[quote=rhuntbach]It takes about 10,000 volts to jump through one inch of air at sea level. Before lightning strikes the air becomes ionized (read "charged," which is why your hair stands on end). The ionization breaks down some of the resistance in the air, but it still takes millions of volts for lightning to jump between the ground and the cloud.
It's true that many of the composite materials on our boats are poor conductors or electricity, but when we're talking millions of volts, even the poorest conductors will provide insufficient resistance to protect us.
When you ground something, it is an attempt to direct WHERE the current will flow if lightning strikes. However, the better something is grounded, the more likely it is to be hit by lightning (so, you're exactly right Andrew, grounded boats will get hit more). This is because grounding something means that you have literally created a path of less resistance for lightning to follow.
I agree with deep seas, the best practice is to just be a weather savy sailor. That's my 2 cents ;-) <!-- editby --><em>edited by: rhuntbach, Apr 27, 2009 - 01:40 PM</em><!-- end editby --> [/quote]
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