Lead Ballast

[Samuel]

Hi all

 

I'm considering adding some internal lead ballast to improve the trim of my yacht. The ideal would be lead ingots about 10 - 15kg which would allow me to experiment with the effect of weights in different positions.However lead in other forms would also be suitable e.g. the lead plates that are used as mast counterweights. A local scrap merchant has quoted £2 / kg for lead scrap so I do not expect it to be cheap. If anyone has any they want to sell privately or can suggest some good commercial sources please contact me by pm.

[BuffaloBill]

I needed some lead for ballast and someone suggested having

a word with a local tyre depot. I did and they saved me all the

weights that they took off for a month and said they were free! 

I gave them a tenner for their 'tea tin' and filled a couple of plastic

5ltr ex-oil containers and they worked great.

[Brian J.]

Try a company that reclaims bits of old houses.  The sash window weights are just right for what you want.

[ranworthbreeze]

Hello Samuel,

 

What about using concrete common bricks, which are quite dense and are the cheapest you can buy.

 

Regards

Alan

[Guest]

.....What about using concrete common bricks, which are quite dense and are the cheapest you can buy.

 

 

The specific gravity of any substance is it's weight in comparison to the same volume of water.

 

So using water as the base weight density, the same volume of lead weighs 11 times as much, and iron weighs 7 times as much.  Concrete however, weighs only 2 times as much, so you would need 5 times the volume as the equivalent weight of lead, so it takes up much more space.

 

You often hear of people casting their own mud weights out of concrete to save money on buying an iron one, but it's false economy, since the relative weight is so much less when submerged, and yet it's still a very heavy lump to manhandle in air.

 

Another worry with square concrete blocks is being able to hold them safely against moving around.

 

Historically, sailing craft have always had either cast "pig iron" or lead ballast for these reasons.

[Guest]

I've experimented with movable ballast in quite a few boats.

For me, it breaks down into two categories, semi permanent trimming ballast, and easily movable ballast to trim things like tanks left empty during the Winter.

I've tried sacks of sand, gravel and concrete, but iron and lead is so much more space efficient, being so much denser and heavier.

As already mentioned on here, old fashioned iron sack weights are quite convenient and easy to handle, but they seem to be climbing in value now, as they get rarer. The days of picking them up at Woods Dyke auctions for a fiver are now gone.

About 5 years ago I wondered about tyre lead balance weights and made a few enquiries. I found they were always scrapped after removal, and tyre depots were willing to sell them quite cheaply. Their per Kg scrap value was lower than most lead because of the steel bands fixed in them making them more labour intensive to melt down.

I use them in tightly wrapped heavy duty plastic bags in the bilge, where they squish in very nicely and don't move about.

For quickly movable ballast, I fill strong plastic one gallon water containers with them. They "pour" in easily and compact down quite well.

Each fairly small container, filled with lead weights weighs 20 kg, the same as four of them when filled with water instead.

They are easy to keep clean, have comfortable handles and nice safely rounded corners. They counterbalance water and fuel tanks nicely when placed on the opposite side.

[brandenjg]

If you want a very cheap alternative you could try my method of ballast. 15kg play sand from argos £3.

I've got 2 bags either side inside a couple dry bags.

Branden

[loribear]

I'll get my hubby to pinch some from his workplace at the lead factory.. Lori

[Samuel]

Hi

 

Thanks for the ideas and sorry for this late second post, I've been busy.

 

I had already decided that lead was the best option because of some of the reasons discussed previously. I also want it to be easily removable because I would not want the extra stress caused by additional ballast on an elderly wooden hull when she is lifted out of the water. The idea of the car tyre balance weights is attractive because of cost and I might look into it. I will keep you posted of developments

[Guest]

..... The idea of the car tyre balance weights is attractive because of cost and I might look into it. I will keep you posted of developments

 

 

Hi Samuel, when I made up the composite photo of the tyre weights I uploaded the wrong version.

 

I meant to use this one, with captions for each image. 

 

I quite understand your wish to not have point loadings from the weight, as would be the case with iron weights or concrete slabs.

 

The black polythene packs in the photo "nestle" down nicely, and because the lead weights inside are still loosely packed, they adapt to contours very easily, like very heavy small sandbags, (and no risk of rust).

 

Some chain tyre dealers didn't want to know, but the independent ones were only to happy to sell them.

[Samuel]

Thanks Strowager, the pictures put it into context very well.