Thanks for sharing that posting, Dan.
-> "grounding" a boat is the same as erecting lightning rods on
-> structures on land. They are not to give the lightning a place to go
-> but rather provide a path for built up charge to leak away thus
-> avoiding buildup of charge and an eventual strike. If an actual
-> strike occurs it's doubtful any reasonable conductor will avert major
-> damage. The key is to provide a nice low resistance path with good
-> contact to "ground". The amount of energy in a actual strike is so
-> enormous that even a tiny fraction of it is enough to do substantial
-> damage. So long as there is a good
Duely noted.  I seemed to recall studying something like that MANY years
ago in science class.  At that time, they didn't mention the
psychological factor involved also.
I found, this trip, that knowing that I had taken some action to reduce
chances of being "fried" was comforting for me.  As one astute observer
commented - (I paraphrase here) -
      Ground the mast (or whatever you choose to do), then crawl
      into the cabin and repeat, "Our father...." or whatever fits
      your individual beliefs.... 
A nice effect from my Siren - and I'm sure from all sailboats- is that
during a storm, with winds and rain, the bow swings into the wind and
this prevents the rain from blowing into the cabin through the screened
door.   Found later, while tied to a dock during a storm, that it can
get pretty wet inside - unless you wish to put the covers on the door
and broil... Can't swing into the wind when tied to shore!
TTYL
Murray
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