Don’t get struck by a bolt from the blue
A lightning strike to a yacht is no pleasure and above all dangerous – besides the damage, owners have to cope with the lost season, the loss of charter income and of course a lasting feeling of insecurity. ELNA GmbH offers a remedy with the Marine DDCE
For several years now, the damages caused by lightning strikes on yachts have been increasing. Reported incidents, up to and including total losses, have tripled and experts expect the numbers to continue to rise. ELNA GmbH, based near Hamburg, offers a special lightning protection system which has already been successfully installed on more than a hundred sailing and motor yachts and catamarans. From larger Lagoons to Baltics or Solaris yachts. Many owners already trust in the patented lightning protection system.
The Marine DDCE system, manufactured by Dinnteco in Spain and distributed exclusively in Europe by ELNA, prevents the occurrence of lightning within a protective radius of up to 100 metres. This means that the so- called upward streamer, which is necessary for the main discharge, can no longer occur. This reliably prevents direct lightning strikes to the yacht to be protected. The unit only requires sufficient earthing, no power supply is necessary.
if lightning is discharged, damage is often caused by the constructional conditions of yachts. With the Marine DDCE, direct lightning strikes to the protected structure can be avoided. This is the first time that an effective solution has been developed for lightning protection on yachts,”says Leif Schick, Managing Director of ELNA. “The DDCE system has already been protecting buildings for many years with amazing results. With the Marine DDCE we can now offer a device explicitly designed for the requirements and harsh conditions at sea.”
ALL CHARGED UP
During a thunderstorm, a potential difference is created between the clouds, which are usually negatively charged in a thunderstorm, and the positively charged earth. At certain points, this can lead to an increase in charge concentrations. In these strong electrical voltage fields between clouds and earth, lightning finally discharges. In the process, negative charge carriers first migrate towards the ground in the so-called conductive lightning and prepare an ionised channel through which the current can finally flow. At the same time, the ground under the thunderstorm becomes positively charged. At exposed locations such as church steeples – or the masts of sailing yachts or equipment carriers of motor yachts – the electric field is particularly large.
From such places, a positive charge – also called an upward streamer – can go towards the leading lightning and closes the lightning channel so that the main discharge can follow. This usually consists of several individual discharges and can reach a current strength of 100,000 amperes.
For more details contact [email protected]
or visit www.elna.de
