Subsitute Ballast

[Chiriqui]

I'm visiting the states. I was given a blue water sailing magazine for Christmas. There was a advertisement for the Allure sailboat. What caught my eye was that it had a centerboard, although it was a blue water boat! Turns out it has a ballast of cast iron in the bilge!

Has anyone with a Hunter 26 or similar boat switched the water ballast to a fixed weight.

Would that be possible?

 

[Brian M H23]

Anything is "possible", in theory all you have to do is cut the tank open, lay lead ingots in there, secure them so that they can't move, then glass it shut again.

Would I ever consider it? No

 

[David in Sandusky]

What's wrong with your boat?

What is wrong with your h26 now? What is the problem you want it fix?

If you want to switch from water ballast to lead or iron, the best way is to sell your boat, and buy one with fixed ballast. But water ballast designed into boats like the h26 is quite effective, so I'm not sure what you are really looking for?

 

[Benny17441]

The h26 was designed as a trailerable boat. Let the water out thus reducing the weight and it becomes much easier to trailer. Substituting with a permanent ballast would defeat the whole purpose of the design. Furthermore such modification would not turn the h26 into a blue water boat. There are many other considerations that would take precedence beyond the ballast.

 

[203]

Is the hull strong enough to support lead / iron ballast while trailering?? I assumed you emptied the ballast water before exposing the boat to the rigors of road travel.

 

[Crazy Dave Condon]

Adding weight to the ballast tank poses many issues. As one who is the most knowledagble of this boat, I will tell you the following. First, never cut into the ballast tank lid plus you would have to cut thru the cabin floor. This is a major issue of reglassing and to be blunt with this boat, you and even many fiberglass shops would destroy the integrity. Hunter even advised against it. Some tried and failed. I fixed one as I know how to but told the customer not to do a dumb stunt like that again.

Secondly, you are adding weight which will cause more weight to tow; thus, more gas. But that is not really the problem. The entire weight of the dry boat of 3000 lbs. sits on the bunk boards and to do that will interfere wih the integrity of the trailer frame not to mention that you will dimple the hull into the bunk boards which will cause weakness in the glass.

Further, there is no need to add the weight if you know how to sail the 26 or 260 properly at a heel of no more than 14 degrees by decreasing sail area and/or letting the sheet lines out or a combination thereof. This boat will sail faster flatter due to its design. I have proved that time and time again.

So the best advice, forget that crazy idea of adding weight to the ballast tank. I may be known as Crazy Dave but in realty, I am not that crazy to do that.

crazy dave condon

 

[Chiriqui]

I just read through the follow up replies. I suppose if I had read that others were doing this then I might have given it some serious consideration. A fixed ballast seems to me to offer greater security by maintaining a lower center of gravity. Yes I trailer the boat but only because I don't have it treated with anti fouling. By the way the trailer is shot because of the dunking it gets in salt water. I'm in the process of overhauling it because of the hit it takes from the salt water. I sometimes hit 16 degrees! which I was advised not to go beyond by a Hunter rep. Allures are not the only one offering a in hull cast iron ballast. I think one called the Oyster 545 offers this! I find this intriguing. Its referred to as a "modern trend for shoal draft cruisers"

 

[Hugh Straub]

Your Oyster 545 will be a nice step up from your Hunter 26!

Kind regards

Hugh

 

[Jackdaw]

The 260 is designed to be sailed with the ballast of the tank filled with water. This water weights a calculated amount. That's how much ballast the boat should have. Replacing the weight of the water with iron would save room not offer not real benefit. Adding more ballast would slow the boat down and effect it structurally, without knowing if it would have any benefit on stability (I guess not). I recommend not messing with it.

Ps. You can always dream.

http://youtu.be/DmX9N5SezaQ

 

[Chiriqui]

I island hop around Chiriqui Gulf. My H26 is adequate for this. Still it be nice to step up before I get much older, but that's not going to happen unless I find a partner. I have my eye on a 44 Gulfstar sitting in Boca Del Toro but I need that partner. It needs some improvements but it be ideal for a trip to the Galopagus and beyond

 

[Hugh Straub]

I just took a peek at your Chiriqui Gulf cruising ground on Google Earth. Looks terrific.

Kind regards

Hugh

 

[Steve Dion]

Replacing the water with lead would probably cost more than the boat cost.

When lead peaked out a couple of years ago Hunter had gone back to cast iron because the keel cost on some of their boats was approaching $70k.

Lead is currently selling for about $1.00 - $1.25/lb. I do not know how much water the tanks on the H'26 hold but you can do the math. 1 gal of water is a little over 8.3 lbs.

 

[Chiriqui]

From what has been said I don't think it's worth tackling. Besides I'm not sure I could find the skill level here that I might need to undertake an operation of this scale. If I could do a partial ballast replacement, something that others have found fruitful, without cutting into the ballast tank, then maybe I might have seriously considered this as an option.