Can a boat be grounded for lightning strikes?

Large boats must get hit by lightning all the time, how are they protected? Can a small vessel, say under 18 ft be grounded and somewhat protected from lightning? If so, how can this be achieved? I am currently designing an inland fishing vessel and am curious as to if I could design in a sort of lightning rod for some minor protection, while still maintaining the insistence to get off the water. I would not consider this device as lightning proof so that my users could fish in the lightning, but maybe it could be a close call, get the hell off the water device.

 

Professional Boat Builder ( http://www.proboat.com/ ) issues 31, 43, 81, 86 all have articles discussing this subject.

Gary

 

Several good threads on this already. Do a search on the archives, it's worth the effort.