hunter 23.5 water ballast

[Paul]

Hi
I'm thinking of moving up in size to a hunter 23.5 with water ballast and i'm not familiar with the pros and cons of the water ballast . Any input would be appreciated
thanks paul

 

[CalebD]

Paul (with no profile), what are you moving up from?

The boats that use water for ballast make good trailer sailors IMHO. Less weight to tow around but almost enough weight once filled and in the water. I am not familiar with the H 23.5 but have been on a Mac 26S that sailed nicely if a little tender (tendency to heel) in stronger winds.
The body of water(s) you plan on sailing on might make a difference too. The Great Lakes for example can get pretty lumpy and a non-water ballast keel boat might be a better choice if that is where you want to use it.
Best of luck.

 

[porsche]

agreed

I agree with calebd, I have sailed on a water ballest and they heel up alot in little wind. There are a lot of keel boats that are easy to trailor and IMO sail way better than water ballest. I sail on small lakes mostly but have taken my c22 to the atlantic for six hours of sailing and I was very comfortable. There was a a larger water ballest boat there as well and it looked like a lot more work and slower than us.

 

[Jenni]

water ballast

The thing to remeber with a water ballast is.. When you boat is level the water is below the waterline of your boat. This means its not really doing anything. But when your boat starts to heel over the water in the ballast tanks is lifted above the surounding water level letting it have its full effect. Now people say that they are tender and have a tendancy to heel excesivly. Thats not quite true they tend to start heeling faster than most but once it leans over the water ballast works quite well. Now if you want a trailerable boat I wouldnt heasitate to get one that is water ballasted. The fact that the ballast can be drained out for transport is a tremendous advantage, and actually allows the designer to put more water weight than they could put fixed ballast.

Now I sail my Mac 26D on Lake Ontario and I have never had any trouble handeling any but the strongest winds and waves. Mind you if its blowing 30+ knots you best have the main reefed and the storm jib up.

 

[bio]

I sail by c22's all the time...have bested, at times, the 25 too.

never seemed to be working harder than anyone else out there on the water...perhaps it was the captain and not the boat porshe?

Been to the atlantic many weekends and gulf for up to 9 days with a few 10 hour days...from what I've seen I would be more comfortable on my larger water ballast than a smaller fixed.

 

[bio]

just want to clarify...

I am by no means saying the c22 is not a good, fast for it's size and cabin, boat. I sailed most of a day with one and anchored with the guy and shared beers and stories. It is a beautiful, better built than mine, boat.

But it is not faster than a 26s water ballasted boat...we had water whitecapping...I worked no harder than they did. I was with my girlfriend (handling the main and jib lines myself) while they (who were both heabier than me, let alone my girl)were both working the lines and even leaning over the edge of the boat like a hobie or dingy...they did not have a chance of matching my speed. Perhaps it is that some mistake the motor hybrids with the classic macs...perhaps it is that the mac captains some see are inexperienced. I don't know where the gin mill rumors originate...but the 26D and 26s are great sailoring boats...and fast, and pretty roomy for the price and trailorbility.

 

[porsche]

25ft water ballest

bio ,I won't say the make of water ballest boat but you are right it was probably the capt. of that boat. I have sailed on a water ballest 26fter. and it did heel fast and I was not expecting that from this large of a boat. I almost bought a 23.5 hunter water ballest, great looking and roomy as well but my test sail turned me off. Of course it's just my opinion and you know the saying I trailor my boat and this is why I looked at the water ballest but I love my cat22. Alan

 

[paul]

23.5 vs c22

Hi
I currently own a coronado 15 and I sail in smaller lakes but we have strong winds . The 23.5 appeals to me because of the open transom but i want to be able to take it out with the fam with 15 to 25 mph winds comfortably

 

[George]

Water Ballast

Here's some poop on water ballast:

http://h260.com/water_ballast/water_ballast_paper1.html
http://h260.com/water_ballast/water_ballast_paper2.html
http://h260.com/water_ballast/water_ballast_paper3.html

 

[HAL]

H2O

Water in an enclosed tank (enclosed is the important word) acts like any other weight that might be used for ballast. Density makes a difference in where and how the ballast is placed.

I believe the characteristics of a water ballast boat are created by the fact that the ballast is carried internally, therefore it is high and being water it is spread over a wide area. The boat is still ballasted whether it heels or not. On a H260 ,you could evenly spread 2000lbs of rocks in the bilge, making sure they don't move, and get a similar effect in regards to tenderness.

Some blue water boats like the Alubat Ovni 435 have a centerboard and internal ballast of steel or lead .I bet their are some similarities in heel response to internally ballasted smaller boats that use water.

 

[alikolbe]

Hunter 23.5

My 23.5 heels over quite rapidly, which is quite intimidating for someone coming from a much larger sailboat, she does sail beautifully on a downwind run. This is the first summer I have had her, so I am still getting used to her.
Where are you sailing out of?

 

[Rick Webb]

Sails Wonderfuly

It is quick to heel but is very stable when heeled over. I've often had the windows in the water just to tease the crew. If it heels too much the rudder comes out of the water and it points into the wind. I have never been able to get the rail in the water. Around 15 and certainly before 20 knots of wind if you put the reef in it still sails very well. I have no desire to trade up from mine but if I were it would be for a 26 mostly just for the enclosed head for my wife and daughter.

 

[Bogdan]

water ballest

I sail a Mac 26s, it heels fast but once there it is hard to get the windows wet, this sails great, I was told not to but one but I would do it agian,
this is a great boat, get the 23.5, they are wonderful for 2 on a weekend,

 

[aa.aunins]

go sailing

The good thing about most sailers is if they know you're thinking about buying the same boat they have they will be more than glad to take you out for a sail.
I would try and find people with the same boats your looking at and go for a test sail. You're the one that will have to be happy about it in the long run, so what you think is most important.

 

[Clemo]

I sail a Mac 26X (water ballast) With my grand children on board we reef real early, sail slowly, and stay upright. With just my sons on board we tend to wash the gunnals and go hard. Either way, the sailing is always great.

& I agree, talk to owners, ask questions, tell them you are thinking of buying & I bet they offer you a ride.

Clemo,
Mac 26X
Batemans Bay
Australia.

 

[Barnacle Bill]

The beauty of a water ballast boat is that it is light for trailering (unless you forget to drain the water) and so you can trailer a larger boat with a smaller vehicle. If that is important for you, then go for it.
The reason people tend to say they are tender is because the water ballast is less dense than other ballast materials and it is up high in the tank contained within the hull. A boat with ballast beneath the hull can offer greater stability and, of course, that is in the form of a weighted keel of various designs. Because of the presumed tenderness of the boat, the manufacturer often shortens the mast up to lower the combined center of effort of the sails being used.
A taller mast, of course, is the horsepower of a sailboat. So, when you shorten it up you lose sailing potential in terms of performance. Someone wrote that his water ballasted boat sails very well when reaching. Well, any boat sails very well when reaching. If you are looking for stability and performance, the only water ballasted trailerable boat that I know of that is a real good sailing vessel is the Schock 23. They made two 23-foot models and both are good boats, but only one of them had a water ballasted hull and it was faster than the other. The other had more interior space and is a fast boat, but not fast like the water ballasted boat, which really is built to race.
There is a couple who own a Hunter 28 water ballasted boat and I think they enjoy the boat ok (it has a big interior and comfy cockpit) but whenever the wind pipes up, they are the first to reef to sail the boat flat. The boat doesn't sail very fast at all, but they aren't in a hurry, I guess.
I know of another person who came out of a very stiff 22-footer and got into a Hunter 260 to accommodate his growing family. The first thing he said, was, it was ok, but real tender and his wife didn't like that. He soon bought an S-2 30 and forgot about trailering his boat.
So, I guess there are compromises to anything, but if trailering a light boat is a top priortiy, the you, in most cases, might have to sacrifice performance and stiffness in a vessel.
The other issue with a water ballasted boat is the ballast tank is in the hull which takes up interior space which means the hull freeboard (sides) is often much higher to keep the interior space that sailors who buy these boats enjoy. The creates windage under power in a marina and sometimes you can be blown around and in a tight spot, that can cause problems sometimes. Where there are a lot of manufacturers who offered water ballasted boats, I think most are getting away from that concept now.