PocketShip.net

Folks,

Where are people getting lead for their PocketShip?

I used lead bird shot that I bought at Gander Mountain. That's about the most expensive way to buy it, but it was convenient and the lead is clean. People talk of using wheel balance weights procured from auto places that do lots of tire work but I didn't feel like taking that trouble. Scrap metal businesses have it too.

I got wheel weights from a local garage and started to use them. The weights today are not all lead, so you have a lot of scrap that you have to get out. It was a lot of work. Half way through the session, I went to BassPro and bought led shot. It was all clean and melted quickly. The biggest negative was the price. It was not cheap.

I ordered my lead online at Rotometals.com

25 lb bags of reclaimed lead is abut $38 each - free shipping. Your postman won't appreciate it as it comes in 50 lb boxes in the USPS standard mail

On the subject of lead, page 281 of the manual states a minimum 160 lbs of inside ballast is needed (mandatory!!), but an additional 50% may be better if sailing solo or lightly loaded.
I wasn't aware of this requirement when I got the lead for the keel and before making this additional purchase would be interested in hearing from other pocketshipers what ballast weight they ultimately ended up with.

Wayne

I dropped in an even 200 - a total of 8 - 25 lb bags of reclaimed lead shot. Placed evenly divided between the compartments on either side of the centerboard housing. I also carry 2 Marine 12 volt batteries in the front cabin storage section giving me another 60 lb or so of weight - it is not under the waterline, but definitely under the center of gravity so it still acts like ballast. It is mostly counter-balanced by the electric motor I have hanging off the transom.

I went the lead shot route too. They work nice for the loose ballast also.

Keep in mind that there is plenty of room under the floorboards for ballast of all types - not just lead. If the idea of procuring an extra hundred pounds of lead is not appealing to you, look for scrap metal or a some bags of sand. Technically, when using less dense ballast, you need to add more to account for the average weight being higher in the bilge. I'm assuming this is a pretty small effect on a lightly ballasted boat like Pocketship and didn't worry too much about it.

Lead wheel weights are pretty disgusting. The residual oils give off a black smoke when melting. I made sure to stay far upwind and held my breath when stirring or pouring. None of the big chain stores would sell the weights to me, so I ended up visiting the local places. I still overpaid compared to what lead sells for in bulk (it was $1 a pound at the time, but has since decreased), but was a lot less expensive than lead shot.

I really enjoyed seeing molten lead. Everything floats on it - dirt, rocks, and other metals. You expect a liquid to be "wet", but of course all water has evaporated from everything inside the pot. When you scoop out the dirt, grime, etc, everything just crumbles when you expect it to clump together. Solid lead tarnishes but when molten it looks just like mercury or molten silver. Very cool stuff.

Remember that EVERYTHING you put into the pot of already melted lead must be absolutely dry. Any water will vaporize instantly and explode.

Thanks for the feedback. I think I'll go with 200lbs of reclaimed lead shot. Although I'm not in love with the idea of sacks of lead in the ballast the heavy bags of shot will be compact and don't need to be secured. Rotometal's price is ok and the free shipping makes it a good deal.

Expensive, but these steel shot bags are very well made and 200lbs. (4 bags) fit in the intended compartments perfectly.

http://wakeballast.com/wakeballast-50-l ... -usa-only/

Jeff