Hey Guys! Is this a great idea or what??

[BOAT]

Another very good point. So a portable bilge pump for groundings or emergencies should suffice. And in ALL cases it looks like pumping the BALLAST is never a good idea unless your going right on to the trailer because operating the boat with any leftover water in the tank will make the boat wobble around.

Okay, -got it. That helps a lot guys! Thanks!

[Highlander]

I always go on the trailer with the daggerboard sligtly down, rudders down, ballast full. once on the trailer. open the ballast valve and vent, pull up on the ramp to let it drain. close the valve, refloat it if it didn't load just right, then pull out. takes a bit longer but seems to work well. Just don't leave the DB down too much or it will hit the trailer frame. The foils do give it a lot of control getting it on the trailer.

Everyone has their favorite way to do it.

Yup

I used to hit the ramp with empty ballast. As noted, the boat has little hull in the water and wind blows it all over.
So now I go full ballast, full rudders (with line loose) and dagger down. First mate is ready at the daggerboard line to pull it up just before we hit the trailer. It works well. If the rudder hit (they don't) they will kick up. Just remember to pull them up (and tilt motor) before pulling the boat up the ramp.
Once on the trailer, just pull up a few inches and open the ballast gate valve. Wait a few minutes and all the water drains right out. Easy.

I did learn to put a few chlorine tabs in the ballast tank as emptying a month's old ballast water stunk up the ramp pretty bad.

--Russ

Nah , Ya just say out loud Man I gotta put more chemicals in that waste tank with a big smile on yer face & watch them all trying to keep their feet outa the water

J

[Lieu Daze]

Putting chlorine pucks in the ballast is excellent for not only odour control but of more benefit to control the invasive species, (zebra mussels up here), and help prevent transfer to different bodies of water which our boats could be one of the worst offenders with the ballast tanks.

Word of caution, (from experience unfortunately), do not use too much chlorine, maybe 1/8 of a pool puck and be wary of any left in the ballast when you refill. On first experimentation with quantity we nearly sent my son to hospital as he was down below monitoring the vent and was overcome by the fumes.

Jim

[Catigale]

Ill have to think of at least three uses for this master pump on battery clips....

1 backup bilge pump

2 portable pump for emptying the dinghy on anchor (needs small battery)

3 ballast drain

4 pumping Monkey Shoulder to Johns boat at anchor.

5 those clips could be useful with some Bob Marley CDs too

[BOAT]

Pumping Monkey Shoulder into the ballast for storage for later?

[kmclemore]

Hey, Steph, quit Bogarting the alligator clip.

[Tomfoolery]

I always go on the trailer with the daggerboard sligtly down, rudders down, ballast full. once on the trailer. open the ballast valve and vent, pull up on the ramp to let it drain. close the valve, refloat it if it didn't load just right, then pull out. takes a bit longer but seems to work well. Just don't leave the DB down too much or it will hit the trailer frame. The foils do give it a lot of control getting it on the trailer.

So now I go full ballast, full rudders (with line loose) and dagger down. First mate is ready at the daggerboard line to pull it up just before we hit the trailer. It works well. If the rudder hit (they don't) they will kick up. Just remember to pull them up (and tilt motor) before pulling the boat up the ramp.
Once on the trailer, just pull up a few inches and open the ballast gate valve. Wait a few minutes and all the water drains right out. Easy.

And by way of chiming in from the point of view, with the swing centerboard, it'll still go on the trailer even if you forget to pull it up. I leave the centerboard about 1/3 down so I don't get blown around too badly, and one rudder down but not secured. Full ballast. I pull the centerboard up (one hand, as it's really light) just before it hit the trailer. Engine and rudder come up before I get in the tow beast to move the trailer, but after I hook on the winch line and get it going on the forward vee bunk.

I open the ballast gate valve and vent before leaving the wall and steering for the trailer. The instant the bow hits that front (small) vee on the trailer, and pitches up even slightly, water is coming out, since there is pitch that wasn't there at rest. A little winching, and water is coming out. Pulling the trailer up the hill a little to settle it and maybe make adjustments, and water is coming out. By the time I'm all the way out of the water, it's half empty or better. If there aren't a lot of folks waiting for the ramp, I'll let it sit and drain to the last drop, but if there's someone waiting, I'll pull it up the hill and let it drain out of the way, then do the Mac bump somewhere in the open (downhill makes it easy, of course).

With two axles, the trailer doesn't care if there's an extra 1400 lb of water in there, but as I said, by the time the stern is clear of the water, it's better than half drained at least, just in the time it takes to do the normal messing about.

[BOAT]

I find it kinda fun to pull in with no ballast and all foils up during the Santa Ana's. Our ramp is an uhhill pointing towards the ocean so it's usually a nice breeze dead ahead but during Santa Ana's the wind blows right accross the docks from the North. I get lined up with the northernmost dock - it looks just like I'm going to crash it right on the end of the northernmost dock as I turn towards the ramp and then as I idle in the boat drifts all the way down to the southernmost dock! I put the motor in neutral and the boat just gently drifts to the last dock and I hop out.

The ramp really is huge for such a tiny harbor (four docks) so ususally the only one around to see me drift all the way accross the ramp area is the pelican that likes to sit on the end of the middle docks.

In the summer I'm sure there will be a lot more boats and barging accross all four lanes of traffic will not be a good idea so I too will be coming in fully loaded and all planks down as the weather gets hotter.

I guess I will dump the water on the ramp like Russ says, (unless it's full of Monkey Shoulder) then I will tow it all the way home (no big deal - it's real close). But I need help drinking all that Monkey Shoulder.

(Monkey Shoulder is not as heavy as water is it?)

[Paul S]

I always go on the trailer with the daggerboard sligtly down, rudders down, ballast full. once on the trailer. open the ballast valve and vent, pull up on the ramp to let it drain. close the valve, refloat it if it didn't load just right, then pull out. takes a bit longer but seems to work well. Just don't leave the DB down too much or it will hit the trailer frame. The foils do give it a lot of control getting it on the trailer.

Everyone has their favorite way to do it.

Yup

I used to hit the ramp with empty ballast. As noted, the boat has little hull in the water and wind blows it all over.
So now I go full ballast, full rudders (with line loose) and dagger down. First mate is ready at the daggerboard line to pull it up just before we hit the trailer. It works well. If the rudder hit (they don't) they will kick up. Just remember to pull them up (and tilt motor) before pulling the boat up the ramp.
Once on the trailer, just pull up a few inches and open the ballast gate valve. Wait a few minutes and all the water drains right out. Easy.

I did learn to put a few chlorine tabs in the ballast tank as emptying a month's old ballast water stunk up the ramp pretty bad.

--Russ

Nah , Ya just say out loud Man I gotta put more chemicals in that waste tank with a big smile on yer face & watch them all trying to keep their feet outa the water

J

Yup more than once, a passerby asked 'What is all that coming out of your boat'. Without missing a beat, with a straight face, I reply 'Holding tank'

[Tomfoolery]

Yup more than once, a passerby asked 'What is all that coming out of your boat'. Without missing a beat, with a straight face, I reply 'Holding tank'

As much as I'd love to say that, in the Erie Canal and Lake Ontario, I'd be afraid a SWAT team would meet me at the exit. Lots of explaining to do.

[Newell]

Don’t you think it would be cool to pump out the ballast in one big WHOOSH before beaching or at a dock or other times?? I thought it would be cool.

I think it's a great idea, have never done it but think about doing it. Several owners have rigged up high volume, low pressure air pumps to the vent hole on D & S models. The ballast exits out the bottom of the hull on these models. This is not pumping out the ballast, but pushing it out by increasing the atmoshere pressure within the tank by a small amount. A former dealer told me the idea is dangerous and could damage the ballast tank. Yet this idea has been done and time tested to some degree. If possible, I always dump the ballast on my X before putting it on the trailer. As my D has a manufactured defect and leaks internally, the idea won't work on this boat. So I am considerling pumping out before trailering. I have a small submersible pump that would fit into the tank through the vent, which would pump out the 128 gallons in about the time it takes me to fetch the tow vehicle and trailer. The water would exit through the sink drain. The pump can run dry and seems to draw little 12V power.

[Tomfoolery]

A former dealer told me the idea is dangerous and could damage the ballast tank. Yet this idea has been done and time tested to some degree.

Water pressure is something less than .5 psi per foot of depth, and I doubt there's much more than half a foot of depth, so something less than 1/4 psi would do it I would think. Over a large area, there could be substantial force, but on the other hand, heeling the boat raises the water level more than 6" or so, which makes the pressure at the bottom greater than that.

I don't think you'd damage the boat if you didn't get carried away, but that's just thinking out loud. It's not my boat, so talk is cheap, in other words.