Busy lightning season in SW Fla!

[Nimble1]

Have been helping a friend that we travel with get his boat going after a nearby lightning strike disabled his boat. Notice that I said "nearby"!
The strike struck a house next to where his boat is docked doing quite a bit of damage. We were not aware of this until we attempted to use his boat and discovered problems. The most obvious was the generator and engines would not start due to a fried Firebouy fire suppression system. When we replaced the control box for that, we then got a data communications error on his prot engine screen. He has Cat 3806E engines. The E is for electronic...oh oh...
Yes, ECM is damaged and most of the sensors on the port engine.
And now on to the autopilot..hopefully that will do it.

 

[Ski in NC]

Go through EVERYTHING electronic. Run gennie under load, engines through all loads, run air cons, check engine alternators, battery chargers, vhf, nav electronics, radar, tv, stereo, etc, etc. Anything with circuit boards is subject to being fried.

Amazing the damage lightning can do to a modern boat with all those gizmos.

I doubt many sensors got fried on a 3406, even doubt the ECM. Helm displays and controls more likely to get fried. Try swapping displays before putting in an ECM.

Insurance co involved??

 

[GFC]

We were on our boat last fall and had a lightening strike close enough to the boat to blow out the radar display and antenna, which were on at the time. Fortunately for us, the genset was not on and no other equipment suffered any damage.

When I called the insurance company the claims guy I spoke with sounded doubtful about my claim. He called me back the next day and said they have a website they can use to check the intensity of lightening storms, and said that storm had over 400 lightening strikes in the immediate area as it passed through.

They proceeded with the claim for the new radar and some canvas damage without any further problems.

With you being in FL, I'm sure your insurance company knows of that website!

 

[Nimble1]

Ski..we did switch the displays and both are OK..The Cat tech did put the computer on it and says it is the ECM . Kinda at his mercy now.
So far everything else seems to be OK but time will tell.

 

[pilothouse king]

The whole modern world is just one good solar flare from anarchy, what with our total reliance on computers for everything. Maybe that's another reason the values of classic cars are going through the roof? At least they'll still run, Remember the Woody Allen film about the future, where they find the VW beetle in a cave, and it fires right up?
The old rule of KISS has been seemingly forgotten on new transportation.

 

[ben2go]

Nutter reason for full mechanical diesels.

 

[Troubadour]

We are in the due diligence phase of our CHB 42 purchase. 3 of the 4 recommended surveyors I talked to concerning our purchase survey were not available due to the number of lightning claims that insurance companies have received. Apparently they do a lot of adjustment work for them and would not be available for a couple of months. It's been a really active rainy season here in SW Florida.

 

[siestakey]

A little North of you but this season in the Sarasota area has been a odd one but long term not out of pattern

our electronics guy is staying busy with the strikes in our area