Cool Ballast Idea

[wiatowski]

So I came across this, and I would love to try it.... that is if I would ever get a $500 supra project .... anyone know where I can get one?


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lYJ85CEc2Sw



Hey Jet can you edit my title? Stupid me spelt Ballast wrong.

[CornRickey]

I've seen a lot of talk on the net regarding this. I believe its not in production and he's looking for financial backing. Great idea. There's a lot of force involved with a water mass moving that fast. I believe the biggest benefit is being able to come out of the hole unloaded then within seconds have it loaded. going to need hard tanks for it all though. Once there in, there in. No adjusting things. I saw one thread that talked about he sank the boat due to the windows in the tank failing for they weren't installed and the boat sank within seconds. Don't know if it is true or not. It reminds me of the air tankers Canada uses for wildland firefighting.

[Jetlink]

Sorry dude, you're just going to have to live with typo in your thread title. That is one thing I haven't figured out how to edit. There is a work around but I don't want to do that right now from my phone.

[docdrs]

Done for ya

[Jetlink]

Thanks Doc, and you'll have to PM the details on how you pulled that off.

[michael hunter]

Centurion just came out with it . To be able to start with no ballast and then fill within seconds after the rider is up is a real game changer. No pumps ,no bags and best of all no need for gas sucking 500 hp engines.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=CF9_-q4TbF8

[tg0824SSVGG]

That's Mike Murphy, the guy that invented the hydrofoil (sky ski/Airchair). He invented a similar system that calabria had in place
for years - just not as BIG as this one, I think it was called the "Pure Vert" system or something.

http://drainmaster.com/site/marine/content/pure-vert-wake-1

[CornRickey]

a lot of game changers in the last couple years. surf gates, this and cool LED lights. Ok the LED's aren't game changers but there pretty cool.

[wiatowski]

Done for ya

Thank you :)

[wiatowski]

Just figured this could be integrated into a stinger/floor project. The way I figure it glass and paint the stringers with Anti fowling paint same with the floor. To seal the compartments run 5200 on the tops of the stringers before you screw on the floor and that should seal the compartments up. Vent them with a couple of vents near the front and you'd be good to go.... Like I said though I think I would try this on a (and it pains me to use this term) scrap boat first. Don't think you'd have to make the intake as big as he has...but whatever.

How much weight do think in would add? I don't know what the volume of the stringers are.
Thoughts?

[DAFF]

Here are my numbers....
20' long 2.5' wide average depth of 6".
25 cubic feet per side =50
375 us gallons *8lb/gal

3000 lb......

[DAFF]

Go ahead and do it to the Sunsport. Its just fibreglass, worse case scenario you have to repair the transom.

[DAFF]

Drilling three 3" holes in the transom with gate valves would achieve the same results other than filling on the go.

[wiatowski]

Math is good, as for doing to the Sunsport... hahaha.... maybe. I like the point of filling on the go and being able to take off without the weight. Would maybe reduce the volume for around 2000 lbs of weight.

[CornRickey]

The critical part is the vents

[Salty87]

Here are my numbers....
20' long 2.5' wide average depth of 6".
25 cubic feet per side =50
375 us gallons *8lb/gal

3000 lb......

it seems fairly straight forward until you open the floor up and see the space you have to work with. it 'could' be done but you'd have to be a world class fiberglasser & decent engineer. the smaller side stringers get in the way and restrict the space unless you flood all 4 compartments instead of just the main 2. then there are cross braces every 3-4 feet. plus you need to get a serious seal where the floor contacts the stringer tops. on top of those issues your fiberglassing needs to survive being submerged. you really want to use composite materials for this.

redesigning the stringer layout would be a good idea to maximize space and also increase the fill & empty speeds. it's an overwhelming project when most people are just in a rush to get their boat back together and on the water. i'd love to see someone do it though.

[wiatowski]

it seems fairly straight forward until you open the floor up and see the space you have to work with. it 'could' be done but you'd have to be a world class fiberglasser & decent engineer. the smaller side stringers get in the way and restrict the space unless you flood all 4 compartments instead of just the main 2. then there are cross braces every 3-4 feet. plus you need to get a serious seal where the floor contacts the stringer tops. on top of those issues your fiberglassing needs to survive being submerged. you really want to use composite materials for this.

redesigning the stringer layout would be a good idea to maximize space and also increase the fill & empty speeds. it's an overwhelming project when most people are just in a rush to get their boat back together and on the water. i'd love to see someone do it though.

Agreed flooding all 4 compartments is in order. How about coating with Line-x over the glassed stringers. To seal the stringers isn't really that much of a problem, as stated above as long as it's vented properly there really shouldn't be that much pressure.

[CornRickey]

Sounds like a aircraft fuel tank. I wonder what they use to seal everything.

[Jetlink]

Sounds like a aircraft fuel tank. I wonder what they use to seal everything.

RTV usually, but those are not placed under much pressure.

[DAFF]

Glue in a pond liner which encases everything. The seal point could be where the centre stringer meets the floor. Venting and drilling holes would be EZ. To me anyone who is in the market for a cap off resto would be crazy not to attempt it.

[wiatowski]

I was thinking about "Blue seal" although it's primarily used on foundations,but still it's water proof and permanent.

[devovino]

Interesting, I think it would take some "brass ones" to do this on your own, but it seems to make a lot of sense in theory!! I still cant bring myself to put a new coat of interlux paint on my boat, let alone cut a few large holes in the transom below the water line, and vents on the sidewalls of the boat! I do see this as a brilliant idea however, and think it had the possibility to revolutionize
ballast systems!

[Ryan351]

old thread....

I've actually played around with idea for quite some time. Full disclosure, I haven't actually done it. But when I get a new boat I might just try the theory on my current one.
I have an 86 supra pro comp.

So remove floor showing stringers braces, joints etc. Remove all wet foam.... face it its all soakin wet.
measure out all places were cross bracing is located.
now you build an integral alum tank. Sheet for the floor, the sides, and top. Replace wood cross bracing with alum plates welded to sides and floor.
before you weld them into the floor cut a few scallops on the bottom and couple though holes in the middle for water passage.
Have tabs on the walls at the top that when you set the slightly smaller lid on the tank it will sit on it nicely and allow a good clean weld.
Install a simple fluid level gauge.
have it vent from the front, big valves in the rear. cake.
how hard could it be?

I took a rough ROUGH calculation and came up with approx 2k worth of ballast. About 125 gallons a side.

[wotan2525]

old thread....

I've actually played around with idea for quite some time. Full disclosure, I haven't actually done it. But when I get a new boat I might just try the theory on my current one.
I have an 86 supra pro comp.

So remove floor showing stringers braces, joints etc. Remove all wet foam.... face it its all soakin wet.
measure out all places were cross bracing is located.
now you build an integral alum tank. Sheet for the floor, the sides, and top. Replace wood cross bracing with alum plates welded to sides and floor.
before you weld them into the floor cut a few scallops on the bottom and couple though holes in the middle for water passage.
Have tabs on the walls at the top that when you set the slightly smaller lid on the tank it will sit on it nicely and allow a good clean weld.
Install a simple fluid level gauge.
have it vent from the front, big valves in the rear. cake.
how hard could it be?

I took a rough ROUGH calculation and came up with approx 2k worth of ballast. About 125 gallons a side.

Your calculations were pretty rough. 250 gallons = ~33 cubic feet. There's not that much room. Remove your floor and take some measurements with sand and tell me what you end up with.... It's a surprisingly small area and will get even smaller once you start installing tanks.

Also -- how do you propose to fuse your aluminum cross bracing to the hull? You say weld but the hull is fiberglass and the floor will (probably) still be wood. It gets very tricky, very fast.