Water Ballast and Fiberglass

[Russ King]

I have read many articles about the horrors of blister and water-logged fiberglass. The articles are clear that you do not want water to penetrate the laminates in fiberglass.The question is, what do the manufacturers (i.e., Catalina) do to prevent water intrusion in water ballast sailboats? Is the INSIDE of the ballast tank gelcoated (ok) or epoxied (even better)? For that matter, what is done in the bilge area, or wherever water tends to collect?And how long do water ballast sailboats last compared to their non-water ballast siblings? Will a C25 fixed keel boat last longer than a C25 WB boat? Would you buy a 10 or 15 year old water ballast boat?

 

[Dave LaPere]

Not Sure!

Hi,After reading your message, I'm not sure you could find a water ballasted boat 15 years old.Would I buy one, no I wouldn't.This is strictly my opinion, I think the idea of the water ballasted boat is a good one, especially if one wants a trailerable boat but doesn't want to tow all the dead weight of a ballasted boat around, and it can be towed with a much smaller vehicle.Now the drawbacks, I have found that the water ballasted boats heel far too easily, too tender. As far as the prep work that Catalina does to the tank, or tanks of the boat should be addressed to them directly, or maybe someone here in our forum has one that can give you a first hand account.I think Catalina should have kept the traditional fixed,wing,and swing keel version of the Catalina 25. If they had I would have purchased a swing keel 25 instead of my new MarkII 22' 2000 instead.Hope this helpsDave LaPere