maybe not important question but curious the boat is a 1993 should any care be given to this ballast tank? gasket replacement? leak check"if even possible"or am I worrying about nothing ? thanks for any input
23.5 water ballast question
- Thread starter owner23.5
- Start date
- Status
Only if needed
There was some talk a while ago about replacing the gasket with neoprene. We have a 97h26 and when we pulled out at the end of this season, I checked while the boat was on the trailer and only had a very slow drip out of the gasket, so I am not worried. I would think you would have to be heeled over for a considerable amount of time to loose any of the ballast, since the "leek" would be under the water anyway. Chris
There was some talk a while ago about replacing the gasket with neoprene. We have a 97h26 and when we pulled out at the end of this season, I checked while the boat was on the trailer and only had a very slow drip out of the gasket, so I am not worried. I would think you would have to be heeled over for a considerable amount of time to loose any of the ballast, since the "leek" would be under the water anyway. Chris
Not to worry - most if not all valves leak to some degree. I consider that a nice safety feature.
More than once, In my haste to get sailing I forgot to open the valve - when I finally remembered and checked the vent, the tank was full.
That does not mean it's safe to sail with the tank empty, it just means that a leaky valve has some good features.
Conversely I've done the opposite - forgot to close the valve in my haste to get sailing - and the boat did fine - actually did not notice it was open until after a day of sailing I pulled up to the ramp, went to open the valve...well you get the idea.
Morale: haste makes waste and thanks go to the designer who understood some of us have regular senior moments and have to be protected from ourselves.
Want to know more about water ballast? Go to this link:
http://h260.com/water_ballast/water_ballast_index.html
More than once, In my haste to get sailing I forgot to open the valve - when I finally remembered and checked the vent, the tank was full.
That does not mean it's safe to sail with the tank empty, it just means that a leaky valve has some good features.
Conversely I've done the opposite - forgot to close the valve in my haste to get sailing - and the boat did fine - actually did not notice it was open until after a day of sailing I pulled up to the ramp, went to open the valve...well you get the idea.
Morale: haste makes waste and thanks go to the designer who understood some of us have regular senior moments and have to be protected from ourselves.
Want to know more about water ballast? Go to this link:
http://h260.com/water_ballast/water_ballast_index.html
By design...
the vent valve is above the water line so that the ballast tank will fill but not sink the boat if you forget to close it.
Forgetting to open the drain valve when putting the boat on its trailer is a different matter.
Consider taking a trip to North Carolina and buying a boat from Crazy Dave Condon. You'll get great service and sailing instructions to boot. Certainly better than freezing up there in the Great White North...
the vent valve is above the water line so that the ballast tank will fill but not sink the boat if you forget to close it.
Forgetting to open the drain valve when putting the boat on its trailer is a different matter.
Consider taking a trip to North Carolina and buying a boat from Crazy Dave Condon. You'll get great service and sailing instructions to boot. Certainly better than freezing up there in the Great White North...
- Status