by Shudoman on Tue Apr 20, 2010 9:47 am
Hi,
I was wondering if there is an easy way to secure the ballast in these compartments. I read somewhere that the compartments will contain the ballast to 100 of heel before opening. I wouldn't want the ballast sitting on the cabin roof if turned turtle (that's not being very optimistic is it?) since it would make righting much more difficult. I plan on putting my ballast in bags and was trying to conceive of a way to attach the bags to the inside of the compartment so they don't have the possibility of falling out.
I didn't really think of this until I was racing with a local club a few weekends ago and one of the boats that had a weighted centerboard forgot to lower it after a downwind run and immediately turned turtle after coming about. Since the board was stuck in the cabin the three (heavyweight) crew couldn't right the 20' foot boat it before is sunk completely. It really messed up their day. I could see a similar event if that 200lbs of weight fell to the cabin roof.
Any ideas?
Thanks,
Bill