While stationed in New Orleans in the 70s, I had one of the beautiful Pearson Tritons, and I lavished much on her. With my leg in a cast, my wife winched my bosun's chair to the mast top where I installed a VHH-FM antenna with all the appropriate lightning arrestors and grounding straps. I, too, installed one of the Dynaplates close to keel, and everything was grounded to it--mast, motor, electronics. Sailing on Lake Pontchartrain one day, a pretty massive thunder storm passed over, and there were lightning strikes all about us, but from the top of our mast I could hear a continuous sizzle. It was rather apparent that my grounding system continuously discharged the electrical buildup in the clouds directly above us, keeping the potential below that needed to generate a lightning bolt. It was a most interesting experience. On Joy, I used the mentioned scheme of a heavy wire with a large copper plate soldered to one end, and a heavy clip on the other clamped around either stay. Never had the occasion to see if it works. Now pushing 80, seems like 284, I'm no longer as adventurous. But I'm still sailin'.
First M15 was Joy, '83 #264 Now sail Rejoyce!, '86 # 361 John R. Butler _______________________________________________ http://mailman.xmission.com/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/montgomery_boats
