temporary ballast

[timb]

ok I have a bad tank in my boat it is listing fairly with 120 or so gallons of diesel on the port side. I am a also getting ready to remove the gen set from the same side. lead ballast bars are expensive . what would be an appropriate cheaper ballast for a year or so? I want to use the boat so whatever I use would need to be secured.

I also have a bow down thing going on too .but I think that will be fixed when I refill the water tanks .

has anyone used any of these.

1. buckets of concreate
2. scrap steel plate
3. water tank or bag
4. if I modify the water tank piping to only fill the starboard tank will it stress the hull

 

[seasalt007]

I've seen bags of concrete on several boats. Sometimes the paper bag deteriorates and the concrete hardens up...but that is good when it comes time to remove it.

If you could find a good heavy duty fuel bladder for a reasonable price it could be filled with water.

I put lead ingots in my Californian 45', My first Nordic Tug 42' had concrete. My Albin 35' SF had lead ingots as does my current Nordic Tug 42'.

None had the list you are talking about with the tank problem.

 

[Xsbank]

Water is 10# per gallon, use water carriers.

 

[Benthic2]

Do you know where the hole is in the bad tank ?? If its up high, you migh be able to fill that tank with water until you can get it fixed.....if it leaks out the hole, it'll be no big deal.

 

[Benthic2]

...or if you are never going to fix the bad tank....you could put sand or gravel in that tank.

 

[catalinajack]

I've seen bags of concrete on several boats. Sometimes the paper bag deteriorates and the concrete hardens up...but that is good when it comes time to remove it.

If you could find a good heavy duty fuel bladder for a reasonable price it could be filled with water.

I put lead ingots in my Californian 45', My first Nordic Tug 42' had concrete. My Albin 35' SF had lead ingots as does my current Nordic Tug 42'.

None had the list you are talking about with the tank problem.

Consider buying reclaimed lead shot in 25 lb bags from Rotometals. Cheaper than pure lead ingots plus much easier to move around.

 

[tiltrider1]

I use sand bags for temporary ballast. They are cheap and easy to dispose of. Come in 60lbs tubes.

 

[C lectric]

Old truck rubber inner tubes can be used to hold sand. Wet sand will be even heavier. Just secure the ends with good, heavy Tyraps.

 

[Larry M]

Yes, lead ingots/bars are expensive but they take up less room and you can resell them when you’re done. And who knows, the way the markets are, the lead maybe an investment.

 

[timb]

thanks for the replies . I want to get the most weight in the smallest area to allow room to remove the tank. I have a leaking water heater I'm going to pull out it sits in right behind the tank .I would like to use this space for the ballast .the only bad thing is the lecta san is right in front of the water heater.i just replaced the front head that is hooked to the holding tank. I'm not really ready to take on another $%$* job yet.

sand bags and concrete are the best looking options so far .maybe a few water containers(I have 2). and not buying any diesel until I get low.
the tank is leaking low in aft end I think but I think that was caused from water coming in the rusted out top . did you use play sand . did it come in tough bags? I'll see if I can google sand in tubes.

 

[timb]

Yes, lead ingots/bars are expensive but they take up less room and you can resell them when you’re done. And who knows, the way the markets are, the lead maybe an investment.

good idea with inner tubes .

great idea also. I had figured I would like to have a few for balancing the boat later. I'll shop around

 

[Datenight]

Hi Timb,

I used 80# bags of concrete in the old boat. Put each bag in a heavy duty contractor trash bag. Worked great and only two bags were not usable at the end of the summer.

Rob

 

[kapnd]

I saw somewhere ballast bags for wakeboard boats, they were essentially bladders in various shapes and sizes, but not rated for fuel, and so much cheaper!
Try a Google search.

 

[tiltrider1]

If you want to balance the boat at the dock you can put the sand bags on the deck or even hang them off the side of the boat.

I once pulled an engine and had to store it in the boats salon above the other engine. I hung two 55 gallon plastic drums off the side of the boat and filled them with water to level the boat.

 

[psneeld]

US liquid gallon

The US gallon is legally defined as 231*cubic inches, which is exactly*3.785411784litres.[3][4]*A US liquid gallon of water weighs about 8.34 pounds or 3.78 kilograms at 62*°F*


https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gallon#US_liquid_gallon

 

[timb]

I saw somewhere ballast bags for wakeboard boats, they were essentially bladders in various shapes and sizes, but not rated for fuel, and so much cheaper!
Try a Google search.

great idea . I new the 8 pounds a gallon thing but all the bags I looked up where high priced . I looked at fuel and black water and grey water but overlooked wake board bags.thanks

 

[Xsbank]

PS, nobody uses the US Gallon! Oh, wait... hmmm

 

[timb]

Hi Timb,

I used 80# bags of concrete in the old boat. Put each bag in a heavy duty contractor trash bag. Worked great and only two bags were not usable at the end of the summer.

Rob

I may use a mix of lead water and the concrete. I think I'll take 200 pounds of concrete with me next weekend pull the gen replace it with the concreate so it doesn't get worse and measure to see what size bag I can fit in there.

thanks to everyone for the ideas

 

[timb]

PS, nobody uses the US Gallon! Oh, wait... hmmm

no liters here except soft drinks . and some liquor but we still call them 1/5 and halves

 

[psneeld]

Gotta look at the OPs frame of reference, then the general TF audience.

I am sensitive that many dont live in the USA..... but ultimately to answer the OP in best terms, answer to their culture.....then explain to the great unwashed...

 

[sunchaser]

Water is 10# per gallon, use water carriers.

Per imperial gallon maybe.

 

[Lepke]

In bigger ports and cities there's always some company selling used drums. 55 gallons and smaller. Now days usually plastic. It's easier to move an empty drum in & out than a sack of cement. Cement is better for permanent ballast.

 

[Irish Rambler]

Look around and find someone who does shot blasting and get some used shot blast from them, it's very very heavy. Then you can either put it in plastics bags, tie wrapped and place it, or get some plastic tubing, say 2" dia, cut to desired lengths, fit screw on ends, fill it with shot, they can easily be lifted afterwards.
Or buy cement, fill plastic bin liners, tie wrap and put in place, they will initially be semi liquid so can be moulded to profile, they will harden in place so there will be no spill to clog bilge pumps and can be removed easily afterwards and dumped.

 

[timb]

I have a center line bed in the aft cabin .it has two 120 gallon water tanks if I only fill the starboard tank could that stress the hull .I don't know how much it will help with it being that close to centerline.

 

[Puffin_NT32]

My Nordic Tug came with 30 pound bags of crushed granite. Works fine. Another option to consider is 25 pound bags of lead shot (shotgun shell loads) you can get at Cabelas, Bass Pro, and gun shops, $25. Even cheaper, 60 - 70 pound tube bags of sand, which you get get at Lowes, Home Depot, $5. All these bagged products come in woven plastic bags, so the bag will not deteriorate.

 

[timb]

i'm trying to find the 60 or 70 pound bags in the tough bags .no one around here stocks them. if seems to be a northern thing for bad weather and shipping is crazy.

 

[tiltrider1]

Lowe’s home improvement stores.