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Lightening Strikes? Long term problems?

Discussion in 'Electronics' started by TheBigWhit, Jul 17, 2010.

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  1. TheBigWhit

    TheBigWhit New Member

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    Lightning Strike?

    Gents,

    Thanks for all the previous advice. I have spent the last few days reading over the site and the great info has saved a lot of posting...

    We found a very nice looking 50' 1997 Hatteras with 12-71TI's. Price was $450K but quickly went to sub $250K. I just learned the boat was recently hit by lightning while out fishing. Supposedly the owner has great insurance and all electronics are being replaced now. Hull and Machinery survey claims no damage. The broker says "great boat now with all new electronics - what a deal". I don't know yet if the boat had a proper grounding plate.

    Question is: Any board experience with life on a boat post lightning strike? Is it likely to result in electrical gremlins for ever more or can you get substantially past the issue by replacing all the bridge electronics? What about all the sub-system electronics like PC boards in chargers, engines, refrigerators, and on and on? Are they likely to all fail post a strike over time? I realize these are crystal ball questions but just looking for some general reaction.

    Thanks...
  2. AMG

    AMG YF Moderator

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    As you are saying, nobody knows, but since we have a thunderstorm season here right now, they warned on TV yesterday night. Saying that a lot of what we have connected to the grid or antennas at home, may not show failure after near hits, but may go down after some time.

    But if you are getting the boat for "half the price", you have a certain margin to gamble with...:)
  3. YachtForums

    YachtForums Administrator

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    Whit,

    Your question was moved into the General Technical Forum because it's not brand-specific, unless a solid glass hull passes voltage better than a cored hull. In that case, I'll move it back to the Hatteras forum. ;)
  4. saltysenior

    saltysenior Senior Member

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    had a 70' hatteras m. y. i ran get hit..1 vhf antenna [shattered] was the only sign.....75% of the electronics were replaced....i don't remember about the a c boards,but 3 ac units where replaced....hauled out and found no damage to hull where the charge exited at a thru hull....while work was being done [1 mo.] , all i heard were horror stories about the future of this boat.....we had the boat for another 9 years and i can not think of anything going wrong that could be traced back to the lighting strike.....
  5. Bill106

    Bill106 Senior Member

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    Having experience with several lightning hits, you can expect what insurance adjustors term "latent damage" to cause units to drop dead for no apparent reason for up to a year after the initial strike. Most good insurance companies allow for and expect this and will replace future failed equipment with very little argument, or at least they used to! I'd definitely ask if that would still be the case after an ownership transfer.

    Devices with semiconductors in them are the most likely candidates; AC units, fridges, nav equipment, transducers, microwaves, etc. You didn't mention if those Detroits were DDEC or mechanical, but the DDEC controls might be a problem.

    If you like the boat AND it will have insurance coverage for this, it will be just a nuisance, and you will get newer, updated units when they fail which will make her even better!
  6. K1W1

    K1W1 Senior Member

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    Hi,

    I best remember this one when the Owner tells me his £50,000 TV has just ceased to function.

    I would normally try to say it was a genuine equipment fault before getting into harmonic issues { not that we have any :) }so this is a get out of jail free card.
  7. thebighawk

    thebighawk New Member

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    lightning

    A good rule of thumb: If it has a transistor or a circuit board, it will go bad, even if working now
  8. TheBigWhit

    TheBigWhit New Member

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    Thank you all for the input. We have narrowed down to a 50', 54' and 55' Hatteras. Will perform some evaluations and comparison and then make some offers and see what happens.

    This forum has been very helpful and I thank you very much...

    TheBigWhit
  9. saltysenior

    saltysenior Senior Member

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    didn't like the '50
  10. K1W1

    K1W1 Senior Member

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    Hi,

    I just talked to a friend of mine who operates a charter boat out of the same Marina where Pascal berths his Hatt in Miami.

    He had a pretty major lightening strike last year that fried a lot of stuff on his boat.

    He reports nothing has failed mysteriously since then.
  11. TheBigWhit

    TheBigWhit New Member

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    Salty, You didn't like what about the 50'?

    (I'm in Vladivostok writing this and anxious to see if it gets through...)
  12. Capt J

    Capt J Senior Member

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    I've run both a 50' Hatteras and 2-54' Hatteras. I've also run just about all the different sportfish over the years.

    The 50' was a 2004 with C18 cats. With the 200 gallon bow tank full of fuel (and the other tanks full) it did not ride good, it was stable but had a tendancy to pound or crash into the wave slightly instead of cut them. As soon as you drained the bow tank it rode better, but the boat didn't ride really nice until you burned off half of the fuel. It felt as if the boat came in a little heavier then the hull design supported. Keep in mind this was a new boat with NO owner added personal items on board. It did cruise at 30 knots and was dry. All in all it has a fairly good ride, but nowhere near great.

    The 54's I've ran a 2003 and a 2004, both with C30's cruised at 33 knots. One was a tuna tower boat, one just had a hardtop. I am going to go as far to say that this is Hatteras' best riding hull in the entire lineup (keep in mind I haven't run a few of the new 60'+ ones). I was at cruise in 6 foot seas on the nose and it just cut through them like butter and you didn't feel a thing. Was fairly dry in them also. This boat is a night and day difference between the 50'. The one 54' was a temporary boat, coming from an owner that sold his 2006 61' Viking, and had a Bayliss on order. I ran both his boats and he said the ride on the 54' blew away the viking ride on the 61'. The towered boat had a tendancy to lean a little at cruise if the wind was on the beam, but could be corrected with tabs, but it is a great hull. Storage is a little light on the 54'.

    I have no experience with the 55'.
  13. saltysenior

    saltysenior Senior Member

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    MY BAD.....i was believing you were looking at a '50 bertram.... saved me a whole lot of typing:D