[Public-list] Ballast location

[Philip Sparr]

David,

I own hull no. 172.  A couple of years ago I was thinking of converting the space under the salon floor to an extra water tank.  The lockers under my floor are used to hold the batteries, I noticed that the bottom of these compartments sounded hollow when I knocked on them, so I drilled a hole in the bottom with a hole saw to see if there was any extra space to be gained.  There is some space under the bottoms, but not a whole lot.  From what I've seen in the sail plan drawing and from the hole I drilled, it seems that the ballast is in the forward part of the keel, and slopes back to the very bottom of the keel after a few feet.  I think the glassed in bottoms are to give a flat surface to set the batteries on, and also to raise them a bit so that they won't be flooded if your bilge fills a little.  It doesn't take much water to bring the water level up to the floor boards.  I had removed the cockpit drains while doing some repair work,  after a rain storm I went to pump
 the bilge out and found that the water level with the floor.  I'm not sure what a garboard drain is, but the space under my salon is divided by small transverse bulheads into three for four compartments, with a small drain at the bottom allowing them all to drain in series to the bilge.  The most forward compartment is in front of the head, and I think the sloped bottom of this compartment is the top of the encapsulated ballast. I hope this helps.

Philip
----- Original Message ----
From: David Van Denburgh <denburgh at andrews.edu>
To: public-list at lists.alberg30.org
Sent: Wednesday, December 6, 2006 10:15:18 AM
Subject: [Public-list] Ballast location


I own hull number 48, and I'm wondering where the iron ballast is located in the keel.  I would assume it's primarily at the forward part of the keel, extending aft three feet or so.  Is this accurate?  A related question: What is below the bilge in the engine compartment and just forward of the engine compartment floor - that is, the transverse glassed in structure that supports the cabin sole?  The resin in the area is cracked and clearly porous.  Is this area designed to shed water through the garboard drain?  Do most A30s have a garboard drain installed or is mine likely from a previous owner?

Apologies for the barrage of questions.  I hope they're clear.

Thanks!
David
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