Ballast options

[GSer]

Nearing the end of the fitout and its becoming obvious i need a little more ballast to stbd.

 

I have an area beside the engine beds that is best part filled with engineering bricks, the easiest option would be to replace those with something heavier, i thought lead shot might do it but people are wanting £7- £10 per kilo, what else might do the job, preferably cheaper?

 

I don't really want to remove ballast from the port bilges as i feel the boat is a little light in low down ballast overall perhaps

 

 

Paul

[ditchcrawler]

Nearing the end of the fitout and its becoming obvious i need a little more ballast to stbd.

 

I have an area beside the engine beds that is best part filled with engineering bricks, the easiest option would be to replace those with something heavier, i thought lead shot might do it but people are wanting £7- £10 per kilo, what else might do the job, preferably cheaper?

 

I don't really want to remove ballast from the port bilges as i feel the boat is a little light in low down ballast overall perhaps

 

 

Paul

I used pig iron but it probably costs £200+ ton now http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pig_iron

[Robbo]

I have an area beside the engine beds that is best part filled with engineering bricks, the easiest option would be to replace those with something heavier, i thought lead shot might do it but people are wanting £7- £10 per kilo, what else might do the job, preferably cheaper?

 

What about chain/steel plate, etc. Or granite off-cuts?

[Ray T]

I was going to suggest 56lb weights but they are selling at silly prices on eBay.

 

Scrap sheet steel from a boat yard?

 

Need treating and or painting though.

[David Mack]

We use steel plate cut to size and delivered to the boat by Mann Buck of Ongar. Google them or they advertise in the magazines.

 

Alternatively, I remember reading somewhere of someone who got suitable sized grranite offcuts from a company making granite worktops.

 

David

[Grace and Favour]

We use steel plate cut to size and delivered to the boat by Mann Buck of Ongar. Google them or they advertise in the magazines.

 

Alternatively, I remember reading somewhere of someone who got suitable sized grranite offcuts from a company making granite worktops.

 

David

 

You may also find a source of granite offcuts from a headstone stonemasons

[The Pipe]

Gazelle is ballasted with bar ends from the local scrap yard most scrap yards have these especially in industrial cities like Brum.

Mann Buck of Ongar allways seemed very expensive to me charging way above scrap prices.

[Tacet]

My local scrap dealer was willing to sell me lead; in fact I took in a quantity of copper and the cash that I would have otherwise received was discounted by the "buying" price of the lead. This generous loss-of-margin may have been tempered by the purchase of the copper going through the books but possibly the sale of lead did not..

 

In my case, I wished to correct a list to port without taking up the floor - which meant that there was only a restricted space readily available. The advantage of lead is that it can be cast into a convenient shape - I used some box section steel.

[smileypete]

Nearing the end of the fitout and its becoming obvious i need a little more ballast to stbd.

Is that where the corridor is? Some vertical slabs behind the linings could help, putting weight nearer the hull sides gives a greater turning force.

 

Or reduce ballast nearest the port side but replace it towards the middle.

 

cheers,

Pete.

Edited February 12, 2012 by smileypete

[Guest wanted]

This is what I found in the beak of my new boat, they are really heavy. Guess I meed to tidy them up at some point!

 

Uploaded with ImageShack.us

[MtB]

Cheapest weight-for-money comes in second hand electric storage heaters. The ceramic slabs inside them are phenomenally heavy. Storage heaters often sell for peanuts on eBay, mainly due to the weight!

[Chalky]

Go to the local builders merchants and see if they've got any broken paving slabs or blue bricks. I took up a pathway at home a few years ago that had been laid in 3' * 2' council quality paving slabs. We put 10 into the back of a friends 101 Forward Control and it's the only load he'd had in the back that had made the springs bend.

 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Land_Rover_101_Forward_Control

[mickspangle]

Just remember when you stick two different metals together in a damp environment you are effectively setting up an anode and a cathode.

 

I seem to remember from an old thread that when lead and steel are used together, the steel (ie your hull) becomes a sacrificial anode...might be worth checking this out if you're thinking of using it?

[Grace and Favour]

Just be slightly cautious using any brick or concrete block/paver that is even slightly porous . . . .

 

Blue engineering bricks are arguably the best type of brick to use

[GSer]

I have the blue engineering bricks in place now, i'm not sure how much heavier granite offcuts or broken paving slabs especially when the bricks are stacked neatly and any odd shaped replacement would end up with plenty of airgaps.

 

I think i need to weigh a brick just to see how much gain i need.

 

I heed the dissimilar metal issue, i have some plastic coating powder somewhere i may dig it out if o find some cheap lead i can cast in blocks..

 

I did find some old ingots of pewter, they are very heavy, but i only have half a dozen.

 

Cheers for the suggestions

 

Paul

[Robbo]

I have the blue engineering bricks in place now, i'm not sure how much heavier granite offcuts or broken paving slabs especially when the bricks are stacked neatly and any odd shaped replacement would end up with plenty of airgaps.

 

I think i need to weigh a brick just to see how much gain i need.

 

Do you know how much more ballast you need? A good way is too use containers of water, once you know how much ballast in weight and the area you'll know what you can discount easily due to it not been dense enough.

[GSer]

I'll have to have a think, its not a huge amount but i just cant correct it with my weight, 17st, i need to fit a washing machine that side and a diesel heater and a rad or two.

 

Trouble is that i've lots of stuff sitting around because of the fitout, the heavily ballasted area next to the engine bearers will need to be reduced to fit the heater so i'll still need a denser mass even if all else is fine at the moment.

 

Now where's those bathroom scales?

[Grace and Favour]

I'll have to have a think, its not a huge amount but i just cant correct it with my weight, 17st, i need to fit a washing machine that side and a diesel heater and a rad or two.

 

Trouble is that i've lots of stuff sitting around because of the fitout, the heavily ballasted area next to the engine bearers will need to be reduced to fit the heater so i'll still need a denser mass even if all else is fine at the moment.

 

Now where's those bathroom scales?

 

I wouldn't bother using scales as ballast - - - - - they weigh very little

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Coat

[oarfish]

The well deck of our boat is ballasted with 50cm railway track offcuts, so they can be moved from one side to the other for trim. However I'm pretty sure the price has gone up to £scary in the last few years.

Edited February 13, 2012 by oarfish

[Grace and Favour]

I'll have to have a think, its not a huge amount but i just cant correct it with my weight, 17st, i need to fit a washing machine that side and a diesel heater and a rad or two.

 

Trouble is that i've lots of stuff sitting around because of the fitout, the heavily ballasted area next to the engine bearers will need to be reduced to fit the heater so i'll still need a denser mass even if all else is fine at the moment.

 

Now where's those bathroom scales?

 

Gser,

 

I'm sure I saw a post on the forum during the last four weeks with someone offering rail track offcuts (for free?)

[ditchcrawler]

Scrap steel is about £160 a ton at the moment.

[jelunga]

Gold bars are quite heavy too

[Biggles]

Gold bars are quite heavy too

 

And no reaction issues either!

 

I used compressed concrete slabs. Very heavy!

 

Linky

[ditchcrawler]

And no reaction issues either!

 

I used compressed concrete slabs. Very heavy!

 

Linky

Still not up there with steel and nowhere near lead

[alan_fincher]

Now where's those bathroom scales?

 

I wouldn't bother using scales as ballast - - - - - they weigh very little

 

They would still be useful ballast if I were standing on them, though.