Newbie boat owner.

[Tezza79]

Hi all, after reading some threads here i thought i would sign up.

A couple of months back i took the plunge and bought a 1996 Skibsplast 700d, she's a 24ft boat with shaft drive with a single yanmar 140hp motor.

We only had chance to take her out a few times before she was lifted out for the winter.
We have a lot of things planned for her before spring.
New canopy.
Replacement dashboard.
All new led lighting.
Reupholstered v berth cushions.
New cabin carpet.
Cut and polish gel coat.

Ive recently fitted new lithium leisure batteries with a solar pannel to keep them topped up, ive also retrimmed the cockpit seating and tidied up a lot of the wiring.

I have a few other things id like some opinions on.

There are 3 25kg ballast bags port side of the stern im thinking if i remove these and move the batteries from the starboard side she will balance out and save nearly a person in weight.
I thinking some of the reason the ballast has been put there is to also balance the weight of the bow, there looks to be over 100m of chain in the chain locker.
My plan is to half the chain and use half chain half rope saving another considerable amount of carried weight.
Will i notice any downside to all this weight saving?
With all the ballast, chain and a full tank she handled really well and got upholstery on the plane with ease but i cant help thinking lighter has to be better tight?

 

[Farmer Piles]

It could be that she sits better and rolls less with the ballast, less bouncy. It also depends where the weight is. Equally, you could just be dragging around unnecessary weight. 100m of chain seems well OTT, as you say, 30-50m of chain and then warp would be adequate and a massive weight saver. It could be that the stern ballast might be countering the excessive weight in the bow - a double whammy. Especially given that it is a planing or SD hull.
I think that as long as you are able to remove and replace the ballast so that you can experiment then it all sounds logical to me. For what it's worth.

 

[Hot Property]

Get rid of any unnecessary weight as this will be using extra fuel. I have a 23 ft boat and have about 27 metres of chain....... Why do you need 50 metres?

 

[oldgit]

Get rid of any unnecessary weight as this will be using extra fuel. I have a 23 ft boat and have about 27 metres of chain....... Why do you need 50 metres?

Depends where you boat ?
3 x times average depth thats enough to hold in 15 metres of water.
27m is 9 metres..

 

[BruceK]

As above. Save weight where ever you can. Dont know what it is about boats but every year mine seems to get heavier by the time of liftout when measured by the crane. Sure enough after giving the boat a thorough cleanout you are amazed at all the junk you have left in her over a season or two. Especially tools, spares and fluids. Once they find their way onboard they dont seem to ever come off. It's then no wonder at the start of every season my boat feels spry and gutsy and by end of season like a waterlogged log. If I could only follow my own advice on this matter but each year its the same.

 

[Tezza79]

Thanks for the advice.
Ill be shedding as much unuseful weight as I can, between the anchor chain, the ballast, the lighter batteries she should be noticeably lighter when shes lifted back in the water.
Im thinking ill leave 30m of chain and add 50m of rope, looking at the north sea costal charts ill not be in anything deeper than 20m so this should be suitable.