Adding ballast after refit

[Captain Puget]

After a repower, windlass upgrade and changing the tankage the bow of my boat is down ~ 3" in relation to the stern, but my waterline still has some room above surface level (boat appears slightly high ... But not much). 30.5' LOA and design displacement ~ 14,000#'s.

I am thinking this is due to the decreased engine/ transmission weight and new tankage positioning. In addition to the new engine, I have new water and diesel tanks ... and removed the holding tank & converted to a composting head.

Two large men hanging off the stern almost handle the trim shift (~425 lbs). Therefore, I am think of adding lead shot to the stern locker to compensate.

Any advice from the collective wisdom? Do I need to add some resin to encapsulate for toxic protection reasons, or are good bags enough?

Thank you,

[Sailmonkey]

I think adding weight to the extreme ends will make your boat behave badly (hobbyhorsing).

But if you must.....at the very least you should somehow glass the lead in, or bolt it in....somehow immobilized. 500 lbs is a lot of mass to fling around in the event of a knockdown.


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[deltaten]

Do you plan on sending the boat t to sail itself?? Put those guys in the pit any go sailing It will be fine

[UNCIVILIZED]

Originally Posted by deltaten

Do you plan on sending the boat t to sail itself?? Put those guys in the pit any go sailing It will be fine

LOL. Good answer!

[goat]

If you've got room for 500 pounds of lead, why not add a few hundred pounds of batteries?

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[ErikFinn]

Originally Posted by goat

If you've got room for 500 pounds of lead, why not add a few hundred pounds of batteries?

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Exactly.
Ang get a proper new heavier NG anchor.. 100 feet chain..Leave old in the bow also.. At least its not a permanent installation. Done.
And if you anything like most of us in a few years you've accumulated so much stuff it will have balanced out.

[GILow]

Any weight you add needs to be as low down and close to the centre of the boat as possible. Yeah, I know close to the centre will not help trim.

But adding weight can be a real problem. We carry an extra couple of tons down in the keel and it really kills our light air performance.

I would be looking to move batteries as suggested above. Also check to see if the engine can be easily moved back, even a few inches.

Finally, double check that you have not actually corrected the trim of your boat with the changes. I removed about two tons from our boat during the rejuvenation and it appeared as though the bow was too high. But double checking with a tape measure showed that over time the water line had been redrawn to reflect the poor trim of the overladen fit out and was now much improved.


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[Scaramanga F25]

Ballast, of any kind, should be placed at the lowest part of your boat.
Definitely not in aft locker or lazarette.

[Scout 30]

How about adding an extra water tank in the stern? It's hard to have too much water.

[Terra Nova]

Originally Posted by Captain Puget

After a repower, windlass upgrade and changing the tankage the bow of my boat is down ~ 3" in relation to the stern...

This can happen on some DIY projects when not planned properly.

Better to put the tank weight where it belongs than to add 100's of lbs of ballast in the ends. Consult a pro if necessary.

[barnakiel]

I would simply move the water and diesel tanks aft.

Or else move the batteries aft.

Try not to move anything HIGHER, just aft.

b.

[robwilk37]

and what can be shaved from the bow? often you can step down a size in chain by upgrading (literally) from G4 to G7 and save some weight. move your spare rodes and extra chain aft etc. if i knew i needed 500lbs on the taff rail to balance things out id make it a point to get half from each end.