Adding Ballast to Hunter 240

[patbratton]

I read Sandy Grant's review of his H240 in Brisbane, AU. It is posted in the Hunter 240 section on this site. He added two Plastimo flexible water tanks in the hatch spaces. He put a 100 L bag on each side in order to provide 400 pounds more ballast.
He writes,"I have just added 2x 100 litre Plastimo water tanks which I plan to keep full. These are located in the hatch space on either side of the boat. I don't care what anyone else thinks - these boats are tender and I hate having to reef going upwind in 12 knots just when the sailing should be perfect. The difference upwind was amazing and downwind she felt much more stable - no annoying joggle when sailing in choppy seas."
I just ordered two from Defender at $104.00 each. They hold about 26 gallons each and can be plumbed into the water system. They are 41 x 27 inches.
I will post pictures of the install after the bladders arrive.

 

[Crazy Dave Condon]

For those who are trailering, it depends where those bladders are as to trailering if they are in the back. Generally there is a 10% factor built in for safety on tires and with that, you will need to get rid of the water before putting the boat onto the trailer.

where is the article so I can read it? I want to see what he is saying to choppy seas and how much he is heeling.

your boat is on a lake, not on the ocean which i sailed everywhere plus being involved with the design. Yes I have reservations but open to see what the article has to say

 

[patbratton]

This is the link to Sandy Grant's review:

Hunter Owner Reviews

Hunter Owner Reviews

hunter.sailboatowners.com

If we have to pull the boat the added 400 pounds would be way to heavy for my trailer. The bladder tanks would have to be drained first. We have been in a slip for two years. It has taken my most of that time to get proficient with the rig. The CDI furler has been the best investment so far. She is just to tender for my wife and I am hoping that the added ballast stiffens her up a little. Elaine has gotten very cautious in her old age and is easily scared, which is odd considering all the time we spent on the Hobie 18. All four children are over 50 and they love the Wet Dog just the way she is.

 

[rgranger]

You could also add some ballast by dissolving salts into the ballast tank.

 

[Crazy Dave Condon]

Pat

thank you for that link. It is great that you would drain the bladders before pulling the boat out. I was headed north with a new 260 when another 260 was headed south with tire’s carrying too much weight. Turned around and caught up with the owner headed back to Hunter in Florida with a major warranty issue. The water ballast had not been drained. We were 60 miles from my dealership suggesting to bring his boat there for repairs which Hunter highly suggested he do. Repaired his boat and took it sailing. Two day repairs at no cost plus he stayed at my home

I introduced CDI as I met the mfg at the Annapolis boat show. I was one of the first customers and got Catalina and Hunter to offer it as an extra gear which is why I know your system all too well

I was involved with the design of the 240. Based on experience I suggest never heel more than 12-14 degree of heel and get ready to reef at 14-17 knots. The mainsail is much bigger than a standard mainsail and it was designed that way for more power. Heel is controlled by sail deployment.

The article states moderate winds 16-22 mph, choppy seas without stating how high and shallow waters withouth stating depth. Further, he does not like to reef. The 240 comes with one reef but a second reef can be added. Also I wonder if he sailing into the waves

if you do add the tanks, take a look at the water line to make sure it is even with the water. Also you may have to raise the anti fouling paint line as well

keep us posted

Dave Condon

 

[rgranger]

You could also add some ballast by dissolving salts into the ballast tank.

Okay so I didn't have time to expand on this idea when I first posted. Ammonium nitrate (available at most tractor supply type stores) is soluble in water at 119g per 100 ml. The ballast tank on a Hunter 240 is just a little over 156 gallons... or 590,524 ml .... (multiply by 119g)...and in theory you could dissolve 70.2 million grams of ammonium nitrate into that tank... or 154,764 pounds.... WAY MORE BALLAST THAN YOU NEED.

There is an environmental problem with this though... ammonium nitrate is a very potent fertilizer and if you were regularly dumping this into a lake ... you would be causing all kinds of algae blooms etc. BUT If you want to try this out once just to see how it changes how your boat handles... of if you are leaving your boat tied up at a slip and not dumping the tank regularly... the environmental impact would be minimal.

I think it would be wise to test it out before you invest in a lot of boat modifications. Try dissolving a few 50lb bags of ammonium nitrate into your ballast tank and see how your boat handles. BTW: Ammonium nitrate is also the active ingredient in those instant cold packs in your first-aid kit. So... if you did this on a hot day, you would get some very refreshing chemical cooling going on...

 

[Johnb]

Okay so I didn't have time to expand on this idea when I first posted. Ammonium nitrate (available at most tractor supply type stores) is soluble in water at 119g per 100 ml. The ballast tank on a Hunter 240 is just a little over 156 gallons... or 590,524 ml .... (multiply by 119g)...and in theory you could dissolve 70.2 million grams of ammonium nitrate into that tank... or 154,764 pounds.... WAY MORE BALLAST THAN YOU NEED.

There is an environmental problem with this though... ammonium nitrate is a very potent fertilizer and if you were regularly dumping this into a lake ... you would be causing all kinds of algae blooms etc. BUT If you want to try this out once just to see how it changes how your boat handles... of if you are leaving your boat tied up at a slip and not dumping the tank regularly... the environmental impact would be minimal.

I think it would be wise to test it out before you invest in a lot of boat modifications. Try dissolving a few 50lb bags of ammonium nitrate into your ballast tank and see how your boat handles. BTW: Ammonium nitrate is also the active ingredient in those instant cold packs in your first-aid kit. So... if you did this on a hot day, you would get some very refreshing chemical cooling going on...

You may have slipped a cog in the calculation. 100 mL of water weighs 100 gm into which you could dissolve approx 120 gems of the salt resulting in 240% of the weight of the original. In round terms that would be 156x8x2.4 = 3000 pounds.

Correct me if I am wrong

 

[Crazy Dave Condon]

I would not do that as it may well affect the integrity of the water ballast tank

 

[rgranger]

You may have slipped a cog in the calculation. 100 mL of water weighs 100 gm into which you could dissolve approx 120 gems of the salt resulting in 240% of the weight of the original. In round terms that would be 156x8x2.4 = 3000 pounds.

Correct me if I am wrong

You cannot argue with Siri

 

[Crazy Dave Condon]

When the tank is full, it will stop filling up. Simple. Close it up and go drink some grog. I call it moonshine when I use to make it

 

[rgranger]

Correct me if I am wrong

Okay being a little less silly... I multiplied by 119 when I should have multiplied by 1.19... but anyhow, I still think 3000 pounds is more ballast than you need... I stand by my initial advice which is to test this idea out with something less permanant than adding water tanks... a few hundred pounds of a soluble salt would allow the OP to determine if this fix will get him the performance he is looking for.

 

[Thaniel]

a few hundred pounds of a soluble salt would allow the OP to determine if this fix will get him the performance he is looking for.

For a test the bags of weight could just be stacked on each side? But a empty tank then fill with water might be easier to load.

Personally I think about having 2 tanks but with only the high side full (pump from the load side to the high side after a tack). Not sure it'd be worth the bother but fun to think about.

 

[patbratton]

The tanks arrived. They are well made but there is no fitting to plug the openings. I understand that they a built as fresh water storage and set up to connect to an existing water system. There are two right angle barb connectors, a large for the center of the tank and a small for the bottom corner. I have purchased connectors and hoses. Had to reorder the large as I needed a 1-3/8 rather than the 1-1/2 PVC I bought. I will post pictures after it all fits together and is checked for leaks.

 

[patbratton]

This afternoon the 1-3/8" I.D tubing came from McMastrer-Carr (neither Home Depot or Lowes had it). I went to the Wet Dog and installed the flexable tank under the Port seat in the cabin. I laid it in with the filler hole up and added water with a hose from the dock. It took a long time but it filled to capacity. I caped off the fitting using teflon tape. I put the plywood cover on the opening and replaced the cushions. I did not do the Starboard side as I was alone and the refrigerator on the seat is heavy. From looking at the boat from the bow it is slighting listing to port. I will do the other side tomorrow. I am looking forward to taking her out.

 

[patbratton]

I added the Starboard flexible tank under the seat. I remembered that Elaine had fallen in the cabin and caught herself on the table. It pulled the top two machine screws out of the fiberglass. Drilled out all six hole and replaced the screws with machine screws with fender washers with nyloc nuts. I did not want the flexible tank to rub against the screw ends, so I did not yet fill the tank all the way. I am looking for a five by seven inch rubber sheet to cover the back of the table mount under the seat. I will post all this information in the modification section of the H240 owners page. I can tell that she is setting lower in the water by the way the gunnels lay up against the fenders on the dock. Time will tell if the tanks hold up.

 

[patbratton]

I procured a kitchen silicone dish drying pad to place between the flexible water tank and the exposed bolt heads from the table mounting bracket. I doubled it up. I filled the tank with water and now the boat is balanced with about 216 pounds of additional ballast on each side of the cabin. She sits lower in the water as the gunnels are rubbing lower on the fenders attached to the dock. It looks like 9 mph winds and 76 degrees tomorrow on the lake. I will do a shake down if I can find a crew.

 

[patbratton]

So far the I am pleased the the boat performance. I found that the starboard tank had leaked about three fourths of the water into the bilge. It was no issue for the pump and I now have the cleanest bilge of any boat on the dock. I pulled that tank and checked for leaks. I turned out to be an O ring issue on the bottom connector. I do wish the tanks had come with caps to close the openings. After two tries I got a good seal and put the tank back under the seat. Tuesday, Jessie and I sailed from Aqualand Marina at Lake Lanier to Port Royal across the lake ( about two miles). The trip was uneventful in 12 mph winds. We had a late lunch at Pelican Pete's. Heading back on to the lake we found that the winds had picked up. We did not bother to reef but did pull the end of the boom all the way up with the topping lift so that the main would spill her wind. We were able to maintain a heading close hauled at about 20 degrees heal. Gusts would take her to 30 but pointing into the wind brought her back up. Coming about was a none event; back winding the jib pulled the bow right around. The week before Shawn and I were out in 18 mph winds with the main reefed but without the jib. We could not come about and had to jibe to change course. Mother's day we are going out with six of us but winds will only be about 4 mph. If I went back in time I would do the ballast tanks again. The bow of the boat wants to stay in the water and she has a good heavy feel to her.