Lightning Protection

[B4A]

Has anyone installed one of these EMP Solutions marine Lightning Protection devices?

https://www.preventlightning.com/

They claim that this device will provide you with 100% protection from a strike directly hitting your boat.

They are so confident of this that they offer a 100% Money Back Guarantee in the event of a failure.

Any feedback or first hand experience?

[Singularity]

Snake oil. Do the maths...for every 100 sold to boaters, max 1 or 3 boats will be struck in the lifespan of the company, at which time they just mail out another doohickey. Even better profit margin for units sold to property on land where the odds of a strike are even lower.

If/when the guarantee reimburses you for all of your losses, instead of just giving you another one, then it'd be more interesting...but even then it'd only be interesting if that guarantee was backed up by the owner's own personal property (which may be peanuts). In reality, if/when these places gets sued, they just close the LLC and move on.

[Eigenvector]

Here's a specific review:



https://www.pjstar.com/sports/201909...stop-lightning




I could shoot a lot of holes here but I'll refrain.

[Frankly]

Pure BS!!!

Bet the guarantee don't cover the yacht repair bill.


Frankly

[S/V Illusion]

The only good thing to say about this is they spelled lightning correctly. Otherwise, it serves only to prove what PT Barnum allegedly said about a sucker born every minute.

[Eigenvector]

and.......................


"The Westinghouse Co. obtained data for isolated, grounded towers or masts on level terrain, in a region that experiences 30 thunderstorm days per year. The number of strikes per tower or mast did not reach two until the height of the tower exceeded 500 feet. With a tower 1,000 feet high, the strike frequency was about nine. Towers more than 1,200 feet high were struck more than 20 times. Although the data may not be accurate for very small towers or masts, it appears that the chance of a typical 60-foot sailboat mast being hit will be quite close to, but clearly not zero. We know that there is always a chance of being hit by lightning; after all, people walking on beaches have been hit."


Ref: https://www.practical-sailor.com/blo...CompleteSailor

[barnakiel]

Ha ha ha !!!


Good passive income idea!


How could I not have thought of it!


b.

[wholybee]

I've worked at radio tower sites with 10s of millions of dollars of equipment. With that much money on the line and some of the best engineers in the country installing it I would expect they would use the best protection available. They don't use this technology.

[s/v Jedi]

Money back for the device means just a fraction of one percent of their product so good marketing.

Static dissipators are an accepted technology but don’t require anything like what they are selling. Also, a strike will not be prevented; it may strike something else but strike it will.

[B4A]

Originally Posted by Eigenvector

Here's a specific review:



https://www.pjstar.com/sports/201909...stop-lightning




I could shoot a lot of holes here but I'll refrain.

Thanks for sharing. It's controversial I know, that's why I'm asking in the forum.

Installing this on a boat coasts about 10K all in.

I heard it comes with a $500K insurance in case of hit though.

[B4A]

I double checked and it really comes with a $500K insurance.

See attachement.

[Frankly]

A developer decided to use a similar concept/ system on a high rise condo that I had designed the electrical system for (including conventional Faraday rod system). This device was actually supposed to increase the cone of protection and save him some $$. I sent the developer a letter, " you are own your on. The IEEE has evaluated these systems and found no improvement in protection over a proper convential system".

Lightning Protection has and I assume always will be one of those things that attract snake oil salesman. In most cases a direct strike is a low probability event. That fact allows a lot of room for BS.


Frankly

[dannc]

From https://www.yachtingworld.com/specia...tection-127469,

According to US insurance claims (from BoatUS Marine Insurance) the odds of a boat being struck by lightning in any year are about 1 per 1,000, increasing to 3.3 per 1,000 in lightning prone areas such as Florida. Pantaenius reports that while high-risk areas include the Caribbean, Florida and Mexican Gulf, the incidence in other areas is rising: “10-12% were in the Mediterranean, and that is coming from below 5% in the last decade,” explained managing director Martin Baum.

Pantaenius handles more than 200 cases of lightning damage every year. “Over the past 15 years, the total number of such loss events has tripled in our statistics. The relative share of lightning damage in the total amount of losses recorded by us each year is already 10% or more in some cruising areas such as the Med, parts of the Pacific or the Caribbean,” added Pantaenius’s Jonas Ball.

My guess that the rise in lightning hit is because there are more and more catamarans. And likely larger cats with taller masts.

Both UK and US-based insurers also report that multihulls are two to three times more likely to be struck by lightning than monohulls, due to the increased surface area and the lack of a keel causing difficulties with adequate grounding. Besides increased likelihood of being hit, the cost of a strike has also risen enormously as yachts carry more networked electronic devices and systems.

Lightning scares the s...t out of me. More so on a boat since there is only so much one can do.

Later,
Dan

[Orion Jim]

Originally Posted by dannc

From https://www.yachtingworld.com/specia...tection-127469,

My guess that the rise in lightning hit is because there are more and more catamarans. And likely larger cats with taller masts.

Lightning scares the s...t out of me. More so on a boat since there is only so much one can do.

Later,
Dan

Good to know. The next time a charter cat anchors way too close for comfort I’ll thank them for keeping me safe.

[B4A]

Problem is that it doesn't take a direct hit to damage your electronics. The other day here in the Windwards there was a small squall and 2 boats reported damaged electronics.

Maybe it's like in the case of a neck-brace for dirt bike riders. You just can't prove you dind't break your neck because you were wearing a neck-brace, but everybody does wear one these days.

Anyways, I hope that someone can give us some first hand feedback on this system. I am very curious to learn more about it.