My Mac 26M has been berthed in a slip for the past 8 months with a full ballast (I normally leave it full). Yesterday, I pulled her out of the water and opended the ballast on the launch ramp to drain the tank. The tank spilled water as it has in the past, however to my suprise, it only drained for about 2minutes and it was empty. About a year and half ago I did the same thing, and it took the tank about 5 minutes (or more) to drain...I was wondering if anyone has had this happen to them, and if anyone knows if the water is able to slowly seep out the ballast over time. Thank you in advance for your feed back...
I might be wrong but I think even if the water could escape through the gate valve you would have to motor above 6 – 7 mph. Otherwise the water level in the tank is the same as the water level outside of the boat. So the water wouldn’t drain even if the gate valve is wide open if the boat is not moving. But again I might be wrong.
I had my M in a slip for 1 1/2 years without losing any ballast. This is the first I've ever heard of this problem.
For those of you in a slip, I guess it wouldn't hurt to check the ballast level at least monthly - - - or maybe before sails as part of the checklist for safety. Come to think of it, I used to check the level often and it was always full - - - I added a travel bottle of Chlorox at least every 6 months.
If it were to leak, it could only leak the other way....FILLING the ballast tank. The natural state for the tanks to flood not empty.
I'd check the vent to see if it's somehow draining while in the water, but honestly I don't see how it could happen.
I dropped some chlorine tabs into my tank which I always keep full while the boat is in the water. When I didn't and emptied it at the end of the season, we left quite the stinky trail behind us.
I keep a Mac X within a slip, and I would think the ballast system would be the same. My "X" holds its ballast contents, and as Rick suggests...a little clorox is suggested.
Here's a suggestion which works for me. An observation of the outside "water line" is a sure sign of a full or an empty ballast when the boat is within the slip.
Thanks for the feedback...I was just chatting with my brother who told me that he opened the ballest while the boat was at the dock getting ready to be placed on the trailer and that is why it was partially drained...I also am going to do the clorox suggestion...it was very stinky this time around!
