My opinions...
Hello, Paul! Congratulations on your new H26- I hope she provides you with years of fun and sailing excitement! OK, about your water ballast... There shouldn't be much of a problem with leaving water in it all the time. That said, I think I would personally change out the water in the ballast tank every couple of months to help get rid of the little nasties that can grow in stagnant water; Some folks say that adding bleach to your ballast tank will also achieve the same effect. If you check the archives on this site, there has been some discussion of this. You said your lake doesn't freeze in the winter time; I think that if I were not going to use the boat for several months, I'd take the boat out of the water and store it on its trailer (mast up?), and drain the ballast tank for the off season- it's cheap insurance against freezing, sinking, or foul ballast. The batteries CAN be left on board, but I don't think I'd recommend it in an area that freezes. If you do leave them aboard, be VERY careful about the charger you hook them up to- Get a 3-stage or 4-stage charger that will not cook your battery if it's left on. Many folks take their batteries home in the off season, place them on a wooden surface (NEVER concrete!), and either trickle charge them or just charge them up once a month. This keeps the battery fairly well charged, out of the cold (where it may freeze and crack), and ready to go when it comes time to re-commission in the spring. Again, plenty of info on this in the archives.... Good luck with your new boat! Spend some time searching this site, and you will find all kinds of great ideas, advice, helpful hints, things you didn't know to ask but are useful anyways, and generally helpful people. Welcome aboard! --Jon Bastien H23 '2 Sheets to the Wind' H25 'Adagio'
