Sailing

by E. F. Knight

Ballast.—In ballasting a yacht, whatever material be used, certain general rules must be observed.

In the first place no ballast should be stowed at either extremity of a vessel; it should, as far as is possible, be concentrated in the midship section. This cannot be done unless a heavy and therefore compact form of ballast such as lead or iron is employed. If ballast be divided throughout the entire length of a vessel she will be sluggish in a sea-way; her head will not rise to the waves, but plunge into them, and it will be the same with her stern; she will be a wet and uncomfortable craft. On the other hand, a vessel whose ballast is concentrated amidships will be lively, her bow and stern in succession will rise buoyantly to the seas, and she will be a dry, seaworthy craft.

It is always well to have some of the ballast or a small yacht outside, on her keel; for it will be generally found impossible to stow all the ballast in the midship section without raising the floor and so sacrificing head-room in the cabin.

In placing ballast on the outside of a vessel, the same precaution must be taken as when stowing it inside—no weight must be put at the ends of the vessel. The lead or iron keel should not be carried down her whole length, as it often is, but should be mortised into the central portion of the wooden keel.

In the next place, ballast should be stowed as low as possible; for the lower it is, the less amount of it suffices to give the vessel the necessary stability. Here again the advantage of a metal keel is apparent. The leverage of the outside ballast is so enormous that the yacht becomes practically uncapsizable. But an excessive weight of lead on the keel will strain a vessel in rough water, she will recover herself with a quick jerk after heeling over to a puff, and her every motion will be violent. The most comfortable vessel at sea is undoubtedly the one that carries only a moderate weight of ballast on her keel, and the bulk of it inside.

Should a vessel be coppered, care must be taken that the sheathing does not touch—or even approach within an inch or two—the iron keel; for the galvanic action set up between the two metals would rapidly corrode the iron.

In order that the ballast may fit closely and so lie as low as possible in a vessel’s hold, it is well to have it cast in moulds shaped like the interior of the vessel’s bottom. This is more important in the case of the limber ballast, that is, the lowest layer of ballast which rests on the vessel’s timbers. This can be so moulded as to project downwards between the limbers and fill up what would otherwise be empty space; for ballast must on no account be supported by the planking, but always by the timbers or framework of the vessel. If you put pressure from the inside on your yacht’s planking, do not be surprised if she soon becomes nail-sick and leaky.

If ordinary pig and not moulded ballast be used, the spaces between the bottom timbers are empty. It is an excellent plan to fill them up fore and aft with Portland cement. This, hardening to the shape of the vessel, becomes as it were a part of her and, far from exerting outward pressure on the planking, strengthens the bottom considerably. It not only serves as ballast, but effectually prevents the water leaking through that portion of the vessel covered by it.

Lead is far the best ballast that can be used, the only objection to it being its great cost. However, it may be set off against this that lead does not corrode to any extent, and if the yacht is broken up or sold, the lead ballast can be sold at its market value with as much ease as if it were a precious metal.

The specific gravity of lead is to that of iron, roughly, as eleven to seven. Not oxidizing readily, it makes much cleaner ballast than iron, and it does not produce appreciable galvanic action and corrosion when in contact with another metal. Iron ballast, unless it is painted, fills the bilge water with rust, which will stain everything it comes across when pumped on deck. Even if the pump leads, as it should do, over the side, the water thrown out will leave an ugly stain on the paint.