Ballast

User avatar
Ozzie
Posts: 1624
Joined: Wed May 27, 2009 1:07 pm
Investigator Boat Name: Spritzig II
Location: Lake Macquarie
Contact:

Re: Ballast

Post by Ozzie »

Hi Bill just read this post. This is just speculation but maybe your 563 was originally set up or sold to have a inboard motor fitted hence the smaller rear ballast. This would be left out to allow installation of engine and propshaft. Any evidence of an engine ever having been installed and then removed and glassed over? In that case the weight of the motor would have made up for the missing ballast.
It would be not to hard to calculate the amount of lead to equal the original and fill the space and glass over it. Cheapest source of lead would be old roof flashing from a building demolishers if you can find it or old batteries although that may need melting down. You would need to cast it into manageable sized blocks. Investigate any health hazards in doing this.

My late dad used to cast his own sinkers and we were often confronted with a large ladel of molten lead cooking on the garage floor with a kero blow torch firing away under it. Often wonder what health problems he was creating but it was the 60's and we sprayed DDT and Dehldrin around in those days like it was red cordial :lol:

By the way I think you have the earliest sail number so far . Ian have we heard of any advances on 12 ?
Ozzie
Investigator #143 "SPRITZIG II"

The Mariner - “It’s too strange here. It doesn’t move right." ...
Enola - “Helen said that it’s only land sickness."
Waterworld (1995)
Yara50
Posts: 835
Joined: Mon May 25, 2009 7:10 pm
Location: Sydney

Re: Ballast

Post by Yara50 »

Check out the photos in the Gallery which show the lead ballast -"Under the Cabin Sole".
Earlier sail numbers- one boat in Melbourne, and another here in Sydney belonging to an Investigator Association member.
Ian B
Ex Investigator 563 #50 Yara
Post Reply