Ballast control . .
Posted: Thu Feb 09, 2012 5:33 pm
I often sail alone and try to anticipate safty issues that can be avoided. What about "shifting ballast" in the event of a knock down? Or, more rarely (or even unlikely), an 180 degree roll over? The ballast in my PocketShip is stowed under the floor planks between floors 4 & 5. In a knock down (starboard tack), the port-side ballast would slide out to port restrained by the chine and the floor planks. Not much of a problem. But much of the starboard-side ballast might fall out through the lift-out sections of the floor planks. That would put a lot of the ballast on the low side and inhibit the righting forces. And the worst case would be an 180 degree roll over. Such a roll over would be very unlikely, but if it happened, much or all the ballast would fall out through the lift-out sections.
There's a fairly easy prevention that I've just installed on Tattoo, my PocketShip. I installed a "ballast restraining" baffle between floors 4 & 5 just at the inboard edge of the 5th floor plank to keep ballast close to the keel. To keep ballast under the floor boards, I installed a "ballast cover plate" that slips through the lift-out section opening and is "fixed" with a 1.25" #8 SS FHWS placed through the 4th floor plank and into the cover plate. The "ballast restraining" baffle is screwed to cleats (screwed to the floors) at the edge of the 5th floor plank and is not easily removed. But the "ballast cover plate" is easily removed for access to the ballast.
The cleats are 3/4" x 1" stock. The baffles and cover plates are left-over 1/4" marine plywood w/ 2 coats of epoxy.
Tattoo's ballast is melted down wheel balancing weights contributed by a truck tire service center. I used a cast iron mold for "cornbread sticks." Each cornbread shapped ingot of lead weighs about 1.1 lb. Nine fit into heavy duty zip-lock bags. I use two bags for each cluster of 9 ingots. Presently, since I often sail solo, I have 11 bags on each side of the centerboard. That takes up almost all the space under the floor boards and between the centerboard housing and the baffle installed at the edge of the 5th floor plank.
The photos show how it all goes together.
There's a fairly easy prevention that I've just installed on Tattoo, my PocketShip. I installed a "ballast restraining" baffle between floors 4 & 5 just at the inboard edge of the 5th floor plank to keep ballast close to the keel. To keep ballast under the floor boards, I installed a "ballast cover plate" that slips through the lift-out section opening and is "fixed" with a 1.25" #8 SS FHWS placed through the 4th floor plank and into the cover plate. The "ballast restraining" baffle is screwed to cleats (screwed to the floors) at the edge of the 5th floor plank and is not easily removed. But the "ballast cover plate" is easily removed for access to the ballast.
The cleats are 3/4" x 1" stock. The baffles and cover plates are left-over 1/4" marine plywood w/ 2 coats of epoxy.
Tattoo's ballast is melted down wheel balancing weights contributed by a truck tire service center. I used a cast iron mold for "cornbread sticks." Each cornbread shapped ingot of lead weighs about 1.1 lb. Nine fit into heavy duty zip-lock bags. I use two bags for each cluster of 9 ingots. Presently, since I often sail solo, I have 11 bags on each side of the centerboard. That takes up almost all the space under the floor boards and between the centerboard housing and the baffle installed at the edge of the 5th floor plank.
The photos show how it all goes together.