Lead for Ballast

Hy guys

It's getting close!....
I am getting lead ingots to use as ballast in my boat.
Is there any special care apart from getting it far from other metals?

Thank you

I wouldn't think so...many older sailboats just had a big chunk bolted on as a keel. Painted over with copper paint.

Just make sure it's secure.

Don't lick it.
Wear gloves
lead poisoning ain't pretty.

We have lead ballast appeared to be 5200'd in.

If you are putting in ingots just ensure that they are well secured so they don't move around, either use brackets or some sort of adhesive.

Cheers
Benn

I built a couple of boats from a bare fiberglass hull and deck and had to install lead ballast. What I did was use 60 lb lead ingots and then poured a mixture of lead shot and polyester resin to fill the gaps. I had a 2 lb coffee can that I mixed the shot and resin into to make a mixture that barely flowed. I pour that into the space and toweled it smooth. The 2 lb can was pretty much all I wanted to work with. It was pretty heavy when full.

I don't know if you can get the lead shot where you live but I got mine from a gun club who regularly went out to the range to pick up the expended lead. They clean it and packed into 25 lb bags and sold it to the public.

I made lead ingots from salvaged wheel weights from the tire store. They were held in place in the bow bilge of my boat using silicon sealant. They never moved! Made about 40 ingots of 15 lbs each.

My experience.
CCC

boatpoker said:

Don't lick it.
Wear gloves
lead poisoning ain't pretty.

Click to expand...

Huh!

Might want to use heavy metal shot blast mixed with cement/epoxy. You can probable get for free at a shop that shot blasts. Our plant usually has a 50 gallons drum of used shot.

The Eagles bilge and keel is filled with cement with a fiber glass top over to keep in place. Shot blast is a lot heavier then cement Juat a thought!

charles said:

I made lead ingots from salvaged wheel weights from the tire store. They were held in place in the bow bilge of my boat using silicon sealant. They never moved! Made about 40 ingots of 15 lbs each.

Click to expand...

How long did it take you to collect 600 lbs of wheel weights?

Approx 60 lb ingots stuck in place with 3M-42000 you can see the ingots were sawn in half to fit in USPS "if it fits we ship" The best price I could find was a company in California, Rotomold, Which sold including free shipping. My Mail Lady got a nice Christmas envelope that year.

My boat is heavy enough. Nevertheless, my Dad's 28.5-foot sloop weighed 4 tons, half of which was lead. It was contained within the keel. If adding ballast, I'd want it not to shift.

The only ballast I have found on my boat is in the form of coarse powdered lead, located in a sealed compartment below the vee berth. I haven't found any ballast in the stern of the boat but their may be some in the keel.
The powdered lead may not be quite as dense as solid lead but it fills the void completely, and can be removed easily if required.

Phil Fill said:

Might want to use heavy metal shot blast mixed with cement/epoxy.

Click to expand...

Is that steel shot?

Greetings,
Mr. RickB. "Is that steel shot?" That was my question to myself. I wasn't going to bother bringing it up....sigh...

WesK,

I went to the tire shop and got them free,they were throwing them into 5 gal buckets.
When I melted them I fished the steel clips out of the molten lead and then poured into a homemade mold.

If installing any ballast with polly or epoxy , do it in smallish batches as both can get VERY warm when curing a large batch.

charles said:

WesK,

I went to the tire shop and got them free,they were throwing them into 5 gal buckets.
When I melted them I fished the steel clips out of the molten lead and then poured into a homemade mold.

Click to expand...

I'm just surprised you were able to get 600 lbs of them. Molding the lead to fit the boat seems like the best plan for weight vs. space.

WesK said:

I'm just surprised you were able to get 600 lbs of them. Molding the lead to fit the boat seems like the best plan for weight vs. space.

Click to expand...

Doesn't take many 5 gal buckets, they must be 60 lb or so when full.
My son has a auto repair business, and he fills a bucket in a few months so a tire shop must fill a bucket in a few weeks I would think.

A cubic foot of lead weighs a little over 700 pounds..a 5 gal bucket is about 2/3 of a cubic foot. So depending on how tightly packed the lead wights are...I'll bet it wasn't too many for sure...

Gentlemen

Thank you all for your comments.
I have 135 ingots with 45 lbs each. 100 of them will be permanently fit and properly stacked side-by-side in the center of the boat exactly on top of the forward portion of the keel. The leftovers of my epoxy resin will be poured on top. The other 35 will put accordingly to trim the boat with ¾ of full load when this floats in the marina, at the travel lift pool.

Thanks

Portuguese

600 lbs. of wheel weights at 2oz each (about average) is 4,800 individual weights.

If your cavity for lead is big enough, why not keep your extra large house AGM battery bank there?
Lots of lead for weight and the batts don't need watering.

Portuguese

Might suggest a battery box,or if you comfortable with it ,fiberglass of sufficient strength?