The "Best Laid Plans Cruise"

[Sunspot Baby]

We are entangled in a how many things can go wrong cruise. Our web log is at BestLaid

My wife, Lynn is Entlie on this forum. She deserves 3 gold stars for putting up with all this.

George

[TaoJones]

Originally Posted by Sunspot Baby

We are entangled in a how many things can go wrong cruise. Our web log is at BestLaid

My wife, Lynn is Entlie on this forum. She deserves 3 gold stars for putting up with all this.

George

George, I'm sorry to read that your trip north did not go according to plan (I think that's either called Life or Murphy's Law). To me, it confirms that when one makes plans around a date certain, something(s) always go awry.

On the bright side, it sounds like your grandson is a sailor in the making! At the very least, he will undoubtedly be a welcome guest aboard any vessel where he's invited along. And while your wife certainly deserves three stars, George, I think you do as well. I would even nominate you for some kind of "test driver" award for all the to-and-froing you had to do.

I've been a life-long Broncos fan myself (I was in sixth grade in Denver when the pitiful first Bronco team hit the field - you remember, Frank Tripucka, Lionel Taylor, Gene Mingo, brown and gold uniforms, vertically-striped socks ), and I can report that you didn't miss much in last night's game. Some good, some bad. A lot of penalties by guys who probably won't be on the team in a week. Pre-season - says it all. The best part was that when the Broncos scored in the last three minutes to pull within one, Shanahan went for two so the game wouldn't end in a tie - who needs OT in the pre-season?

What you did miss in last night's game was a nice performance by the Browns' backup QB, Brady Quinn. I wouldn't be at all surprised to see him starting for the Browns quickly, perhaps as early as the season opener.

TaoJones

[Charlie]

Sorry to hear about your problems. George sounds like you saved about a month or two of yard time by tracking down parts. Good job.

Nice to hear that my kids are not the only ones that would like to participate in something real rather than glue their eyes to a video game.

[Sunspot Baby]

We have Sunspot Baby back in her home marina and while we still have damage from the lightning to repair she brought us home in fine style. We actually had some nice days and favorable winds.

The link for the report and photos is at BestLaid

George

[hellosailor]

George-
May I suggest, "The Young Gentlemen" would probably treasure a fancy printed certificate from the Captain and XO, appointing him as a full apprentice seaman (or better) and formally acknowledging his patience and assistance during the perilsome voyage. < G >
Now, if you can get him into vocational school for marine engine repairs real quickly... < G >

[OldYachtie]

I am beginning to think that the vessel's electronic equipment should be mounted in aluminum boxes grounded to the lightning ground system. - TD

Originally Posted by Sunspot Baby

We have Sunspot Baby back in her home marina and while we still have damage from the lightning to repair she brought us home in fine style. We actually had some nice days and favorable winds.

The link for the report and photos is at BestLaid

George

[delmarrey]

Originally Posted by OldYachtie

I am beginning to think that the vessel's electronic equipment should be mounted in aluminum boxes grounded to the lightning ground system. - TD

From all that I've read, it seems lighting protection is more like lighting attraction.

There is no proof either way but logic suggests that providing a path for lighting would give it more influence to strike.

At least, if rigging is insulated from the water by fiberglass why would it choose that route other then the stick in the air. With the new age of plastics the only metal that needs to be in the water is the prop & shaft, and it can be insulated by a soft coupler.

[hellosailor]

"At least, if rigging is insulated from the water by fiberglass why would it choose that route other then the stick in the air."
Perhaps from moisture in the rigging (especially in the core strand/material, even if it is not raining at the moment) and perhaps simply because once a jillion volts hits the tiptop of the boat, it flows down all possible paths--not just the one of least resistance.

[Joli]

Sorry to hear about your troubles. Lightning does funny things, there does not seem to be any real gaurd against it other then being where it ain't.

[OldYachtie]

People debate about how to deal with lightning, and there seems to be a lot of uncertainty about the issue. However, inspected vessels (passenger carrying vessels in the USA, see Title 46, Sec. 183.370,) have to have lightning grounding for mastheads, and Nigel Calder is also in favor of lightning protection for masts He also recommends grounding potential &quot;parallel paths&quot; (every sizable chunk of metal on board, especially if near big wires) to prevent side flashes. I read a number of stories about boats that have lost all of their electronics due to being hit by, or even near, lightning strikes. The East Coast of the U.S. and the area around the Malay Peninsula seem to be the places where these stories take place. People talk about putting things like GPS in microwave ovens, which are said to act as Faraday cages and protect the contents from lightning. Nigel Calder suggests keeping a spare hand GPS in a &quot;tin box,&quot; or wrapping it in aluminum foil. So, I don't think my idea (installing electronics in an aluminum housing-or maybe just laminating in some wire mesh if your mounting box is fiberglass) is far fetched. Such a box would have to be grounded to the lightning system, and I don't think would work unless you also unplugged the wiring from your electronics. Inspected vessels are required to ground metal housings which contain electric or electronic equipment, by the way. (Ground to a system that is connected to a copper plate bonded to the outside of the hull, that is.) Nigel Calder's book, &quot;Boat Owner's Mechanical and Electrical Manual,&quot; or the ABYC rules should be consulted if designing such a system.