DIY Ballast

[chubby]

Hello ,

 

My boats got a bit of a list to the left hand side . Its a liverpool boat and everything that could possibly be heavy is down the left side of the boat .

I ve just had a BSS examination so i put all 4 cabin batteries together neatly

.... on the left side & i recently tiled my bathroom .... on the left side .

Theres no chance of my acquiring any 56 lb weights as i don t drive & have no postal address .

So an idea i had was to make my own weights from cement & ballast poured into brick shaped tubs - ice cream tubs for example & short lengths of chain for handles . . i could make " moulds " to fit in awkward spaces etc . & it could be a tidy way of adding ballast .

 

Am i bonkers ? Has anyone else done this .

 

cheers

[BEngo]

Home made concrete blocks are fine. Tkes a lot of carrying from the DIY sheds though if you have no wheels. No real need for chain handles as they won't be moved much.

 

 

You can do it with melted lead too, if you can get hold of it.

 

N

[OldGoldy]

 

You can do it with melted lead too, if you can get hold of it.

 

N

 

Might melt the ice-cream tubs though

[Paganboat]

Shift some ballast to the light side? Thats what I did, you will always be adding weight via furniture on a boat

[alan_fincher]

Concrete is only (very roughly!) a third the density of iron or steel, so you will need to find (very roughly again) three times as much space to store the ballast you create, as you would have had you gone with metal.

 

In fact I think concrete is only a little more dense than engineering bricks, so these might be a better option, as you can get them ready made, and being small, are easier to pack into available corners.

 

Better would be the high density heat retaining bricks from old storage heaters - forum members have had these to give away at no cost in the past, or you might pick a heater up from Freecycle, or similar.

 

EDIT:

 

Sorry, I'm a clown - I missed the fact you have no transport, and no address for delivery.

 

However it might be just as easy to moor up near a DIY superstore to buy engineering bricks, as it would be to buy bagged sand and ballast??

Edited June 9, 2014 by alan_fincher

[John V]

Hi.. the only problem I can see is that surprisingly concrete is actually quite light.

[Grace and Favour]

OP - you could certainly make ballast thay way - - just make sure that if you intend to locate the ballast in the bilge, that you keep an airspace between the ballast and your baseplate (lie the blocks on pieces of old rope or plastic cable) in order to minimise rust.

[chubby]

Cheers

 

i would much prefer steel or iron but just cannot get hold it . I m happy to pay out for these 56 lb weights but cannot get them . There are some on ebay often but they get labelled " vintage " which means " old crap at high prices "

 

i cannot seem to find a cost effective way of buying steel ballast so im thinking of concrete . Any alternative suggestions i d be v grateful ,

 

cheers

edit to add : Cheers Alan . This are my thoughts exactly as i can get pretty close to a Wickes in my area and just buy what i need . If i need more i return etc until done . I shall google engineering brick .

Edited June 9, 2014 by chubby

[bottle]

As before, shift the ballast you already have, already delivered and not far to move.

[chubby]

Cheers

 

shifting what ballast i have will be a nitemare i don t even want to think about . Reading thru other ballast threads involving liverpool boats suggested they just filled the bilges with concrete slabs & then fixed the floorboards down . All the weight and all the rooms are down the heavy side so it would mean removing the galley units , the dinette ( i hate that word " dinette " , how poncy ) etc .

cheers

edit : As for where i can put it , i ve got the engine bay , a cupboard at the front & the bow deck . & ..... the gas locker .

I have 4 batts on the left of the engine . I could move two over to the right but this will require a pair of long cables & doesn t strike me as very correct .

 

cheers

Edited June 9, 2014 by chubby

[chubby]

Also.

 

i m thinking of taking the dining area out as its under utilised space really & i don t tend to use it much . The wood involved would be pretty heavy - the table weighs alot on its own .

It will mean major disruption to take it out ( it s on my long " to do " list ) but could this help ?

[John V]

There is a company in Dudley that sells metal punchings metalfast or something like ....(I'm sure they aren't the only ones)

if you mixed these with your concrete in the moulds you could probably nearly double the weight of each block

 

edit to add is there anywhere you can get the boat to where you can get stuff delivered?

Edited June 9, 2014 by John V

[Paul's Nulife4-2]

Hi ya,

What area, as in the depth and width have you got to put your ballast in. Are these areas Contained ?.

I'm thinking Phone a local builders merchant, Pay by Card, & ask for a delivery of suitable Paving Slabs. & OR Suitable lengths of precast Concrete Lintles.

I know it's been suggested it's not a favord method, BUT it sort of works fine.

Just maybe put some Weed mat or something similar on the metal first if you want.

Edited June 9, 2014 by Paul's Nulife4-2

[chubby]

Cheers guys

 

No chance of getting to Dudley i m afraid but will google for what you mention . I m sure i remember a previous thread about ballst someone mentioning old grit from grit or shotblasting being very heavy . That too could be mixed in .

Another thought i ve had , probably a poor one , is how heavy is scaffold tube . That could be cut to size . Probably no good but im thinking out aloud so to speak .

Paul, i ve not much space really . Just the engine bay & a cupboard by the bow doors , the bow itself , a bow locker & gas locker but i don t really want to use that .

I ve also found evidence of a leak from somewhere & water is heavy . I m going to investigate further tomorrow afternoon . Very grim . My boats beginning to get me down as i ve had alot of probs lately . I spend more time fixing it than driving it which wasn t the plan when i bought it .

Anyway , time for a cuppa & a think .

 

cheers

[Phil Ambrose]

Now then Chubby, chin up, we all go through spells like this, things failing or falling apart so we all know what you are going through (at least I do)

If it helps I fixed my list by stuffing concrete blocks under my galley units, it help that the plinth kick boards were removable, fixed in place with mag catches

Phil

[chubby]

Cheers Phil

 

No. worries , i ll crack on after work tomorrow & sponge out as much water as poss . Its a slow process though as the waters only " creeping " back to the little hole i ve got in the floor under the bed .

Thats my afternoon planned for tomorrow then . !! & then i ll get back to my ballasting issues

 

 

cheers

[Paul's Nulife4-2]

Hi ya Chubby,

Come on the sun is shining, its a beautiful day, Hope your in better spirits today.

I've felt a bit down in the mouth when fitting out my boats rather than using them,

But No Pain,,No Gain as they say.

So Buck up matey, and sort it out.

In order to reap the rewards later !.

What's your final decision on the ballast then !.

(After fixing the leak).

Edited June 10, 2014 by Paul's Nulife4-2

[DeanS]

is your bed on the left?

If it's on the right, fit an extra water tank under it...that would be about 500kg worth of ballast:)

[ChimneyChain]

Buy 6 bags of coal and lay them on the roof on one side, simple.

 

Darren

[chubby]

Cheers folks

 

i consider myself suitably repremanded for my sulking , & dummy throwing moment . Quite unlike me normally . I m havin' a cuppa just now & will crack on .

I m going to check the " water " issue out under my bed shortly . Except that this " water " may not be water . I will investigate further but do not be surprised if a new thread appears under " equipment " titled something like ....

" i m in the brown stuff ... almost literally . Need a new holding tank asap "

The sun is shining , its a glorious day & i m sponging god alone knows what from under my bed !!!

 

chin up Chubby !

 

cheers

[DeanS]

or use casettes and have many stored under your bed:)

[Paul's Nulife4-2]

Oh dear Chubby, don't forget to Wash your hands, & best use the 'Fruity' HP sauce on your Bacon Butty, just to be safe.

[chubby]

No cassettes .... ever !!

 

No decisions on my home made ballast . May yet move some batteries around at the back of the boat . Im not going to get OCD about it but it will need sorting & i just wondered if anyones else had done it before - as in using concrete . Might try bricks but i can see that becoming expensive maybe .

I shall continue my holding tank examinations

 

cheers again

[DHutch]

There is a company in Dudley that sells metal punchings metalfast or something like ....(I'm sure they aren't the only ones)

if you mixed these with your concrete in the moulds you could probably nearly double the weight of each block

Its what the counterweights of our excavators are made out of, two big to be metal throughout, but a steel pressing, scrap steel and concrete!

 

But I also agree that I am sure a local builders merchant would deliver canalside if you asked nicely and could be there during the day.

 

 

Daniel

[Roustabout]

If its any help, there seems to be a plethorah of car-wash's around these days. They will have empty 5 gallon cans laying around that could be of use (filled with water) as a cheap and temporary/convenient way of taking on ballast. After a good rinse-out they could even be employed full-time too, and they're sort of stackable.