balast question

[chippyray]

My boat a 23ft motor Cruiser is finished and almost ready for use bar the engine(see wanted adds).The boat has never seen water except rain. What I would like to know is will I need to balast the boat to make it sea friendly. Thanks

 

[DAKA]

A little extra detail would be helpful, if you have a slow boat best option is to fill small sand bags that you can move arround to find the best ballance, you can also throw these over board when things go wrong !
If your boat will plane chances are you will not want any extra weight,
I used to store as much petrol in 25L jerry cans and put 5L cans in any space I could find, usualy all towards the pointed end.
You may need to move balast arround depending on the sea conditions of any one day, you will have a difficult job making a 23 foot boat sea friendly in all sea states, even a F 4-5 wind against tide might feel like a storm.

 

[gonfishing]

Hi and Welcome
Once the engine is fitted and you add fuel and water, and you have been out a couple of timed in varying conditions, you should be able to address any ballast issues, although I suspect you will not require any as such.

Have Fun

Julian

 

[BarryH]

Doubt it very much. But beers should be pushed into all available nooks and crannies. Mark the water line in this state and write "full". Then drink it all and again mark the water line and write "empty". That way if I see you out on the water I can see at a glance wether its worth calling in on you!