Emptying Water Ballast - Hunter 260

J

Jeff Gray

.
Nov 26, 2017
64
Hunter 260 Mille Lacs
Hi All,

I'm about to pull my boat for the season. I'd really like to get the water ballast out before putting on the trailer, just to give me an extra few inches less depth I need backing the trailer down the ramp. I know I could pump it out, but I don't really have a suitable pump. Anybody ever try to blow the water out, say, with a shop vac having the hose attached to the exhaust rather than to the suction?

Jeff
 
Rick Macdonald

Rick Macdonald

.
Jun 2, 2004
649
Hunter 23.5 Calgary, Canada
My gut reaction is that it doesn't sound like a very good idea. When this question comes up, one of the suggestions is usually one of those little pump attachments for electric or cordless drills as an inexpensive option.
 
C

Crazy Dave Condon

.
Jun 8, 2004
10,060
-na -NA Anywhere USA
As a former dealer who was involved with the design, never pressurize the tank. You cold break the seal of the lid.
Feel free to send a private message and I will be glad to give you some advice based on experience how to reload
 
Justin_NSA

Justin_NSA

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Jul 7, 2004
8,402
Hunter 30T Cheney, KS
When our lake was down and I had to get the Mac 26S onto the trailer, I had to do it in stages. Open the ballast valve. Winch it up a bit and wait for water to escape. Winch it up more, wait, repeat. It was slow but effective.
 
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J

Jeff Gray

.
Nov 26, 2017
64
Hunter 260 Mille Lacs
Thanks for the thoughts guys. I do have a drill pump. I just don't know if I want to run my drill that long. Would take multiple charge cycles on the battery. I don't have a corded drill. I'm not talking about "pressurizing the tank". With the shop vac exhaust it would never see any more than the pressure it's under when comes off the trailer at launch before you pull the plug to release air. My real question is whether my shop vac can even supply that much...

Will let you know how it goes, whichever way I go about it! :)

Thanks again,
J
 
B

Boatnic

.
Dec 23, 2013
20
Hunter 23.5 and 27, 2006 Redbud Marina
Hi, I own a Hunter 23.5 water ballast and there are several other Hunter water ballast boats in the marina. Once every couple of years the lake freezes and not all of us pull the boats out. We do blow with a vac in reverse mode to empty the tanks. Make sure valve is open fully so the gasket doesn't take the pressure. Also you can offer a little pressure relief by not holding the nozzle completely tight in the opening. Never had a problem.
However I defer to Crazy Dave as I never considered it could damage the lid seal. Guess I've been lucky, so maybe this isn't the best choice.
Martin
 
Kermit

Kermit

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Jul 31, 2010
5,657
AquaCat 12.5 17342 Wateree Lake, SC
Somewhere in the owners mods section is a posting about using an aquarium pump. The hose goes through a rubber seal into the ballast tank. There’s another post about making a hole large enough to run a submersible pump into the tank and emptying the water out the cockpit. It looks good on paper but I’m not sure I’d want to cut a hole that big.

My motto is “When in doubt do what @Crazy Dave Condon says to do.” (I’m thinking about getting a rubber bracelet that says WWCDCD.)
 
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rgranger

rgranger

.
Jan 19, 2010
12,370
Hobie 16 & Rhodes 22 Skeeter Charleston
Kermit said:
Somewhere in the owners mods section is a posting about using an aquarium pump. The hose goes through a rubber seal into the ballast tank. There’s another post about making a hole large enough to run a submersible pump into the tank and emptying the water out the cockpit. It looks good on paper but I’m not sure I’d want to cut a hole that big.

My motto is “When in doubt do what @Crazy Dave Condon says to do.” (I’m thinking about getting a rubber bracelet that says WWCDCD.)
Click to expand
@Kermit I think you could leave out the second "C". Then you could print it up as ....

upload_2018-10-1_11-24-14.png


I'll take two!

Edit: Maybe those should be subscripts instead of superscripts....:confused:
 
Last edited:
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rgranger

rgranger

.
Jan 19, 2010
12,370
Hobie 16 & Rhodes 22 Skeeter Charleston
But the bracelet should be orange because rust is orange and crusty....and makes you think old and crusty.... like Dave!

:poke:
 
Justin_NSA

Justin_NSA

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Jul 7, 2004
8,402
Hunter 30T Cheney, KS
rgranger said:
But the bracelet should be orange because rust is orange and crusty....and makes you think old and crusty.... like Dave!

:poke:
Click to expand
Slight hijack -
I've often though I should embrace my age as well. Many times I have almost pulled the trigger on this jersey.
 
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rgranger

rgranger

.
Jan 19, 2010
12,370
Hobie 16 & Rhodes 22 Skeeter Charleston
Justin_NSA said:
Slight hijack -
I've often though I should embrace my age as well. Many times I have almost pulled the trigger on this jersey.
Click to expand
I think that would work for a boxing team as well.
 
h2o_snow

h2o_snow

.
Nov 18, 2016
150
Hunter 260 Lucky Peak, ID
Justin_NSA said:
Many times I have almost pulled the trigger on this jersey.
Click to expand
You guys have me laughing!

Justin,

You ever decide to print that jersey up I an totally in. XXXL in a Primal. Maybe "I still think I'm strong - therefore I am" on the front.

And now .....back to our regularly scheduled program.

Agree with @Justin NSA and @rgranger. Have never checked the draw on our H260 with and without water ballast. In general pressurizing the ballast tank (even with very low pressure) is an exercise I would not take on due to potential failure. I have pressurized Mrs. Snows Laser (back in her racing days) checking for leaks and was amazed at how little pressure it took to bulge that boat.

I would think slow winching is the ticket but might consider a sturdier anchor than the trailer ladder platform. I know ours will flex vs moving the boat when snugging up on land. However - I assume that the issue is pulling the boat out on a VERY shallow ramp. How about another hitch extension? Or...have a buddy with a C27 (fixed keel). He uses a come along and a snatch strap off the back of his truck to drop the trailer in unattached. (Has a pivoting, fixed rotation, beefy double jockey wheel on the trailer). Works great!
 
Justin_NSA

Justin_NSA

.
Jul 7, 2004
8,402
Hunter 30T Cheney, KS
h2o_snow said:
You guys have me laughing!

Justin,

You ever decide to print that jersey up I an totally in. XXXL in a Primal. Maybe "I still think I'm strong - therefore I am" on the front.
Click to expand
This one and several others are on Amazon ;)
 
Justin_NSA

Justin_NSA

.
Jul 7, 2004
8,402
Hunter 30T Cheney, KS
Nothing worse than seeing a butt crack on a bicycle! But yeah, they should consider the market they are selling to. :)
 
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h2o_snow

h2o_snow

.
Nov 18, 2016
150
Hunter 260 Lucky Peak, ID
Thread run amuck.

Mountain biker here. Actually prefer long button down SS cotton shirts in the heat. The bagginess covers my gut!
 
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