Lightning

[sailboatmike]

We sure do have lightening, and up North they have HUGE storms during the monsoon season

I just checked http://www.lightningsafety.noaa.gov/odds.shtml ( The US Weather Miob)

Estimated U.S. population as of 2014 318,000,000

Annual Reported Lightning Deaths 33 (or 1 in 9 million approx)

Annual Injuries Reported 234 (or 1 in 1.5 million)

Odds of being struck by lightning in a given year (reported deaths + injuries) 1/1,190,000

Now lets compare that with how many thousand get killed or injured on the road

Annual United States Road Crash Statistics http://asirt.org/initiatives/informing- ... statistics

Over 37,000 people die in road crashes each year
An additional 2.35 million are injured or disabled

And lets look at Gun related deaths and injuries http://www.gunviolencearchive.org/

This year to date 1st Jan to 26 May (not even 5 months)
Deaths 5200
Injuries 10677

So if we extrapolate that it would be 1040 people die per month x 12 months ) = 13400 Die from guns and about 25,000 are injured

As you can see I would be way more worried about driving and guns than lightening

[Ixneigh]

That may be true but if you live in the middle of an American favela your odds of getting shot are higher then average. If you live in Florida your odds of getting struck by lightning go up. And if you commute long distance your odds of auto accident are higher.
Ix

[BOAT]

Similar experience to Ixneigh. Our boat was struck by lightning on the hard (on trailer). It jumped from the boat to the house. Blew out all the LEDs in the boat and zapped an old knotmeter. Zapped a couple tvs and dvd players in the house, the smoke detectors, and scared the pants off the admiral. But boat wiring was okay. It did burn a small hole in the hull where it (apparently) jumped from the boat to the ground - on the side below the waterline. It was right at the fender, so i assume it jumped to the fender from the hull. However it happened, it blew the fibers from inside out, delaminated in the area of the hole slightly, and was visible once you knew what to look for. It was so non-descript that I originally thought the lawn guy had kicked a rock or something up into the hull. When i ground the fiberglass down to repair, i found about an inch or two around the hole that looked burnt (blackened), but overall it didn't appear heavily damaged. The hole itself was actually tiny.
Just remember, the bolt of lightning is still only one electron across...

Just curious, if you had to be inside the boat when it got hit where in the boat would you have liked to have been? What did things look like on the inside?

[Ixneigh]

Well that boat had three choices. In the bed made by lowering the dinette table, right next to a big iron keel, or in the vee berth. Slightly farther away from the keel. So in this case maybe the quarter berth if it wasn't stuffed with junk.
There was no obvious damage except for the shredded carbon fiber.

As an aside is it true that wet human skin is an excellent conductor, and that it's safer if you are wet, like outside in the rain, then if you are dry?
Ix

[Dragos Filimon]

It is better dry. Electricity damages you by the amount of energy that passes through your body. If what you say it is true, best chances would be in a tub with the hair dryer in your hand.

[grady]

That may be true but if you live in the middle of an American favela your odds of getting shot are higher then average. If you live in Florida your odds of getting struck by lightning go up. And if you commute long distance your odds of auto accident are higher.
Ix

I also heard that most car accidents happen within 10 miles of you house. I moved to eliminate that threat!

[BOAT]

That may be true but if you live in the middle of an American favela your odds of getting shot are higher then average. If you live in Florida your odds of getting struck by lightning go up. And if you commute long distance your odds of auto accident are higher.
Ix

I also heard that most car accidents happen within 10 miles of you house. I moved to eliminate that threat!

[sailboatmike]

OK I will revise the numbers based on if ONLY PEOPLE IN FLORIDA die or get injured by lightening

So if the total number of deaths and injuries from lightening are ALL and ONLY in Florida

Florida has a population of just on 20 million (19.9 million) plus of course all the holiday makers that dont get counted, thats just residents so at any point I would say it would be far higher.

If 33 all people die from lightening strike each year all in Florida (20,000,000 / 33) that would be 1 in 606,060
if 236 all people are injured by lightening strike are in Florida (20,000,000 / 236) that would be 1 in 84,574

[BOAT]

OK I will revise the numbers based on if ONLY PEOPLE IN FLORIDA die or get injured by lightening

So if the total number of deaths and injuries from lightening are ALL and ONLY in Florida

Florida has a population of just on 20 million (19.9 million) plus of course all the holiday makers that dont get counted, thats just residents so at any point I would say it would be far higher.

If 33 all people die from lightening strike each year all in Florida (20,000,000 / 33) that would be 1 in 606,060
if 236 all people are injured by lightening strike are in Florida (20,000,000 / 236) that would be 1 in 84,574

And what are the odds of hitting the lottery?

[sailboatmike]

If there were only 20 million p;laying lottery and you had a winner each week

that would be 20,000,000 / 52 or 1 in 384,615 or almost 1 1/2 times better than being killed by lightening

In the 5 months year to date there have been 2 deaths in Florida from lightening

None have been on the water one under a tree and one in a field http://www.lightningsafety.noaa.gov/fatalities.shtml

[grady]

It is amazing how people are scared of all kinds of things, flying, boating ect and the most dangerous thing they do with out even thinking about it is drive to work every day!

[Catigale]

That may be true but if you live in the middle of an American favela your odds of getting shot are higher then average. If you live in Florida your odds of getting struck by lightning go up. And if you commute long distance your odds of auto accident are higher.
Ix

I also heard that most car accidents happen within 10 miles of you house. I moved to eliminate that threat!

Classic!!

Homework

What are the odds of lightening striking the gun of someone holding you up, discharging it, hitting the parking brake of your car and being thus run over in your driveway. Assume you have not moved.

Show all work.

[LoHo]

"What are the odds of lightening striking the gun of someone holding you up, discharging it, hitting the parking brake of your car and being thus run over in your driveway. Assume you have not moved."

Hey, that happened to my buddy's cousin's nephew's friend...I saw it on Facebook!

[Ixneigh]

This thread got me thinking again and here's what I came up with.
Three inch wide copper flashing made for roofs, bonded to the hull just above the waterline all the way around. Three inch wide flashing from Chainplate down to this strip. A good electrical connection would have to be made between the two. The idea is not to have bonding wire inside the boat.
The flashing along the waterline could be adhered to the hull with a marine adhesive. It would look like a waterline stripe. The copper will turn brown but no big deal. The flashing from the chainplate to the waterline offers a cosmetic issue on most boats but not mine. Mine has painted hull sides and I can paint the flashing. However it will still be visible on close inspection. Another option would be a stainless strip, that would remain shiny and just be part of the boats look.
Thoughts?
Ix

[grady]

That may be true but if you live in the middle of an American favela your odds of getting shot are higher then average. If you live in Florida your odds of getting struck by lightning go up. And if you commute long distance your odds of auto accident are higher.
Ix

I also heard that most car accidents happen within 10 miles of you house. I moved to eliminate that threat!

Classic!!

Homework

What are the odds of lightening striking the gun of someone holding you up, discharging it, hitting the parking brake of your car and being thus run over in your driveway. Assume you have not moved.

Show all work.

Once again it calculates to you need to worry about driving!