In regards to Lightning - overall not a good week.
Sigh.
Bear with me for a moment .... We are not very good at trading cars. We usually buy fairly good ones and then drive 'em into ground. The Wombet a Golf, me an Audi, both approx 12 years old. Trouble is they've been damn fine motors but alas this week the Golf repair bill for dead heater is more than the thing is worth and now my dear old A4 is gushing coolant. At least one, possible two new cars when I was hoping they'd both last until we disappeared over the horizon.
Then there was the failure of my repair(s) to our Zodiac after it had a run in with an oyster bed. Oyster won on a tko and despite three attempts on my part is still leaks like crazy.
So there you go not a great week. OK , not tragic just oh crap what next.
What next was climbing on board the Womboat yesterday to collect the Zodiac and send her to someone who is more capable than I. Unhooked the starboard covers to go forward, deflate, roll etc. Didn't even look at port side , nor turn on any of the electrics.
Well, thats that, pack up the zodiac, check the covers and there lying on the port deck is .... one TriColor masthead. What ? Wow that's weird, must have been some bird. Pick up tricolour, hey, what is all this black stuff. Hmmm.
Only then did we wander down below and oh dear .... no electrics on the house side. Engine started OK but no alarms, no lights, no engine instruments. House batteries, dead as dead can be. Barely enough in them to get a feeble glow from the panel diodes and no apparent charge going into them when engine running. Wind generator dead, solar also not charging. Top of the mast looks , through binoculars from another boat, like a blackened charred post nuclear strike mess.
Spoke with our mooring field neighbour who is a liveaboard and yep, last Friday he said the bang was so loud that he thought he had been hit and it turned the bay from night to day.
Now the Womboat has quite comprehensive lightning protection from masthead to keel yet still the anchor light and steaming light circuit breakers, which of course were turned off at the time, were nearly blown clear out of the board. I confess I didn't think to check the wiring where it exits the mast. I hate to think. She has no power running when we are not on board. Emergency bilge pump is left on of course but she takes no water so that would not have been a drain. Lightning ergo, seems to have taken out the house batteries.
Methinks a visit to our friendly insurer come Monday. Well at least they were friendly when they took our premium.
Andrew B
Sigh.
Bear with me for a moment .... We are not very good at trading cars. We usually buy fairly good ones and then drive 'em into ground. The Wombet a Golf, me an Audi, both approx 12 years old. Trouble is they've been damn fine motors but alas this week the Golf repair bill for dead heater is more than the thing is worth and now my dear old A4 is gushing coolant. At least one, possible two new cars when I was hoping they'd both last until we disappeared over the horizon.
Then there was the failure of my repair(s) to our Zodiac after it had a run in with an oyster bed. Oyster won on a tko and despite three attempts on my part is still leaks like crazy.
So there you go not a great week. OK , not tragic just oh crap what next.
What next was climbing on board the Womboat yesterday to collect the Zodiac and send her to someone who is more capable than I. Unhooked the starboard covers to go forward, deflate, roll etc. Didn't even look at port side , nor turn on any of the electrics.
Well, thats that, pack up the zodiac, check the covers and there lying on the port deck is .... one TriColor masthead. What ? Wow that's weird, must have been some bird. Pick up tricolour, hey, what is all this black stuff. Hmmm.
Only then did we wander down below and oh dear .... no electrics on the house side. Engine started OK but no alarms, no lights, no engine instruments. House batteries, dead as dead can be. Barely enough in them to get a feeble glow from the panel diodes and no apparent charge going into them when engine running. Wind generator dead, solar also not charging. Top of the mast looks , through binoculars from another boat, like a blackened charred post nuclear strike mess.
Spoke with our mooring field neighbour who is a liveaboard and yep, last Friday he said the bang was so loud that he thought he had been hit and it turned the bay from night to day.
Now the Womboat has quite comprehensive lightning protection from masthead to keel yet still the anchor light and steaming light circuit breakers, which of course were turned off at the time, were nearly blown clear out of the board. I confess I didn't think to check the wiring where it exits the mast. I hate to think. She has no power running when we are not on board. Emergency bilge pump is left on of course but she takes no water so that would not have been a drain. Lightning ergo, seems to have taken out the house batteries.
Methinks a visit to our friendly insurer come Monday. Well at least they were friendly when they took our premium.
Andrew B