought I'd run out to make sure 'Ruah' was snug on her trailer and ready to play the waiting game.

As I pulled up in front of the trailer I noticed may bow light sitting on the ground in pieces and the bulbs missing. My first thought was "some cheap SOB" didn't want to go by some 50 cent bulbs! I walked a little further and found pieces of my Windex lying in front of the boat parked next to mine, also in pieces and melted, both the aluminum rod and the vane itself. Hmmmm. . . this was not the work of some "cheap SOB" it was Mother Nature!

Further investigation found: a burn mark on the trailer tongue in front of the bow light; the thru-hull for the sink drain was melted; there was a 1"x 2" charred, splintered gel coat and fiberglass area adjacent to the thru-hull; a burn mark from the thru-hull leading down the hull to the starboard bunk-board, which was also burned and slintered in a small area.

Once inside the boat, I found: all of my cabin light covers had been blown off, some bulbs blown; the two "eye-ball" lights at the v-berth were bent out of shape, away from the cabin ceiling and were burned and blown; faint, black "flash" marks run from amidships down both sides of the deck/hull joint all the way to the bow; my radio/CD player which was mounted in wooden box I had built and mounted just below the electrical switch panel was blown apart and was hanging by a mass of wires; and the actual rocker switch for the running lights had been blown completly out of the panel and was lying on the floor. Also, my battery is fried.

All in all, really not TOO much damage, I suppose. Insurance is sending a surveyor out on Monday to check all systems and start the repair track. Fortunately, knowing that the marina was about to be closed for an indefinite amount of time, the insurance company said to break her down and trailer her out so that they can survey/repair while the lake settles. I managed to get her out about an hour before the road was due to be closed and now she waits for Monday in front of the house. . . or until the 'home owner's assoc.' leaves me a nasty-gram telling me to move her!

Bren Peterson
C250WB, #642, "Ruah" (former)
Passport 40, "Fiato"
Kemah, TX

Edited by - bren737 on 06/11/2004 23:26:47

sailgal
Captain

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USA
400 Posts

Response Posted - 06/11/2004 : 23:50:20

Wow, scary powerful stuff, imagine if you were on board (boat in water) Yikes

!! Good luck with the insurance process, hopefully all will go smooth!

They say Tampa Bay is the lightning Capital keep my figures crossed this summer!

Edited by - on

frog0911
Master Marine Consultant

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USA
1349 Posts

Response Posted - 06/11/2004 : 23:56:47

Bren, sorry about your misfortune. I had three stirkes on my old boat two did some big time electrical damage, the third just blew off the antenna on the mast. I never had a thru-hull melted like yours and hope I never do. That must have been some kind of large charge.

Edited by - on

OJ
Master Marine Consultant

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USA
4382 Posts

Response Posted - 06/12/2004 : 08:32:13

Bren,

Sorry to hear about the mishap Bren, glad nobody was hurt. Looks pretty similar to one that got hit while on our lake. Interesting how lightning exits just above the waterline. After repairs they renamed her HIGH VOLTAGE.

Maybe you should rename yours Wuuhah!

.

Good luck.

Edited by - on

Buzz Maring
Master Marine Consultant

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1768 Posts

Response Posted - 06/12/2004 : 10:06:53

WOW Bren ... tough luck!

I guess it could have been worse ('good thing it didn't start a fire), but I hate to see your beautiful boat get blasted by lightning. I suppose that since Ruah was up there on the hill with her mast up, she became the sacrificial "lightning rod." 'Too bad the lightning got your boat ... there are others up there that would have made much better targets.

Anyway, please let me know if your homeowners' association starts to give you grief ... I might be able to help come up with another place to park your boat for a while ... my slum neighborhood isn't so strict, and I've got an old girlfriend in Boerne who owes me a big favor.

Keep us posted on your progress ... I hope she's back in the water soon!

Edited by - on

Oscar
Master Marine Consultant

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2030 Posts

Response Posted - 06/12/2004 : 11:47:17

Check essential, cover the bus!!!!!

Oscar
Catalina 250WB#618 Currently FOR SALE:
http:www.woodenshoemusic.com/C250WB

Edited by - on

atgep
Master Marine Consultant

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1009 Posts

Response Posted - 06/12/2004 : 12:03:04

I have a lot of experience with repairing aircraft that have been hit by lightning. You will have the obvious damage but will find other strange problems. Pay particular attention to the standing rigging. I have seen sweges develop cracks after being juiced. I would also check every nut-bolt and clamp for heat damage or evidence of arcing. You may find a few welded parts. Good luck and have the insurance give you a grace period for "new discoveries". A friend with an island packet 31 had this happen when his stuffing box came loose from the hull. The screws were melted off and the repair was free. Good luck.

Tom.

Edited by - on

Dave Bristle
Master Marine Consultant

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Djibouti
10005 Posts

Response Posted - 06/12/2004 : 12:57:17

<blockquote id="quote">quote:<hr height="1" noshade id="quote">Originally posted by Oscar
 Check essential, cover the bus!!!!!
<hr height="1" noshade id="quote"></blockquote id="quote">
I give up...

Edited by - on

Oscar
Master Marine Consultant

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USA
2030 Posts

Response Posted - 06/12/2004 : 13:53:03

First "callout" after tripping all 3 generators on a Boeing 727, the most common result of a lightning strike. Essential power, via the associated bus, powers captains flight instruments and, if I remember correctly, one nav/com radio. In other words the bare minimum to keep the shiny side up and the rubber down. "Covering the bus" would be trying to get any of the three generators back on line and was the first and immediate action by the flight engineer, a job I had for almost 4000 hours of flying time. (I never did lose more than one gernerator, and that one only because we did a precautionary disconnect due to high oil temperature in the generator drive.) Without a generator on line you were down to a half hour-45 minutes of Nicad Battery life.

Since Bren is a Boeing driver I thought he might appreciate the phrase...

Oscar
Catalina 250WB#618 Currently FOR SALE:
http:www.woodenshoemusic.com/C250WB

Edited by - Oscar on 06/12/2004 14:06:33

bren737
Captain

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291 Posts

Response Posted - 06/12/2004 : 16:37:24

Thanks to all for your kinds words!

Jerry-I immediately thought of the pictures you showed me during your visit in October! Don't think my damage is that bad!

Buzz-Thanks for the offer. I think I can keep her here until Monday without too much grief. My immediate neighbors are cool about it.

OJ-"Wuuhah". . . cute! 'Ruah' means (loosely) 'the breath of God' in Hebrew. My wife is already saying we should change it to whatever Hebrew is for 'the wrath of God!'

Oscar-Never flown a '3-holer' but am familiar with the phrase. Funny, I took a lightning strike in a Lear 35 once that instantly knocked out all electrical (even standby system) for about three minutes before we got the gens back on line. However, the first 'callout' was something more along the line of !!$@*&^%%@%%!!!!

Tom/Kathy-My insurance company has been great (so far). They were insistant upon getting a surveyor out to check out every single system (including rigging) thoroughly. The adjuster is an avid sailor and familiar with Catalinas. The surveyor coming Monday owns a 33ft CSY which he cruises along the gulf coast.

Edited by - on

Doug
Captain

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USA
457 Posts

Response Posted - 06/12/2004 : 17:41:31

Do tell us who the insurance company is and keep us posted on how well it works. It's a topic that comes up off an on.

Edited by - on

Ashley
Deckhand

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USA
16 Posts

Response Posted - 06/14/2004 : 08:55:23

Bren,

Wow, that looks bloody frightening. Thank goodness no one was injured. Best of luck with the repairs.

AW

Edited by - on

bobmac
1st Mate

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USA
47 Posts

Response Posted - 06/14/2004 : 10:09:50

Hey Ash ! Best of luck with repairs to the homeland soccer team as well !

nudge nudge wink wink, say no more, say no more.

c'est terrib tabernac au France 2 England 1.. Vive le France !

Edited by - on

bren737
Captain

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291 Posts

Response Posted - 06/14/2004 : 23:41:16

Here's an update:

Surveyor showed up this morning right on time. Very knowledgeable guy. Owns a CSY 33, has 4 Atlantic crossings and 15 years as an ASA instructor as sailing experience. Has been a certified surveyor for 16 years.

At any rate, USAA (my insurance company) basically said for me to get the boat to the yard of my choice ASAP so I can "hopefully be sailing by July 4th." They said to have the yard go over everything again that the surveyor inspected and to just fax them the details if the yard finds anything else.

Found a good yard right by the lake. He's very familiar with my insurance company and their procedures; says he's a little busy but should easily be able to get all the work done by the end of the month!

USAA, the surveyor and the yard owner all say that, although I dry slip 'Ruah' with the mast stepped, the lightning strike was minimized by her being on her trailer and not in the water. Could have been a LOT worse! I certainly would NOT want to have been aboard (on the trailer OR the water) when it hit. I like my life boring and simple!

Hopefully all continues to go smoothly and she'll be on the lake again soon!

Edited by - on

ssteakley
Captain

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USA
467 Posts

Response Posted - 06/15/2004 : 10:36:30

Bren,
Just returned from California...Wow, mother Nature

So did you use Fred Lindsey?, I understand he is good if you can get him to agree to a time line. Like Buzz said there are much better targets on that hill, was there anyother boats damaged?, was your the tallest Mast up there? Makes one want to do some lightening protection like running a piece of copper to the keel bolts? There is so much discussion on proper lightening precautions that it is hard to know if anything at all is worth the trouble since mother nature is so unpredictable and you are not sure if you are creating a target if you are the best ground in the marina...what to do

Hope to a speedy and full recovery
Steve

Edited by - on

Ashley
Deckhand

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USA
16 Posts

Response Posted - 06/16/2004 : 14:46:19

<blockquote id="quote">quote:<hr height="1" noshade id="quote">Originally posted by bobmac
 Hey Ash ! Best of luck with repairs to the homeland soccer team as well !

nudge nudge wink wink, say no more, say no more.

c'est terrib tabernac au France 2 England 1.. Vive le France !
<hr height="1" noshade id="quote"></blockquote id="quote">

Edited by - on

Derek Crawford
Master Marine Consultant

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USA
3321 Posts

Response Posted - 06/16/2004 : 17:20:10

Ashley - that score was obviously a misprint...France hasn't beaten England at anything since the Battle of Crecy (around 1100 a.d.)!
Derek

Edited by - on

Ashley
Deckhand

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USA
16 Posts

Response Posted - 06/25/2004 : 13:30:12

Thanks Derek. I was giving him the benefit of the doubt.

I'm not much for world soccer. My game is American football!

Back to the subject at hand. Bren, how are things going with the insurance company?

AW

<blockquote id="quote">quote:<hr height="1" noshade id="quote">Originally posted by Derek Crawford
 Ashley - that score was obviously a misprint...France hasn't beaten England at anything since the Battle of Crecy (around 1100 a.d.)!
Derek
<hr height="1" noshade id="quote"></blockquote id="quote">

Edited by - on

pwhallon
Admiral

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USA
694 Posts

Response Posted - 06/25/2004 : 15:04:22

Hey Bren,

<blockquote id="quote">quote:<hr height="1" noshade id="quote">black "flash" marks run from amidships down both sides of the deck/hull joint all the way to the bow;<hr height="1" noshade id="quote"></blockquote id="quote">

About the hull to deck joint.

Some manufacturers (i'm not sure about Catalina), use mechanical fasteners (screws), and 5200 to connect the hull to the deck.

I wonder if some fasteners got fried from the strike. Has your surveyor addressed that possibility?

Could the joint be compromised?

Good luck.

PW

Edited by - on

bren737
Captain

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291 Posts

Response Posted - 06/25/2004 : 22:15:27

AW & PW (Y'all related?

)

The insurance company is still great, the yard, however has ground to a halt. It's a small yard and he only has a single lift. He's got a big boat in that lift right now waiting for parts and (understandably, I suppose) he doesn't want to move that boat until it's done. It was SUPPOSED to be out of the lift LAST week, but still isn't. Until he can lift my boat to check for hull damage under the bunk boards he isn't going to get a complete estimate and order parts. Once he finally gets the parts it should be a pretty quick repair. So, here I sit

.

The inital surveyor from the insurance company checked pretty good along the hull/deck joint and so did the yard guy. I don't recall how exactly 250 decks are joined. The wiring which runs along that joint to the bow, which we were sure had been damaged, all checks out OK oddly enough. We're not really sure WHY those marks are there. They rub right off. I'll be sure that the yard guy gives it another close look, though. Thanks for the suggestion.

Edited by - on

OJ
Master Marine Consultant

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USA
4382 Posts

Response Posted - 06/25/2004 : 22:29:31

<blockquote id="quote">quote:<hr height="1" noshade id="quote">Originally posted by bren737
 The wiring which runs along that joint to the bow, which we were sure had been damaged, all checks out OK oddly enough. <hr height="1" noshade id="quote"></blockquote id="quote">

Hope I'm not repeating what someone else may have said, but (FWIW) if all parties were sure this wiring was damaged but checks out - my next question would be was the life of the wiring shortened? Was the insulation overheated and now subject to premature cracking?

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pwhallon
Admiral

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USA
694 Posts

Response Posted - 06/26/2004 : 09:56:10

<blockquote id="quote">quote:<hr height="1" noshade id="quote">c'est terrib tabernac au France 2 England 1.. Vive le France !
<hr height="1" noshade id="quote"></blockquote id="quote">

Is that, "Go Buckeyes" in french?

Edited by - on

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