KEEL/BALLAST QUESTION?? PLUS EXTRA CREDIT QUESTION ;)

[stephenronning]

Hello: I have a question. I have a Cal 2 25 that I recently bought. It has 2000 lbs of ballast and a fin keel. Is the keel 2000lbs?? Or is the ballast in the bottom of the boat or is there like 1500lbs of lead in the bottom of the boat and the keel is 500 lbs?? I've owned several boats and always just figured that the keel was ll the ballast but now It just hit me that I really don't know...ANY INPUT APPRECIATED.
Thanks,
Stephen
EXTRA CREDIT QUESTION: WHY DOES LBS MEAN POUNDS??? WHAT ABOUT THE LETTERS L B S = POUNDS?????
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[captain58sailin]

Keels and ballast are two separate entities with their own identities. Back in the day when ships keels were solid, ballast was added to the bottom of the vessel to help with the stability and to counter the sail forces, they used stones, iron, any number of high density items to provide the weight. The treasure hunters look for piles of round stones on the bottom of the ocean as a marker for a sunken ship. Keels are the back bone of the vessel and provide the foundation on which all ships are built. In answer to your pounds question as follows: The word "pound" comes from the Latin word pendere, meaning "to weigh". The Latin word libra means "scales, balances" and it also describes a Roman unit of mass similar to a pound. This is the origin of the abbreviation "lb" or "℔" for the pound.
That is from the Wiki answer web site.

[Amgine]

Ballast is material added to set the boat on the designed water lines. It is almost always most efficient if hung on the bottom of the keel, but not always is the ballast placed there. (In fact, most boats without a bolt-on keel will have the ballast 'encapsulated' within the molded keel.)

For the Cal 25 II I think the ballast is attached to the keel. The Cal 25 had internal ballast.

[captain58sailin]

Yes indeed which is a function of the vessel's stability, the closer the vessel rides to it's designed water lines, the closer the vessel is to it's optimum designed stability which gives the vessel the righting arm needed to counter rolling, pitching and the forces applied by the sails.