They sell grounding straps for boats . Its basically a heavy copper wire that trails in the water , the other end attached to a mast or other high object . It would be the same as jumper cables. Lightning seeks an easy path to ground . It would rather travel thru a wire to the water than thru fiberglass. Or thru fiberglass to engine , to propeller , taking out the electrical system as it travels. That's why its always the tallest pine tree in the woods that gets hit . Its tall and a pine tree is moist , easier route than air. In a message dated 9/26/2009 5:22:27 A.M. Central Daylight Time, vbnelson@gmail.com writes: A better alternative would be a jumper cable. It then serves multiple purposes and can be rationalized to have aboard. (small boat syndrome) I have used a jumper cable for 30+ years - never hit when the jumper cable was in the water. Hit once without a cable in the water. The better your connection to ground, the better the static will wick off the mast. Vance B. Nelson -----Original Message----- From: great-loop-bounces@lists.samurai.com [mailto:great-loop-bounces@lists.samurai.com] On Behalf Of Jim Healy Sent: Saturday, September 26, 2009 5:51 AM To: great-loop@lists.samurai.com Cc: lrzeitlin@aol.com Subject: Re: GL: Lightning woe Larry Z wrote: "A metal box forms a Faraday Cage and protects any electrical equipment inside. If the box is big enough yu can crawl inside too. Better safe than sorry." On the theme of a Faraday Cage, I'd add that the oven is an excellent place for larger sensitive objects, like the computer, cell phones and of course, the all important TV remote. The stove/oven is grounded to the house electrical system, and is a large metal box. A microwave would be a backup for the oven, but often isn't as well grounded. Someplace recently I saw an article about attaching a chain to a shroud (sailboats and trawlers have 'em) and tossing several feet overboard for lightening grounding. Sounded simple enough, and I thought it might save the hull in a direct hit. What does the group think of that idea? Peg and Jim Healy aboard Sanctuary, currently at Rock Creek, Pasadena, MD MMSI # 367042570 AGLCA # 3767 MTOA # 3436 _______________________________________________ http://lists.samurai.com/mailman/listinfo/great-loop To modify your Great-Loop subscription options (change email address, unsubscribe, etc.) go to: http://lists.samurai.com/mailman/options/great-loop _______________________________________________ http://lists.samurai.com/mailman/listinfo/great-loop To modify your Great-Loop subscription options (change email address, unsubscribe, etc.) go to: http://lists.samurai.com/mailman/options/great-loop