Pontoon Boat & Deck Boat Forum

Hey guys,
Have any of you heard of cituations where a pontoon has been struck by lightning?

Is there anything one can do to minimize the chances?(other than staying off the water)

I've been told that metal works best to dissapate the charge so at least we got that going for us.

Interested in what you veterans have to say about this.

Since lightning goes to ground and the water is a better ground than a pontoon should hit the water first, but it's better to haul ass and get out of there, just in case your in the way to the water.

I have never heard of a 'toon being hit by lightning, but that doesn't mean it hasn't happened.

If lightning is a possibility, I just stay off the water and the golf course.

OldePharte wrote:I have never heard of a 'toon being hit by lightning, but that doesn't mean it hasn't happened.

If lightning is a possibility, I just stay off the water and the golf course.

Yea trade the water for trees and walking around with a lightning rods in your hands

Mine got a hit in our drive way.

herb> Since lightning goes to ground and the water is a better ground than a pontoon should hit the water first

no, it has more to do with the heights involved. water by itself is a terrible conductor.
as the ion concentration increases, the water becomes more conductive, with an
electrical conductivity on the order of 0.05 S/m for lake water and 5 S/m for salt water.
the conductivity of 5052 aluminum is like 20 million S/m, so millions of times more conductive
than lake or sea water. the strike to the boat (more like up from the boat to meet a strike
coming down from cloud) still has to ground through the water, so what's happening is the
several vertical feet of boat aluminum is replacing those feet of air. prior to the plasma path
being established, the electrical conductivity of air is near zero, so the lightning strike is far
more likely to travel through the pontoon than to water nearby the boat.

tall buildings built near lakes still experience lightning strikes and many still use lightning rods.


herb> but it's better to haul ass and get out of there

absolutely! get the hell out of there.

some interesting links:
http://www.boattalk.info/general-sailin ... 24238.html
http://www.boatus.com/seaworthy/swlightning.asp
http://www.esdjournal.com/articles/Ligh ... koreyl.htm

fb




.

I putting my boots on

just go look it up.

Thanks for the links floter.

From what I gather, pontoons still seem to be the safest boats on the water as far as lightning is concerned.

it does appear that pontoons are less likely than other boats
to be hit by lightning. i would guess that's because sailboats
are so tall and many other boats, like charters and tour boats,
have at least one antenna. also, other boats have more
wetted area. anyway, if i see lightning coming, i'm still
outta there! or at least parked near shore under some big
ole trees (but not the only trees around), enjoying a beer while
listening to the thunderboomers.

I wouldn't worry about the toon in a lightning storm, I'd be worried about my own ass.
A neighbour of mine many years ago went out fishing early one morning, didn't come back and they found him in his boat with a lightning strike to his chest.

My brother used to be Conservation agent for Missouri, one summer I was staying with him and a bad storm rolled in lots of lightning. His scanner goes off with someone struck by lightning on his lake. Seems 2 kids out on a jonboat one of which took his dad's favorite fishing pole. Being smart the get to shore just before storm gets to lake, being not so smart the one kid goes back to get dads new graphite pole outta the boat. So he is running back to the trees with a "metal" pole in his hand. He never made it. Worst site ever, I see lightning on water my ahole puckers to this day and get to nearest shore trees that I can.

Yea you don't want to be holding a big graphite lightning rod in your hand for sure

Safe is not being on or near the water. Under tall trees doesn't always work either. Get as low as possible in a ditch etc. About 3 years ago a Bass fisherman in our area high tailed it back to the dock when a storm was coming up. He tied up his boat to the ramp dock and was walking to the parking lot to his truck. Never got off the dock, lightning got him half way towards the lot. the ramp is almost surrounded by very tall trees. Be safe folks, get off the water and in a car or truck, or in the lowest area near you. Oh and the storm didn't really go over the area for another 15 minutes. If you can hear thunder you can be hit by lightning!

Ok stupid question on the same subject. We usally just sit in the slip under a covered dock at the marina with the other boats which includes houseboats and pontoons day boats etc, with sail boats in uncovered slips a couple boats away. Best just to sit or run for the truck up the dock parked in the pine trees?