I need something heavy

[Tim Doran]

At the begining of the winter my boat was perfectly in trim.... well the bags of coal really helped. As i have used the coal the boat has gone back to the original slight lean.

 

There are some manky concrete blocks in the engine bay but they need to go because they hold lots of water.

 

Does anyone know where I could get something heavy and steel, such as tractor weights from around Bath Bradford on Avon or Bristol? I think that I would need about 100-150kg

 

Tim

[Chris-B]

At the begining of the winter my boat was perfectly in trim.... well the bags of coal really helped. As i have used the coal the boat has gone back to the original slight lean.

 

There are some manky concrete blocks in the engine bay but they need to go because they hold lots of water.

 

Does anyone know where I could get something heavy and steel, such as tractor weights from around Bath Bradford on Avon or Bristol? I think that I would need about 100-150kg

 

Tim

 

Use Chris W 's wallet !!!!!

[NB Alnwick]

Use Chris W 's wallet !!!!!

 

I doubt any of us could afford that - I have always admired the ballast in Dick Goble's boat - he uses ex Government 56lb weights - the sort that used to be used by Weights and Measures Officers for checking the content of pre-weighed coal sacks etc.

[David Schweizer]

At the begining of the winter my boat was perfectly in trim.... well the bags of coal really helped. As i have used the coal the boat has gone back to the original slight lean.

 

There are some manky concrete blocks in the engine bay but they need to go because they hold lots of water.

 

Does anyone know where I could get something heavy and steel, such as tractor weights from around Bath Bradford on Avon or Bristol? I think that I would need about 100-150kg

 

Tim

The scrap yards in Trowbridge usually have a supply of 56lb weights, but they always want a lot for them, last time I bought any they wanted £10 each, although I eventually beat them down to £5 each for some with a bit of rust pitting on them.

 

Another source is companies that repair or instal lifts. They use heavy lift weights (similar to tractor and fork lift balance weights). I aquired about 500lbs of unused weights from one of these companies which were surplus to an installation (for free) but to do that you need to be on site, It also helped that the foreman was an historic boat enthusiast. There are quite a few companies in Bristol - just google "lift engineers bristol" for details.

[carlt]

I doubt any of us could afford that - I have always admired the ballast in Dick Goble's boat - he uses ex Government 56lb weights - the sort that used to be used by Weights and Measures Officers for checking the content of pre-weighed coal sacks etc.

I've got several of them.

 

Very good mud weights they make and handy to have loose, to retrim the boat, as beer is transferred from cupboard to holding tank.

[steelaway]

At the begining of the winter my boat was perfectly in trim.... well the bags of coal really helped. As i have used the coal the boat has gone back to the original slight lean.

 

There are some manky concrete blocks in the engine bay but they need to go because they hold lots of water.

 

Does anyone know where I could get something heavy and steel, such as tractor weights from around Bath Bradford on Avon or Bristol? I think that I would need about 100-150kg

 

Tim

 

 

Hi Tim

 

Try a steel scrap yard. They will have of-cuts of big round bars or ingots and all you will pay is the scrap steel price. (at the moment - £100/ton/1000Kg)

Seal them in plastic sheet and they wont leave rusty marks any where.

 

Alex

[BlueStringPudding]

Slightly poaching this subject, but if you're adding extra ballast to your boat, how do you secure it? Especially if it's in the engine bay area?

[carlt]

Slightly poaching this subject, but if you're adding extra ballast to your boat, how do you secure it? Especially if it's in the engine bay area?

I've never secured ballast. It tends to stay still, under its own weight.

 

I've never used round ballast, though.

[Naughty Cal]

I've never secured ballast. It tends to stay still, under its own weight.

 

I've never used round ballast, though.

 

No cannon balls then?

[Ex- Member]

There was a company selling cut up railway track 18 inch lengths for ballast in the Bristol Bath area a few years ago, can't remember who but it was quite popular and cheap back then.

[NB Alnwick]

There was a company selling cut up railway track 18 inch lengths for ballast in the Bristol Bath area a few years ago, can't remember who but it was quite popular and cheap back then.

 

I am sure that would make excellent ballast - similarly old cast rail chairs - bit of an awkward shape though.

[carlt]

There was a company selling cut up railway track 18 inch lengths for ballast in the Bristol Bath area a few years ago, can't remember who but it was quite popular and cheap back then.

The big Ricky, Taplow, that I owned had railway track ballast, stem to stern. Brilliant stuff, though I had to remove a lot of it, to get the fishplate closer to the surface.

[steelaway]

I've never secured ballast. It tends to stay still, under its own weight.

 

I've never used round ballast, though.

 

 

I meant round ballast cut across - 10"-12" diameter x 1"-2" thick.

 

Alex

[alan_fincher]

The big Ricky, Taplow, that I owned had railway track ballast, stem to stern. Brilliant stuff, though I had to remove a lot of it, to get the fishplate closer to the surface.

There's got to be an anorak style railway track joke in there somewhere, I feel sure.

 

Where I've seen railway track ballast the fishplates have always been removed, so it's been a non issue.

 

I suppose if you have a wooden bottomed boat, you've got something a bit like sleepers already, so nothing to stop you putting down chairs, and actually laying some four foot eight and a half along the bottom. Mount your kitchen on a suitable truck, and you could change to a "reverse layout" boat just by stopping too briskly.

[carlt]

There's got to be an anorak style railway track joke in there somewhere, I feel sure.

 

Where I've seen railway track ballast the fishplates have always been removed, so it's been a non issue.

Sorry, the fishplate I was referring to was what is also called the anti-cavitation plate (no ventilation/cavitation comments, please, I didn't invent the name).

 

I forgot railways use the term, too.

[Tim Lewis]

At the begining of the winter my boat was perfectly in trim.... well the bags of coal really helped. As i have used the coal the boat has gone back to the original slight lean.

 

There are some manky concrete blocks in the engine bay but they need to go because they hold lots of water.

 

Does anyone know where I could get something heavy and steel, such as tractor weights from around Bath Bradford on Avon or Bristol? I think that I would need about 100-150kg

 

Tim

 

We bought our steel ballast from here, though you are not looking for much they might be worth a call - they are specialists (ie. know a lot) in boat ballast.

 

We also use 56lb wights with handles - got ours via e-bay.

 

 

Tim

Edited March 13, 2009 by Tim Lewis

[Batavia]

I have also got ballast (which turned out to be cut-up railway line) from Mann Buck - they/he was very helpful and it was the cheapest steel ballast I could find at the time (I needed to replace engineering bricks with something denser, having run out of space after the boat was lengthened). Bullhead rail seems to stack better than flat bottom, if you have a choice

 

I also looked at buying thick (40 mm) second-hand road plates and found a company which would supply them cut them into handleable pieces for a reasonable cost (but I can't recall their name).

 

It might also be worth checking boat builders - in Batavia, the ballast at the bow end consists of window cut-outs, stacked up into 5 piles and tack-welded together. Dense and compact, but the stacks are really too thick for convenience (I have to remove one and I estimate that it weighs about 650 lbs).

 

Also, check engine breakers - the stern ballast in Batavia is 4 large engine flywheels, plus various steel ingots.

 

Chris G

[NB Alnwick]

There are some weights on eBay now:

 

Clicky

[sociable_hermit]

Or have a word with your local preserved railway, ask if they have any old rail? They generally sell off expired wooden sleepers to landscape gardeners and the like, and might be prepared to chop up some worn out rail for you if the price is right (i.e. greater than scrap value to the extent that it becomes worth doing).