Ballast vent

[tango11]

I am new to Macgregor and I find it akward and possibly dangerous when sailing alone to go inside and open/close the ballast vent under the Vberth. Has somebody ever installed a tube to the cockpit where the vent could be opened/closed? Also, on your M or X, is the filling valve on the transom really water tight. Mine undoutably leaks since if I leave the boat in the water for a week with ballast empty, the ballast is full after one week. I think that this valve is the same as the one they use on motor homes for soiled water.

[rwmiller56]

Members have installed vent hoses on the forward ballast vent. Here is one that is described in the mod section:
http://www.macgregorsailors.com/modt/in ... ?view=1663

The stern gate valve should not leak much at all. One thing I have noticed is that the ballast water does expand and contract based on the temperature. I have filled the ballast tank on cool days, then come back to the boat on a hot day and open the forward vent. The ballast water will expand and partially fill the vent bowl. Conversely, I've seen the level drop down when I open the vent on much cooler days. The key is to check the level each time you take the boat out.

[Tomfoolery]

Not to sound like a smart guy, but why wouldn't you just open it before leaving the dock or mooring, flood the tank (takes minutes), close the vent and the fill/drain gate valve, then sail?

For draining under power, you can reach the gate valve from the helm position (at least, I can on my ). Furl the sails, go below and open the vent, pull the gate valve, then motor the ballast away. Close the gate valve from the helm (again, no problem with my ), put the engine in neutral and go below to shut the vent, or just wait until you're at the dock or mooring to close it.

And yes, it's the same as a blackwater valve on an RV. I don't know what size, and probably won't until mine needs replacing.

I just leave the ballast in the tank unless I'm going to do some go-fast motoring, like wakeboarding, or if I'm going to haul it, in which case I load it with ballast and let it drain as I pull it out. It starts draining as soon as the bow is elevated any higher than where it sits on the water, so it has a head start on draining long before I actually pull the trailer all the way out of the water.

The boat handles much better when lining up with the trailer with ballast in the tank anyway. Better still with the addition of some centerboard and one or two rudders, but that's another topic.

[Retcoastie]

When dumping ballast, it is not necessary to open the vent. Did you ever see milk or soda or beer come out of a bottle without a vent in it. Venting will make the ballast dump fastest but probably less than thirty seconds faster. Why go below to dump?

Ken

[dlandersson]

Question for ya...I was advised not to lose my vent plug, but that there was no reason to keep it plugged in. It should be out any time you are filling or draining the ballast tanks, and there's really no point to having it in the rest of the time.

Thoughts?

Not to sound like a smart guy, but why wouldn't you just open it before leaving the dock or mooring, flood the tank (takes minutes), close the vent and the fill/drain gate valve, then sail?

For draining under power, you can reach the gate valve from the helm position (at least, I can on my ). Furl the sails, go below and open the vent, pull the gate valve, then motor the ballast away. Close the gate valve from the helm (again, no problem with my ), put the engine in neutral and go below to shut the vent, or just wait until you're at the dock or mooring to close it.

And yes, it's the same as a blackwater valve on an RV. I don't know what size, and probably won't until mine needs replacing.

I just leave the ballast in the tank unless I'm going to do some go-fast motoring, like wakeboarding, or if I'm going to haul it, in which case I load it with ballast and let it drain as I pull it out. It starts draining as soon as the bow is elevated any higher than where it sits on the water, so it has a head start on draining long before I actually pull the trailer all the way out of the water.

The boat handles much better when lining up with the trailer with ballast in the tank anyway. Better still with the addition of some centerboard and one or two rudders, but that's another topic.

[Tomfoolery]

Question for ya...I was advised not to lose my vent plug, but that there was no reason to keep it plugged in. It should be out any time you are filling or draining the ballast tanks, and there's really no point to having it in the rest of the time.

Thoughts?

If you fill the tank and heel the boat, the vent is going to be lower than the high side of the ballast tank and water will come out. Or so it seems to me.

I think I'd keep it in.

[Retcoastie]

no reason to keep it plugged in

I would worry about water sloshing out of the vent. I believe, although I don't want to test my theory, as the boat rocked and the water ballast tried to shift in the tank it would send geysers like Old Faithful up out of the vent hole. Maybe all that water would be caught by the cofferdam, maybe not. Any that got way would make a terrible mess in the holes where I store stuff and the bilges. Lots of mold and mildew potential.

Its not a big thing.......put the plug in.

Ken

[dlandersson]

Yeah, good point...with the family, heeling is not encouraged, but it's a good 'best practice" 'cause ya never know.

Question for ya...I was advised not to lose my vent plug, but that there was no reason to keep it plugged in. It should be out any time you are filling or draining the ballast tanks, and there's really no point to having it in the rest of the time.

Thoughts?

If you fill the tank and heel the boat, the vent is going to be lower than the high side of the ballast tank and water will come out. Or so it seems to me.

I think I'd keep it in.

[Divecoz]

You need the ballast in to sail.. You cannot dump the ballast under sail.. It just wont go fast enough to do a proper job.. Even if you did sail fast enough you would be breaking RULE #1.. Never Sail with anything but a full ballast.. Sailing with a partial ballast NOT SAFE..
Boat is in water, remove Vent Plug, Open Ballast Gate Valve. When ballast is full, Replace Vent plug..
Done sailing? Drop sail remove vent plug open ballast gate valve, motor in excess of 7 mph..close gate remove boat from water.. etc etc etc ..
IMHO and my experience the boat is always "Sitting Still" when I remove or replace my vent plug..

[Frank C]

Here's the mod page where I added passive ballast venting to my X-boat. Leading the vent hose up to the anchor locker was an effort, but assures ballast will remain in the tanks. Open the gate valve for 6 to 7 minutes, then verify that the gate valve is fully submerged before closing the valve.

If your motor can plane the boat, empty the tanks by opening the gate valve and increasing speed to about 10 mph for a few minutes. Close the gate valve when you can see that it's fully above the water surface and no longer spilling any ballast water.

Roger connects anchor locker and the thru-hull with a plastic elbow, replaced by this plastic T-fitting. Other pix and full description are at the mod page linked above.

[NiceAft]

I don't mean to hijack the thread, but I saw “Frank C" in the post and thought I was looking at an old posting by mistake. Welcome back Frank.

Ray

[mastreb]

I've forgotten to re-insert the vent plug and then sailed, and can confirm that it will spill quite a bit of water into the bilge when you heel over 20 degrees. Not enough to be a safety issue, but more than enough to require cleanup. Install the plug or do the vent mod.

[dlandersson]

Hmmm...probably explains the damp carpet I was scratching my head over.

I've forgotten to re-insert the vent plug and then sailed, and can confirm that it will spill quite a bit of water into the bilge when you heel over 20 degrees. Not enough to be a safety issue, but more than enough to require cleanup. Install the plug or do the vent mod.

[dlandersson]

Does anyone put 1" pool chlorination tablets in their ballast tank?

I've forgotten to re-insert the vent plug and then sailed, and can confirm that it will spill quite a bit of water into the bilge when you heel over 20 degrees. Not enough to be a safety issue, but more than enough to require cleanup. Install the plug or do the vent mod.

[jbousquin]

I've forgotten to re-insert the vent plug and then sailed, and can confirm that it will spill quite a bit of water into the bilge when you heel over 20 degrees. Not enough to be a safety issue, but more than enough to require cleanup. Install the plug or do the vent mod.

Wow, this just made the go on in my head...

I've installed a drinking water system ala Sumner with 4 gallon Reliance tanks under the V-Berth. Since I'm not as handy as Sumner, mine don't fit in place quite as securely as his, and I've noticed some water in the port hold the last few weeks... I ASS U ME D it was coming from my drinking water tanks...

I just couldn't figure out why it was brown when I sponged it out of the hold, as well as why there seemed to be a gallon or more of it....

Now, I'm thinking that I've got water coming out of my ballast, even though I've got the rubber plug in when I sail. We've had some strong headwinds lately, and I've routinely been healing 40-45 degrees. I'm thinking that the head of pressure the entire tank would put on the plug when healed 45 degrees would be more than enough to cause water to push itself out past the slightly worn plug, and then slosh around until it ends up out of the bowl and in the hold.

I guess I need a new plug for my water ballast, but I'm guessing that instead of drinking water, that's actually brown California Delta water in my hold. Learn something new here everyday....