Belhaven 19 Ballasting Options

[dennis_sfb]

Hello All,

In doing some research on various B&B boats I ran across a mention somewhere about different ways to add ballast to the B-19. Could someone here please describe the various ways that ballast weight can be added to a Belhaven.

I'm opposed to melting lead, but maybe lead shot embedded in epoxy is an option?, water ballast might be ideal, but not an option with the B-19, is it?

Any comments on handling ballast weight in the Belhaven would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks ... Dennis

[hokeyhydro]

Lead can get pricey, and lead shot real pricey. I think it cost about $40 (after sales tax) for a 12 1/2 lb bag last time i bought it. Might be difficult to find as well since the eco-folks made steel shot mandatory. I had to special a bag of lead shot.

Lead shot -finer the better - and epoxy is SOP to ballast R/C sailboat model keels. Less dense than poured lead, and even a few R/C modelers (me included) did hot pours in the fiberglass keels shells to gain a tad of low ballast advantage. Since the fiberglass shell keel had to be immersed in water to keep the resin from scorching, these hot pours often provided much excitement, as in "explosions" caused by instant steam when the hot lead hit leaked in water.

[Kyle H.]

I have heard of other sailboats using concrete/cement pours, but could not begin to tell you if this is a viable option or not...a Chebacco in the SF Bay area used this method.

Kyle #44

[PeterP]

Concrete is a mess. Don't go that way. It sweats like crazy. You'll end up with nightmares about what all that moisture is doing to your wood. If you are squeamish about pouring lead get somebody else to do it for you. You can also buy lead pigs for internal ballast (well secured goes without saying). But that is something for Graham to approve. PeterP

[John Turpin]

Moveable ballast is a nice thing to have. There's something to be said for lead pigs or thrift shop bar bell plates that can be moved fore and aft to help trim a boat. But, you do need to give some thought to how to secure it.

[Scott Dunsworth]

I remember having a truck load of dread over melting and casting a ballast for my Belhaven. It was all in vein. It was a piece of cake! Not the most enjoyable part of the build but not the worst ether.

I pre melted and skimmed off the impurities and poured my lead into small 25 to 30 pound ingots using an bread pan for a mold.

When I was ready to pour the ballast I made the mold ready. Then the furnace from a old gas grill tank. It had three legs welded on it with the valve as the bottom. The bottom of the tank cut away to add the lead. I added a length of steel pipe and a elbow in the place of the valve, with the tube extending the height of the tank. With a propane burner heating the tank I waited for the lead to become molten. Once ready I just turned the tube down to the mold and let her fly. It was done from start to finish in an hour.

I didn't worry to much about gases off the lead. I did it outside with a slight breeze. I did some research on hazards and lead has to be heated very hot to put off hazardous gases, way past the melting point of 621 degrees. But I would and did take precautions anyway.

I ended up with around 325 pounds in the ballast and another 30 in the board.

While I can't say I am looking forward to casting a 2000 to 2500 pound keel for my new boat, I certainly am not dreading it.

Scott