Boat struck by lightening - Daly River

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NT pirate
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Boat struck by lightening - Daly River

Post by NT pirate »

Heard there was a boat struck by lightening late yesterday afternoon just upstream of clear creek. Apparently one guy was medivac'd to Darwin after one of their graphite rods took a direct hit and disintegrated, leaving one guy with some graphite lodged in his neck. Was about a six hr tow back to Banyan Farm, as strike also took out the electrics, outboard and leccy motor. Pretty scary stuff and some very lucky people.


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Re: Boat struck by lightening - Daly River

Post by Once Bitten »

Holy cr.p! I've been caught out a couple of times by storms... I just continued fishing thinking, "Oh well, we're stuck out here", lightening and all... Suppose that with a rod in your hand you are a more likely target. Last time I do that. Hope the fishos pull through.
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Re: Boat struck by lightening - Daly River

Post by c9h14n »

The only safe bet in that situation is to have a 1 iron on board! Apparently if there is lightening around you stand on the front if the boat and hold it straight up, cos not even god can hit a 1 iron!
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Re: Boat struck by lightening - Daly River

Post by ponyplay »

tuff luck :| , hope the person in question makes a full recovery .

Wonder wat full story is. first thing i do is rods go on floor , but iv seen those boats with vertical rod holders on the console and always thought or wondered about the two together.
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Re: Boat struck by lightening - Daly River

Post by Matt Flynn »

The rod might have saved them, if it wasn't there the highest head would be the next nearest target
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Re: Boat struck by lightening - Daly River

Post by qiksix »

True story, one of my neighbours was in following boat. The reel was the one that actually done the damage, it exploded like a frag grenade apparently! Scary stuff, just goes to show that them graphite rods should be on the floor........
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Re: Boat struck by lightening - Daly River

Post by Skippadman »

Wow scary stuff. Glad they got out OK. Will be an interesting insurance claim for the damaged boat???
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Re: Boat struck by lightening - Daly River

Post by itsinmeblood »

Someone on here once quoted that if you stuck in a bad storm the best thing to do is drop your daks and dangle your bum over the edge...that way if you get hit or take a near miss there's less mess to clean up
Hope the blokes alright I got chased out of west arm by a huge storm 2 years ago that snuck up on me over the mangroves, there was close strikes every few seconds, talk about feeling insignificant
fish are skinny, the ocean is fat
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Re: Boat struck by lightening - Daly River

Post by balawisway »

Wow...that's scary alright...hope everyone is ok
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Re: Boat struck by lightening - Daly River

Post by newfisherman »

do a Google image search on rods hit by lightning, kind of scary what is left
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Re: Boat struck by lightening - Daly River

Post by Sacky »

Geez I hope there alright. Ive got quite a few mates down that way this weekend. :(
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Re: Boat struck by lightening - Daly River

Post by nomad »

Most people survive strikes but lots dont
Hope the bloke is ok
I was told by BOM to erect your bimini and drop all rods and antennas to the flattest posi available. Then don’t make contact with metal hull.
The bimini makes a type of faraday cage http://searchsecurity.techtarget.com/de ... raday-cage
I got caught in the storm this morning. I had the bimini up and just plowed thru away from the storm
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Re: Boat struck by lightening - Daly River

Post by pickles »

so is a timber floor enough to stop current hitting a person if the boat is struck???
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Re: Boat struck by lightening - Daly River

Post by Matt Flynn »

I built a Faraday's cage under my casting deck, I insulated under the casting deck floor (which is the ceiling when you are under the deck) and lined the sides of the hull with foam rubber. It all stays dry under there.

All the rubber makes the boat a lot quieter too, and it doesn't cost much. Of course it's not 100% safe in a storm but probably better than nuttin'. Don't mind wind and waves but I don't like lightining. Will put up a pic later.
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Re: Boat struck by lightening - Daly River

Post by nomad »

pickles wrote:so is a timber floor enough to stop current hitting a person if the boat is struck???
No
whatever deck you have will probably be wet anyway. The old story about timber or rubber as an insulator is only for low voltages - nothing like the stuff in a strike.
the idea of the Faraday cage is that the electricity goes AROUND you and not thru you.
those people who walk the high voltage lines wear a Faraday suit
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FGoaXZwFlJ4
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