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All,

I think we're all taking lightening strikes a little too seriously. Yes, they can "destroy" boats and kill people, but it doesn't happen often. You can spend literally thousands of dollars on lightening protection systems and it doesn't appear it makes a difference in the likelihood of a strike. A decent grounding system that gets the energy to the keel is probably a good idea as is putting your hand held electronics in the microwave (a small Faraday cage, if you like) and unplugging the cord so any induced voltage spike stays out of the microwave.

If you take a direct hit, it is very likely that any integrated electronics will be fried and all electrical/electronic equipment is at risk. If the strike exits through the hull to the water (or ground if the boat is out of the water) it will likely leave a burned spot and any moisture in the hull at that point will vaporize and might cause additional damage. All of this is normally covered after your deductible.

I've been hit a couple of times (once on Melelana, costing me new instruments) and was in a race fleet one afternoon where 12 of 18 boats in the race were struck. Of those 12 boats, a lot of us had our hair standing up just prior to the strike, one crewman on another boat was holding on to a shroud and reported a "tingle" but no one was injured. No boats were destroyed or even damaged enough to miss any sailing time but Raymarine got a nice plus up in sales that week.

I guess the bottom line is that I make sure my bonding system is in good shape, put unnecessary crew below decks and away from the chain plates and mast, and try not to tempt mother nature too much. Where I live, if you stay ashore when there's a chance of thunderstorms, you don't sail.

If and when I have a strike, I check people first, watertight integrity second, and other gear third. If damage appears limited to electronics, I dive on the hull to look for underwater damage and if that is clean perform a thorough hull inspection at my next scheduled haul out. I have found Boat/US happy to take a report and hold it until a haul out at the end of the season so you are not stuck with a haul out and hull survey to rule out damage mid season. If the damage is sufficient to need major repairs, the surveyor will be able to determine if the cause was a lightening strike.

Of course, if the insurance company wants an immediate out of the water survey, at their expense, I'd be happy to oblige.

Carbon rigs and cored hulls are another issue, but not one we face.