I recently read where a person with a Catilina 250 uses a 12 volt air pump to blow the ballast before he puts the boat back on the trailer. I would like to do this with my H26. Has anyone tried that with the Hunter? Ken
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Clayton
Not sure if the boat was designed for that
Ken, I'm not sure if the boat was designed for blowing the water out of the balast tank. I will get to the point, it just may take me a moment here. Please pardon my rambling for a moment. If I am looking at the specs for your boat correctly, the max beam is 8'11" or almost 9'. With that in mind and your boat laid with the mast flat in the water, your water tank would experience 9' of head, or 3.9psi in the lowest section of the tank. The boat was designed for that pressure in the tank all the fixturing and glass work that went in to building the water ballast system. Apply a factor of safety of two or so and you get 8psi. I would bet that if you put much more than that kind of pressure in the tank, you could risk comprimizing the tank itself by over-pressuring the seams. Without knowing the volume of your tank, and the size of the outlet, I'm not sure that pressurizing the tank would even make it drain any faster... And plus, the more water that drained out, the larger the volume to be filled with air and thus the larger the size of the air compressor needed. It seems to me that instead of pressurizing the tank, it would be safer to pump out the water. Just a thought... Here's another thought on the matter, why not make some type of jet-dump nozzle to accelerate the water velocity coming out of the tank dump. I have used this type of system on fire trucks and it works very well. All you would need is a small pressure pump like those used for a washdown system. Have you seen the nozzles that get hooked to a sink faucet with a garden hose running to a full waterbed mattress? The mojo to get the water moving comes from the water coming out of the faucet through a venturi, which creates suction and drains the waterbed. You just need to make sure that you have the vent open prior to turning the pump on or you could collapse the tank. Just a couple of thoughts on the matter. Regards, Clayton S/V Walkabout
Ken, I'm not sure if the boat was designed for blowing the water out of the balast tank. I will get to the point, it just may take me a moment here. Please pardon my rambling for a moment. If I am looking at the specs for your boat correctly, the max beam is 8'11" or almost 9'. With that in mind and your boat laid with the mast flat in the water, your water tank would experience 9' of head, or 3.9psi in the lowest section of the tank. The boat was designed for that pressure in the tank all the fixturing and glass work that went in to building the water ballast system. Apply a factor of safety of two or so and you get 8psi. I would bet that if you put much more than that kind of pressure in the tank, you could risk comprimizing the tank itself by over-pressuring the seams. Without knowing the volume of your tank, and the size of the outlet, I'm not sure that pressurizing the tank would even make it drain any faster... And plus, the more water that drained out, the larger the volume to be filled with air and thus the larger the size of the air compressor needed. It seems to me that instead of pressurizing the tank, it would be safer to pump out the water. Just a thought... Here's another thought on the matter, why not make some type of jet-dump nozzle to accelerate the water velocity coming out of the tank dump. I have used this type of system on fire trucks and it works very well. All you would need is a small pressure pump like those used for a washdown system. Have you seen the nozzles that get hooked to a sink faucet with a garden hose running to a full waterbed mattress? The mojo to get the water moving comes from the water coming out of the faucet through a venturi, which creates suction and drains the waterbed. You just need to make sure that you have the vent open prior to turning the pump on or you could collapse the tank. Just a couple of thoughts on the matter. Regards, Clayton S/V Walkabout
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crazy dave
do not go there
Any time that you try to blow water out of the ballast tank, I do not know what you are thinking about. To drain the ballast tank is so simple you just put it on the trailer and pull it out leaving the vents open until it goes back into the water. The problem is you void any warranty or consideration if the tank lid splits the seam as a result of using air pressure. I have seen the aftermath of such a dumb idea. Godfather has spoken
Any time that you try to blow water out of the ballast tank, I do not know what you are thinking about. To drain the ballast tank is so simple you just put it on the trailer and pull it out leaving the vents open until it goes back into the water. The problem is you void any warranty or consideration if the tank lid splits the seam as a result of using air pressure. I have seen the aftermath of such a dumb idea. Godfather has spoken
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T J Furstenau
Pull, don't push
I could understand the reason WHY someone would want to do this. I've launched, and tried to retrieve, my H26 from ramps that were easy to put the boat in empty, but once ballast was full and sitting lower in the water, was a challenge to get on the trailer. I can't let it drain by itself until it's on the trailer and out of the water. I would never argue with Dave and his knowledge of these boats and I agree the blowing the ballast out of the tank is no the way to go. But, I wonder about the idea of pumping that water out instead. A quick search for pumps find some that would appear to be able to do the job, but would probably take at least 30 minutes to do the job. Leave the bottom drain closed, pump out from the top. Assuming that you allow proper venting so as not to collapse the tank by vaccuum, this could provide a solution for shallow ramps. The ideal setup might allow a standard bilge pump installed in the ballast tank during construction, emptying out a thru-hull above the water line, allowing venting through the standard vent.
I could understand the reason WHY someone would want to do this. I've launched, and tried to retrieve, my H26 from ramps that were easy to put the boat in empty, but once ballast was full and sitting lower in the water, was a challenge to get on the trailer. I can't let it drain by itself until it's on the trailer and out of the water. I would never argue with Dave and his knowledge of these boats and I agree the blowing the ballast out of the tank is no the way to go. But, I wonder about the idea of pumping that water out instead. A quick search for pumps find some that would appear to be able to do the job, but would probably take at least 30 minutes to do the job. Leave the bottom drain closed, pump out from the top. Assuming that you allow proper venting so as not to collapse the tank by vaccuum, this could provide a solution for shallow ramps. The ideal setup might allow a standard bilge pump installed in the ballast tank during construction, emptying out a thru-hull above the water line, allowing venting through the standard vent.
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Jeff Peltier
The tank isn't designed to be Pressurized.
If you really need to get the water out to gain a few inches, as I did last fall. Drill the vent plug out enough to get a 3/4" hose in the tank. Then you can pump it out with a self priming pump. A centrifical pump would go faster, but would have to be mounted as low as possible with a check valve to facilitate priming.
If you really need to get the water out to gain a few inches, as I did last fall. Drill the vent plug out enough to get a 3/4" hose in the tank. Then you can pump it out with a self priming pump. A centrifical pump would go faster, but would have to be mounted as low as possible with a check valve to facilitate priming.
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ken lockhart
Blowing ballast
Thanks for the response,I guess I will have to buy a submarine if I want to try this. So much for this idea, I will try pumping the water out if the situation comes up. I have had WB Macs over the years and sitting on the ramp to drain the ballast is a pain at times. I thought the guy with the Catilina 250 was very inovative, but I see your point. I guess a few lbs of presure could break the seal of the tank.
Thanks for the response,I guess I will have to buy a submarine if I want to try this. So much for this idea, I will try pumping the water out if the situation comes up. I have had WB Macs over the years and sitting on the ramp to drain the ballast is a pain at times. I thought the guy with the Catilina 250 was very inovative, but I see your point. I guess a few lbs of presure could break the seal of the tank.
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Bob Fliegel
I Pump My Tank And It Works Great!
I thought about this idea a year ago and, during the winter of 2002/2003, I installed a Rule 500GPH pump (approx $25). This past fall, as I motored to the ramp, I turned the pump on and by the time I got to the ramp the tank was empty and the boat just floated onto the trailer. The pump worked great and it was inexpensive. I am not sure I would go with the pressure idea - "keep it simple..." There are 5 photos in the photo forum. Search under H260's. The title is "Water Ballast Tank Pump Out" dated 05/12. By the way, I installed the same deck plate in my fresh water holding tank and use the same pump to pump out the fresh water tank. What a simple task with this pump. Good Luck - Bob
I thought about this idea a year ago and, during the winter of 2002/2003, I installed a Rule 500GPH pump (approx $25). This past fall, as I motored to the ramp, I turned the pump on and by the time I got to the ramp the tank was empty and the boat just floated onto the trailer. The pump worked great and it was inexpensive. I am not sure I would go with the pressure idea - "keep it simple..." There are 5 photos in the photo forum. Search under H260's. The title is "Water Ballast Tank Pump Out" dated 05/12. By the way, I installed the same deck plate in my fresh water holding tank and use the same pump to pump out the fresh water tank. What a simple task with this pump. Good Luck - Bob
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ken lockhart
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