Keel/ballast Question?? Plus Extra Credit Question ;)

[stephenronning]

Hello: I have a question. I have a Cal 2 25 that I recently bought. It has 2000 lbs of ballast and a fin keel. Is the keel 2000lbs?? Or is the ballast in the bottom of the boat or is there like 1500lbs of lead in the bottom of the boat and the keel is 500 lbs?? I've owned several boats and always just figured that the keel was ll the ballast but now It just hit me that I really don't know...ANY INPUT APPRECIATED.
Thanks,
Stephen
EXTRA CREDIT QUESTION: WHY DOES LBS MEAN POUNDS??? WHAT ABOUT THE LETTERS L B S = POUNDS?????

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[Jalepeno]

The specifications say that there is 2000# of lead ballast in the fiberglass-encapsulated keel. Don't worry about the weight of the fiberglass. It does not contribute a significant about and is part of the hull.
s/v Jalepeno

 

[stephenronning]

Jalapeno, so the keel itself is 2000# eh? NO lead in the bottom of the boat itself? Thanks, Stephen

 

[Jalepeno]

The fibreglass keel is a cavity that is part of the hull mould. It is filled from above with 2,000 pounds of lead ingots (or maybe lead shot) not molten lead. The keel cavity is then filled with resin to eliminate voids. If you look in your bilge, you will see the top of this sealing fibreglass. This makes a very strong keel assembly used my many blue water sailboats. Some other sailboat builders used less dense but cheaper concrete as the ballast filler. Most new sailboats now use either a cast lead or cast iron keel that is bolted to a reinforced keel stub on bottom of the hull.
s/v Jalepeno

 

[Warren Milberg]

EXTRA CREDIT QUESTION: WHY DOES LBS MEAN POUNDS??? WHAT ABOUT THE LETTERS L B S = POUNDS?????

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Here's the Wiki:
"The word pound comes from the Latin word pondus meaning "weight".[1] The abbreviation lb comes from the Latin word libra, meaning "scales, balances",[1] which also described a Roman unit similar to the pound."

 

[Jim Kolstoe]

Stephen, a side question if I may. My norsk-english dictionary tells me "elskede" means "beloved." Did you talk with your significant other about this?
Jim Kolstoe, h23 Kara's Boo