Completely confused about filling ballast!

[escape]

Okay, I thought we were to fill the ballast tank on our 26x to within 3" of the plug hole. I have read that some are filling it to where it spills into the hole surrounding the plug hole and then fitting the plug and then sponging up the leftover water......

WHICH IS IT!!!!?????? Or is it neither? Thanks in advance, Grumpy (from not getting out on the boat this weekend).

[Hamin' X]

As long as the water level is within 3" of the vent hole, all will be OK. The amount of air trapped in the ballast tank at this point will be minuscule and not affect safety. The whole exercise of making sure that there is enough water in the ballast tank is related to safety and not performance. If you want to fill it to overflowing, you might eliminate some sloshing sounds while at anchor, but that is all.

~Rich

[Andy26M]

Within three inches is what is required for safety.

With the boat loaded and trimmed "normally" the ballast should fill to about this level and stop and on its own. However, if the boat is loaded heavily, or even if you just have some extra weight in the bow, such that she is trimmed down by the bow a little, the water will overflow out of the vent hole - this is what people are talking about when they mention overfilling it, or installing vent/drain lines up into the anchor locker,etc.

In my case, when I am in the boat alone with my normal loadout, the simple act of moving my 200 pound body from cockpit to V-berth is enough to trim the bow down so that the tank overfills and puts about 2" of water in the little cofferdam up there. If I have a second person and they go forward to close the vent valve for me, it never overflows.

Andy

[pokerrick1]

You only weigh 200 Andy?

Rick

[Andy26M]

Only?? Ugh. I'm up to over 8000 yards per week in the pool but the more I workout the more my appetite grows!

[pokerrick1]

The pool is my only possible solution also - - - except for walking in Casinos

When I was in Mexico I swam laps EVERY DAY and lost 17 pounds - - - but here in Vegas in 7 months I've gained back 25 Waaayyyyyy tooooooo many free buffets

I just started doing laps again outside so we'll see? I'll soon have a MARVELOUS tan again also!

Rick

PS sorry about going a little off topic.

[Andy26M]

Congrats on getting back in the pool!

When I lived in Singapore I swam laps 5 days a week outside (back in my younger days when I was serious, LOL) - yep, I had a superb tan! Now my doctor keeps looking at the freckles on my shoulders and back and telling me they are sign of sun damage and I've gotta watch for skin cancers as I age...
Here in NY, all the lap pools have roofs

Andy

[Duane Dunn, Allegro]

A lot depends on which year of X you have. There have been three different vent/valve combination's used in the X boats.

If you have one with the forward vent and the drip ring around the vent you should have no problems with overflowing unless your boat is very bow heavy. This was the last configuration of the vent / valve combination used on the X's.

If you have an older one, like me, with the vent at the companionway steps and no drip ring, you have to be more careful. On these boats the level of the vent hole is closer to the water line and will overflow if not watched. If completely ignored you can easily fill the boat with water on the older boats. This will be particularly true if your boat is well loaded with gear.

The older boats also benefit from being burped. They tended to leave a bubble of air forward when filled and this would then gurgle and make noise when at anchor as the boat pitched fore and aft. By sending a person or two forward as the tank fills you can get this air out. This is one of the reasons they changed to the forward vent on later models.

I find in my boat, with the vent under the stairs, that water will overflow into my boat. I watch the vent and and put the plug in when the water starts to burp it's way up the last bit of the vent cavity. If I don't plug it then, water will first spurt out the hole on each burp, then eventually start to overflow. I find no need to feel in the vent hole for water, it more than makes it self know by sound when it is time to put in the plug. Once I have the vent plug in I then go back to the transom and close the gate valve. I try to avoid any water spilling in the boat. The spurts will get the aft berth cushions wet and any overflow will go under the liner and into the bilge where it is hard to clean up.

If your boat is one of the earliest X's like mine, you also have the choice of using the second fill valve under the step. The old boats had a smaller gate valve on the port side of the motor and a fill valve in the bottom of the boat located next to the vent at the steps. On newer models a larger transom valve located on the starboard side of the motor was used and the valve at the step was eliminated.

I used to use both valves when filling, but I found that using the step valve really didn't make that great of a difference in the fill time and for the last few years I have only used the transom valve. I also worried that with just a compressed rubber seal the step fill valve would wear out so I have just left it closed at all times.

[tangentair]

In case you weren't aware - the saftey issue they are speaking about (in such a swimmingly fashion) is two fold, first you need the weight in the form of ballast to properly sail without being blown over, but just as importantly, you need to have an either full or empty ballast - because - the effect of the wave action sloshing back and forth can set up a water ram and break the tank. If you knew that but just wondered about how full - I like it as full as I can get it, as someone else posted in another thread, there are trapped pockets of air that often will work their way up to the vent eventually and you could think you have a leak.

[DaveB]

Duane, I have a 1997 Mac.X with the vent hole at the bottom of companionway hatch and ballest water never came within 2 inches from the opening at top. I have 2 -27 house batteries just aft of V-berth and a 13 gal. inflatable water tank under sink. I also keep other weight amidship or a bit forward and when filling ballest I usually go forward in V-berth (225 lbs) and girlfriend closes vent and Gate Valve to get all gurgle...air out.
Maybe mine came with a higher vent hole?
I know a few have relocated the vent hole at the Bow on older models but I see no reason to and much easier at companionway.
Dave

A lot depends on which year of X you have. There have been three different vent/valve combination's used in the X boats.

If you have one with the forward vent and the drip ring around the vent you should have no problems with overflowing unless your boat is very bow heavy. This was the last configuration of the vent / valve combination used on the X's.

If you have an older one, like me, with the vent at the companionway steps and no drip ring, you have to be more careful. On these boats the level of the vent hole is closer to the water line and will overflow if not watched. If completely ignored you can easily fill the boat with water on the older boats. This will be particularly true if your boat is well loaded with gear.

The older boats also benefit from being burped. They tended to leave a bubble of air forward when filled and this would then gurgle and make noise when at anchor as the boat pitched fore and aft. By sending a person or two forward as the tank fills you can get this air out. This is one of the reasons they changed to the forward vent on later models.

I find in my boat, with the vent under the stairs, that water will overflow into my boat. I watch the vent and and put the plug in when the water starts to burp it's way up the last bit of the vent cavity. If I don't plug it then, water will first spurt out the hole on each burp, then eventually start to overflow. I find no need to feel in the vent hole for water, it more than makes it self know by sound when it is time to put in the plug. Once I have the vent plug in I then go back to the transom and close the gate valve. I try to avoid any water spilling in the boat. The spurts will get the aft berth cushions wet and any overflow will go under the liner and into the bilge where it is hard to clean up.

If your boat is one of the earliest X's like mine, you also have the choice of using the second fill valve under the step. The old boats had a smaller gate valve on the port side of the motor and a fill valve in the bottom of the boat located next to the vent at the steps. On newer models a larger transom valve located on the starboard side of the motor was used and the valve at the step was eliminated.

I used to use both valves when filling, but I found that using the step valve really didn't make that great of a difference in the fill time and for the last few years I have only used the transom valve. I also worried that with just a compressed rubber seal the step fill valve would wear out so I have just left it closed at all times.

[argonaut]

If one has an older boat and wanted to do away with the underneath the step valve and just glass it over, would you just glass over the existing steel plate or remove it and use roving over wood cut to fit the fill the hole after removing the threaded rod & plate?

[Kelly Hanson East]

If you have an inch or two of 'air' due to burping you dont have to panic about the partial ballast scenario - at least on the later model . The vent ring is several inches above the tank, so it wont slosh at all at this point.

[Duane Dunn, Allegro]

There is a fairly large indentation in the hull for the valve at the step. The ideal thing to do would be to remove the steel rod and plate, fill the indentation with some structural foam, then glass it all in nice and smooth with the hull. This is certainly more of a project than I want to undertake, so I just live with the small hit having that indentation makes on performance. Perhaps if I kept my boat in salt water all the time I would be more worried about corrosion on the steel plate, but mine lives high and dry on the trailer so it is not an issue.