Bricks in bow.

[Brian_of_Bozeat]

We have started looking at boats with a view to buying ourselves one.

In the bow of a boat we have looked at there is a collection of bricks and also 2 paving slabs on the well deck.

I realise that these must be ballast but I’m sure the boat wasn’t designed that way originally and the boat seems to be in its original configuration, so what might have changed to require this “modification”.

Can anyone suggest a good reason? I’m scratching my head!

thanks in advance. 

[Jen-in-Wellies]

Welcome to the forum.

Perhaps the owners regularly cruised a canal with a low bridge, or tunnel. Most boats are trimmed bow up, so the front of the cabin is the bit most likely to hit first. The extra bow ballast would get them underneath without losing paint. If you are planning to use the boat somewhere without low structures, they could be taken out, or if other things you might put in the cabin have a similar effect on the trim.

[MtB]

Welcome Brian.

 

The exact trim of a finished boat can never be predicted at the design or build stages so they are generally built 'light' rather than heavy - as it is always easier to add ballast than to take it out. Hence the bricks. Bricks and/or paving slabs are cheap weight so very commonly used to adjust the trim of a boat after launching.

 

For 'money no object' boats, expect pieces of steel. Steel is at least twice the density of bricks and 20 times the price, weight-for-weight! 

Edited March 12, 2023 by MtB
Add a bit.

[Jen-in-Wellies]

2 minutes ago, MtB said:

For 'money no object' boats, expect lumps of Gold, or depleted Uranium.

Fixed that for you. 😀

Edited March 12, 2023 by Jen-in-Wellies

[MtB]

Just now, Jen-in-Wellies said:

Fixed that for you. 😀

 

Thank you! 

 

Lead can be a happy medium....

 

 

[Nightwatch]

Old railway track is good. That’s the steel bits not the wooden sleepers.

[MtB]

And to expand on the point, gold and depleted uranium make better ballast because they are both denser than bricks, steel or lead. 

 

Gold bars can be purchased on line, here: https://www.bullionbypost.co.uk/

 

But I have to admit I've never seen depleted uranium for sale, not even in the really big branches of Wickes. 

 

 

[blackrose]

Maybe some extra weight went into the stern at some point requiring the bow to be trimmed. Possibly some overplating at the stern? Or it could just be the the owners thought it was too high at the bow or even too low at the stern but couldn't find space at the stern to put the ballast? I added half a tonne of engineering bricks to the stern of my widebeam when it was new to get the uxter plates to sit in the water properly 

[mrsmelly]

1 minute ago, Nightwatch said:

Old railway track is good. That’s the steel bits not the wooden sleepers.

Soon to be a surplus  from the HS2 white elephant.

[Jen-in-Wellies]

1 minute ago, MtB said:

But I have to admit I've never seen depleted uranium for sale, not even in the really big branches of Wickes. 

Lots of it just lying around to pick up in various parts of the world that have received generous regime change support over the last few decades.

[MtB]

3 minutes ago, Nightwatch said:

Old railway track is good. That’s the steel bits not the wooden sleepers.

 

Point of Order M'Lud...

 

New railway track is even better as its nice and clean, but Network Rail can get really upset about it. 

 

 

[Athy]

1 minute ago, mrsmelly said:

Soon to be a surplus  from the HS2 white elephant.

One fervently hopers so.

A few years ago I had a Springer whose shallow-V bottom turned out to be fillds with unidentifiable pieces of scrap metal.

[Bee]

Narrowboats used to be cargo boats and load at approx a ton per inch of freeboard, Modern boats still use very approx the same depth of hull and ratios of 'loading' so float like corks without ballast, hence bricks and heavy stuff under the floor and various other places to get the whole propeller in the water and also to actually look attractive. If the front is floating really high it will be a right pain in crosswinds and also if you have a gravity heating system it can be hard to get the water to circulate if the fire is in the front of the boat. Our boat is slightly V bottomed and has chines so is more like a cruiser, we have maybe a ton of ballast to get the propeller down and float reasonably level. It would be interesting (and expensive) to build a narrowboat like that to avoid ballasting - it costs fuel to lug 10 tons or so of old bricks around.

 

[magnetman]

One of my boats had a lot of ballast in the bow area. I asked why and the bloke told me his wife could not deal with the floor not being entirely level. 

 

I took it all out and the boat sits slightly up at the bows. Looks much nicer that way !.

 

It is a boat. I'm not remotely bothered if the front cabin is slightly 'up hill' from the stern cabin. 

 

Some people have issues and perhaps want a boat to be a house. I believe they did get a house after selling the boat. 

 

She probably moaned about the rocking too. 

 

 

with the bow down it looked wrong and handled  badly but at least the floor was level

[Nightwatch]

38 minutes ago, blackrose said:

Maybe some extra weight went into the stern at some point requiring the bow to be trimmed. Possibly some overplating at the stern? Or it could just be the the owners thought it was too high at the bow or even too low at the stern but couldn't find space at the stern to put the ballast? I added half a tonne of engineering bricks to the stern of my widebeam when it was new to get the uxter plates to sit in the water properly 

The previous owner of our boat had a much heavier engine installed. Brought the bow up considerably I reckon. I have considered ballast and have not, as yet, got around to it.

[Jon57]

1 hour ago, Nightwatch said:

Old railway track is good. That’s the steel bits not the wooden sleepers.

Fishplates 

[Mike Tee]

1 hour ago, MtB said:

 

Thank you! 

 

Lead can be a happy medium....

 

 

Depends how fast it’s coming at you 

[jet_]

We currently have some bricks and paving slabs in our bow as we installed a new battery bank, much larger and heavier than the last, and took them out of the engine bay and stuck them in the bow (for now). The boat sits a little better but we'll likely hide them away somewhere else up front so they're not in the way.

[magnetman]

There must be millions of fishplates around with all the upgrades to CWR going on everywhere. Lovely things they are such a shame if they get melted down. 

 

 

Edited March 12, 2023 by magnetman

[Alan de Enfield]

4 minutes ago, Jon57 said:

Fishplates 

 

[PaulJ]

Not sure how much these were helping with the trim

 

[Jon57]

1 minute ago, magnetman said:

There must be millions of fishplates around with all the upgrades to CWR going on everywhere. Lovely things they are such a shame if they get melted down. 

 

 

I’ve got a nice collection in my bow all tucked up nice and cosy. Even give them a coat of two pack to keep them nappy.🤪

[Nightwatch]

5 minutes ago, Jon57 said:

Fishplates 

No need to start calling me names!

[Alan de Enfield]

1 minute ago, PaulJ said:

Not sure how much these were helping with the trim

 

 

 

Looking at how the waterline has changed by taking them out of the hold and placing them on top it has made a considerable difference.

[RichM]

My boat had some plant pots filled with concrete in the engine bay to help keep it level. Didn't look like much but without them, it would rock far more easily to the point where the fridge door would spring open!

 

I replaced them with old dumbbell weights as they took up less space and looked neater.