Christine wrote: 1. To my knowledge nobody has ever been killed, or seriously injured by lightning while in a fiberglass (read insulating) vessel. I'm not sure about that. For one thing, an insulator is only an insulatyor up to its breakdown voltage- which, for a fiberglass hull is a fraction of the potential of a lightining strike. Even before the strike the glass does you no good- you're sitting on one plate of a huge capacitor while a charge builds up around you. Metal boats, like metal aircraft, are actually much safer than glass boats. The charge is conducted around the occupants in a metal cage. See http://www.cdc.gov/niosh/nasd/docs/as04800.html for an authoritative answer. 2. It is most unlikely that lightning would strike a kayak since it is low and has nothing like a mast or antenna to attract a strike. Masts don't "attract" strikes. What causes a strike in one location over another is a difference in charge. A mast can *protect* a boat. 3. If you turn over I doubt if the stray electric currents in the water would harm you. In fact if the water was reasonably warm and if I was sure I could re-enter my boat I would get in the water. I know a person who blew over in a day sailor during an intense L.I. Sound thunderstorm. He reported several water strikes in his vicinity but only "tingling" sensation from the salt water carried electric surge. Of course it depends on how close the strikes are. And you're safer 10 or 20 feet below the surface ;-) -- mike ------------------------- Michael Edelman mje_at_spamcop.net http://www.foldingkayaks.org http://www.findascope.com *************************************************************************** PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List - Any opinions or suggestions expressed here are solely those of the writer(s). You must assume the entire responsibility for reliance upon them. All postings copyright the author. Submissions: PaddleWise_at_PaddleWise.net Subscriptions: PaddleWise-request_at_PaddleWise.net Website: http://www.paddlewise.net/ ***************************************************************************
In college I had a physics professor that specialized in electrostatics which is what lightning is. He gave instructions on lightning protection by telling a story about being in the mountains in a thunderstorm. A lightning strike develops when the electrostatic potential is high enough. This potential is directly related to your height above a flat surface. In my professors story, people walking on a mountain top in a thunderstorm would start to feel static (your hair standing on end) and just drop to their knees or even lower until the static feel was gone. If I felt the static feel in a kayak, I would be in the water quickly. If I was concerned I would lay in the bottom of my boat ( a Klepper is good for this) or in a fiberglass boat I would hug the hull. Dave Christianson At 04:54 PM 3/26/2001, Michael Edelman wrote: >2. It is most unlikely that lightning would strike a kayak since it is >low >and has nothing like a mast or antenna to attract a strike. > >Masts don't "attract" strikes. What causes a strike in one location over >another is a difference in charge. *************************************************************************** PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List - Any opinions or suggestions expressed here are solely those of the writer(s). You must assume the entire responsibility for reliance upon them. All postings copyright the author. Submissions: PaddleWise_at_PaddleWise.net Subscriptions: PaddleWise-request_at_PaddleWise.net Website: http://www.paddlewise.net/ ***************************************************************************
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