Lightning Threat on Boats
Boats are the sharpest and highest objects on water. Depending on the size and structural properties, risk of getting hit by a lightning strike varies, but if you are the only one under thunderstorm cloud at that moment, you are most likely to experience lightning damage on your boat.
During a storm, ground charges(charges on water) accumulate on the boat, climb up to the top of the mast where wind sensors are located. As these ground charges are emitted towards the oppositely charged streamers of cloud; two charged groups meet each other and develop a conductive channel between the cloud and the mast which is called “lightning”.
All current inside cloud flows through this channel and reach to water through the mast and boat body while damaging all sensors on the mast; destroying antennas, radios, and cables; damaging batteries inside and finally breaking down the engine and causing a fire.
While discharging from the bottom, lightning current can damage the body of the boat and leave holes underneath.
Lightning Rod "Protection"
Masts are mostly made of metals such as aluminum and/or lightweight steel and they are the most conductive and highest structures on the boat. Even if you have a wooden mast, it is a high and sharp object and still conductive due to salty water particles on its surface. Masts are the primary targets of lightning strikes and must be protected against direct and indirect effects of lightning.
Lightning arresters are used to emit more charges on themselves in order to attract lightning before any surrounding object. With the use of a lightning arrester on a boat mast, the arrester collects all lightning strikes with the purpose of transferring lightning current to the grounding system safely.
However, the lightning current must reach the ground through the shortest and fastest way which is still the mast itself. Even though a conductor cable is installed between lightning arrester and grounding system, lightning current prefers to follow larger surfaces instead of a conductor cable and flows through mast surface.
Using a lightning arrester on boats does not a solution and all sensors, all electronics and engine are still damaged by lightning current and even worse; all people on the boat are under serious risk of getting hit by the lightning current.
Lightning must be kept away from boats!
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EvoDis Lightning Prevention System
The point where lightning hits depends on the ground charge accumulation on a body and emission point on the top. Lightning strikes at that particular point of emission and lightning current run down to the ground through the body of the structure.
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EvoDis Lightning Prevention System dissipates the ground charges on mast through thousands of tiny sharp points and blocks the emission of these charges by keeping the surrounding electric field strength below the threshold level. This process makes the protected boat “invisible” to lightning; prevents any damage on electronics and sensors and save the boat.
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EvoDis Units are installed directly on the mast without a need for a conductor or any upgrades in the existing grounding system of the boat. EvoDis Units can be applied with vertical elevation rod or at the top of the mast with a flat base. EvoDis Lightning Prevention System does not require any maintenance after installation and EvoDis Units are delivered with 10-year product warranty.
EvoDis Lightning Prevention System is a lightning protection solution with 100% success in high voltage laboratory tests and in field tests. EvoDis has been applied to hundreds of lightning prone towers, masts and poles worldwide and none of these structures have been hit by lightning since the dates of installation.
Best way of lightning protection is to stay away from the lightning.
EvoDis Lightning Prevention System keeps lightning away.
You are now one step closer to be free of lightning!
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