What to put under ballast

[Frankieboy]

Am looking to put something under the stone slab ballast so water and a touch of air can run under it. Also, to stop it scratching the bilge paintwork.

What have you used to do yours? Was thinking about glueing on little rubber feet on the corners or are there any better ideas?

Thanks

Frank

[starman]

I used large size tile spacers - about half a dozen per slab.

[carlt]

I use thin strips of wood, painted with bitumen paint.

 

I know someone who used lengths of plastic curtain track.

[pete.i]

Hi

 

If your ballast is as heavy as mine I would think that rubber feet would, eventually, crush down. I'm cutting half inch slats from some tanalised timber that I have and, very slowly because the slabs are heavy and I'm old, putting that under. Mind you my boat is 30 odd years old and it didn't have anything under the slabs when I got it and there is no rust that I have seen so far so I am not at all sure that the effort is really worth it for my boat.

 

Cheers

 

Pete

[classicstove]

Anything you put under the slabs could be liable to move when you 'bang' into something

 

THink about spraying/painting the bilge with a good quality bitumastis, then laying roofing felt on it and then putting the slabs on top - a bit belt and braces but it depends how long you are thinking of keeping the boat

[Frankieboy]

Anything you put under the slabs could be liable to move when you 'bang' into something

 

THink about spraying/painting the bilge with a good quality bitumastis, then laying roofing felt on it and then putting the slabs on top - a bit belt and braces but it depends how long you are thinking of keeping the boat

 

 

Have heard a few people do that but surely the roofing felt has the potential to trap moisture under it.

[casper ghost]

Don't put anything under it, there's no need. I've just taken my floor up after 10 years with the concrete slabs and solid steel caps sitting directly on the base plate. The base plate looked as new, was dry and even the red lead primer I had painted on it when new was still on and in good nick.

Gary.

[david and julie]

I used scrap twin and earth electrical cable.

 

The plastic architrave used around double glazing is rot proof and very cheap - from a roofline supplier - not a DIY store.

[NBMike]

I used 2ft lengths of 2.5mm T/E cable under my ballast. There's always plenty in builders skips after the sparks has been!

 

 

 

Oops. Slow fingers tonight

Edited December 16, 2010 by NBMike

[Robbo]

Am looking to put something under the stone slab ballast so water and a touch of air can run under it. Also, to stop it scratching the bilge paintwork.

What have you used to do yours? Was thinking about glueing on little rubber feet on the corners or are there any better ideas?

Thanks

Frank

 

I use these door mats from Wilkos! http://www.wilkinsonplus.com/Floor-Mats/Wilko-Mat-Door-Rubber-Scraper-60cmx40cm/invt/0204651

 

Cheap, will let water/air underneath and can easily be cut up...

[tony collins]

Frankieboy, Have you had the shell built yet? If not, get four 1" angles welded longitudinally down the boat at a spacing which suits your slab sizes. Bitumastic the whole thing and the gap under the slabs will allow airflow in the bilge. In my case I also installed an Aldi heater which used bilge air to aid combustion ensuring that the bilge always stayed "fresh"

[starman]

I used large size tile spacers - about half a dozen per slab.

Just to add that I Waxoyl-ed the baseplate first. The big tile spacers leave about 2mm air/water gap between base and slab which I think is enough - there's room between and around the slab sides as well.

[Steve Goddard]

You can use any plastic type mesh (no metal reinforcement) like Linky or if you can get hold of some debris mesh from a building site that works well too.

 

Steve

[Tim Doran]

Almost on subject is to make sure that the ballast is accessable. When you have loaded the boat with your junk, you might need to adjust the trim more tha you would expect.

 

Tim

[DHutch]

I've liked the idea of cable offcuts as a free improvment on nothing. but large tile spacers sound even better if there large enough (say 5mm thick?) job done.

 

Ours is just down on the steel on the paint and its been ok, but its not amazing, and there is some rust.

 

 

Daniel

[sanctuary79]

I too used tile spacers...worked well!

[wrigglefingers]

Generally bodies go under paving slabs. It's the only useful thing I ever learnt from Brookside ...

 

Seriously, having angles welded on is she's still in build seems sensible to me. The ballast in Cobbett is on the knees and keelson. Still needs more in the back though I note.

 

Mem to self more books needed in back cabin.

[Artimis]

I had a thin layer of sprayfoam overspray on my bilge bottom so the bricks went straight on top of that

[Grace and Favour]

Try lengths of cheap water hose, crushes flat, holds the ballast fairly well, and can be fairly cheap too

[Frankieboy]

Shell is about complete on build stage and bitument already being laid in hull so no tacking on strips Im afraid.

All the other ideas seem great though.