A protection system just attracts lightning?
A common, and dangerous, misconception is that an ungrounded mast is less likely to get struck than one that is grounded. It is dangerous because this is frequently given as a good reason to leave a boat with no protection system. The point was addressed in a University of Florida research project whose conclusion was a resounding “No” based on the experiences of marine surveyors: grounding a sailboat mast does not cause an increased risk of a lightning strike”. Educational materials in the form of a pamphlet and video are available on line, and the section concerning grounding vs. no grounding is here. Note that in this survey and its discussion in the pamphlet, “grounding” and “lightning protection” were synonymous. Specifically, one of the questions asked of the surveyors was “How many of these sailboats had a lightning grounding system, that is, had the base of their mast bonded to the keelbolts or a ground plate under the boat”. In fact, finding the answer to this question was one
