Draining the ballast on retrieval

[SFKjeld]

I pulled my 23.5 out for the first time the other day. We pulled the boat onto the trailer, then towed it out far enough to drain the ballast. Then dropped it back into the water in order to get it further up onto the trailer. A few issues tho.

1. We didn't pull the boat far enough up the trailer the first time. It set way too far back. Caused a lot of trailer scrapping up the ramp. The bow was probably 3-4' from the stop. Looks like I need to back well into the water to get the boat further up the trailer. Or get an extension.

2. Once we drained the ballast, it was difficult to get back into the boat to close the ballast. How do you guys manage that?

 

[caverun]

In my experience on my H240 I can never get the bow to stay snug to the bow roller upon retrieval. It is due to the angle of the trailer- the boat will settle onto the bunks as you pull it out, and the bow rotates away from the stop. The boat rotates from horizontal (floating) to the trailer/ramp angle, creating a gap at the bow. I don't bother to re-float after draining the ballast, not sure that will help. But do pull the boat all the way up to the roller. After the ballast tank is empty, I pull into the parking area and hit the brakes a few times to cause the boat to slide up tight to the bow roller. You have to stop suddenly to get this to work. Others may have a different method, but this works for me.

 

[BrianW]

You need to be very careful when you pull a boat with a full or empty ballast up a steep ramp when the boat is way too far to the rear of the trailer. This will create a negative tongue weight on your tow vehicle. Best case, you will lose tire traction. Worst case the boat/trailer will drag your vehicle backward down the ramp into the water. Even your vehicle brakes or parking brakes won't stop it. I found out the hard way! BrianW

 

[SFKjeld]

Ooh, thanks. I hadn't thought of that. Watching my BMW dragged into the Oakland Estuary would not be a pretty sight. As it turned out, our prob was only dragging the bottom edge of the trailer, hard! Though I could easily imagine the strap ripping apart as well. Will have to see how deep I need to bury the trailer to get the boat with full ballast, up the trailer.

Not sure I have this right, but I thought I read that much of the water can be blown out of the ballast in some fashion, while in the water. Air pressure? Would be nice if possible.

 

[BrianW]

I've read where others have "blown the ballast" with compressed air, but I would be afraid that I would LITERALLY blow the ballast..... as in damage it! Others my want to chime in. In my opinion you can usually gravity drain the ballast by just pulling the boat slightly out of the water. After partially draining, pull it up a little more to complete the drain. Personally, I get a lot of satisfaction out of having a power boater nearby..... and as water is gushing out the bottom of my boat, yelling loudly,"DAMN, one of these days, I've GOT to get that leak fixed!" BrianW

 

[Crazy Dave Condon]

You probably did not have the trailer back far enough into the water. The boat needs to be put on the trailer as close as you can get to the bow roller. Make sure the centerboard is all the way up in the centerboard housing and you will hear a klunk when it is up all the way. Rudder needs to be up when you pull out. You will not be able to get it all the way to the bow roller but as close as possible. With the water ballast opened, you will want to pull partially out of the water to allow the ballast to drain. In some cases it was reported the wing nut on the threaded rod had been loosened but the rod had not gone down and that is due to the gasket stuck to the bottom of the hull. Simply put your foot on it to go down. It will take about 2 1/2 minutes for the water to escape the ballast tank. Pull the boat up and trailer up. On a flat surface, if the bow of the boat is several inches from the bow roller, I taught my customers to pull forward and brake suddenly to get the boat to move forward on the trailer, then tighten up on the winch strap. It may take several times doing that. Remember the weight of the boat is on the bunkboards and there are several things you can do like adding to the bunks something that will allow the hull to move better on the bunk boards. When done, allow the centerboard to rest on the keel tray but do lock the line anyway to prevent the centerboard coming down when launching the boat the next time. I suggest a strap over the back end of the boat and twist the strap on both sides to prevent the wind from slapping the strap against the hull. Also, put the safety chain on the bow eye in addition to the winch strap and if too long, simply twist the chain to shorten it. I also added a line to lock down the winch handle as that can come loose when traveling. Saved many a boat over the years with that little trick. Go about 10-20 miles, stop and recheck your tie downs as well as the winch strap as things do loosen up in the first few miles of travel.

You will find useful information in the archives on this but if you want to call me and discuss in detail, feel free to do so. Send me a private email and I will send you my phone number but remember I am 3 hours behind you being on the east coast.

 

[sesmith]

Dave covered all the tricks. The only thing I'll add is that when we had our 23.5, I would tie a long line on the bow eye. I would drop the trailer in deep enough to float the boat almost all the way up using the bow line. That way it would load evenly. Then just clip it on and tighten up the winch. I left the ballast drain open while loading, and the final winching was done after I hit the brakes a couple of times in the launch lot. We had a trailer extension on ours.

 

[Crazy Dave Condon]

oops! It takes the pupil to teach the teacher when teacher is afflicted with CRAFT.

CANNOT REMEMBER A FIDDLESTICKS THING!!! Thank you Sesmith. I just saw you are from Ithica? Back in the mid 90's I brought a boat up early April, Catalina 26, on a cradle loaded on a construction trailer behind my pickup. I think it is Oswego you come in from NY17. I remember of course not being a legal load without wide load permits ducking under a railroad bridge by 1 inch late at night in Oswego and then if I recollect there were two routes going to Ithica both two lane one for cars and the other for trucks. Well took the one for cars and it was snowing. Got to the city limits and uh oh, it was snowing with snow and ice on the road all down hill with one U horsebend. That did have a guard rail at the U. Prayed we would not loose it with ice. At the bottom, went by a police station on the right at 2 am with illegal wide load and out came two cop cars behind us but alas, no lights or sirens. We pulled into a motel at 2 a.m. Next morning it was 10 degrees and I froze my tush off having left Smith Mt. lake , VA in 75 degree weather. At the marina, boat was lifted off. Now mind ya I had washed the boat before leaving and it was wet particularly the carpet on the cradle. We lifted the boat supposedly off that cradle but the funny thing, cradle was still frozen solid to the hull. I wonder why?

 

[sesmith]

You probably came through Owego, not Oswego. I'm pretty sure I know which bridge you're talking about (and the police station). It sounds like the trip just gave you good reason that you lived in Va.

Another 4 years, we will be moving down near Charleston. Can't wait to leave the winters behind (especially after the last 2).

 

[Crazy Dave Condon]

Lets say it was pretty darn cold but in Siberia during the Russian winter, it is a wee chilly.