Ballast in or out on boat lift?

[SailingAbode]

I'm curious of those out there who keep their Macs on boat lifts whether it's better to keep the ballast tank full or drain it out when the boat is lifted? My initial inclination, being new to this whole boat lift thing, was to drain the tank whenever the boat is lifted. BUT, the first time I lifted it out there soon after turned out to be strong winds blowing straight out the creek hitting the boat broadside and causing it to rock back and forth whenever the gusts hit it. So now I'm thinking that if the water ballast is left in then the boat would be more stable on the lift. My lift bunks are about 39" apart at the stern and 37" apart at the bow, so there is some room to possibly spread them further to help ease my angst (and it is a 10,000 pound lift). To think I was more worried about how exposed the lift would be to winds coming out of the open Chesapeake Bay, yet the worst ones we've had since we moved into the house a few weeks ago came directly out of the creek! So now I'm inclined to leave the ballast tank full except for maybe when it gets to be below freezing for extended periods (would hate for it to freeze and crack the ballast tank). So what is common practice? Thanks!

[RGF]

I have a 10,000 pound lift, monks are 37 inches apart, and I leave my ballast empty on the lift. Never had a problem even when it got windy. Why strain your lift when there's no reason to.

[EZ]

I'm not real familiar with lifts, but for what it worth I would suggest the following:
1) lift with ballast in.
2) Secure the boat the lift tightly as you would to the trailer.
3) Drain ballast while the boat is on the lift.

[NiceAft]

These are the statistics of an
Water ballast: 1150 lbs
Permanent ballast: 300 lbs
Boat weight, empty:2550 lbs
This totals 4,000 lbs. Is that going to stress a 10,000 lb lift

I realize you have an , but the numbers are to similar to knit pick.

Also, won't draining the ballast while on the lift defeat the purpose of trying to make the boat heavier?

By the way, which creek are you on in Annapolis?

Ray

[Russ]

These are the statistics of an
Water ballast: 1150 lbs
Permanent ballast: 300 lbs
Boat weight, empty:2550 lbs
This totals 4,000 lbs. Is that going to stress a 10,000 lb lift

I doubt the 1150 extra pounds is going to strain your 10,000lb lift, but it certainly would make me sleep better knowing the boat won't be blown off the thing as easily with the ballast in.

My vote: Ballast in all the time.

Dump some rock salt into the vent to keep it from freezing if that's a concern. Probably not in July. I dump a couple chlorine tabs to keep the giant petri dish from growing new interesting aromatic organisms.

--Russ

[RGF]

Why the need to make the boat heavier? If you feel the need to keep the lift from moving. why not just strap or cable one of the cradles to one or more ofthe lift support pilings or just use a couple of dock lines to tie to the pilings from your cleats?! I agree the weight of a loaded X or M is not that much of a strain on the lift but why bother!! I have only been through about six hurricanes in Florida, four directly hit in one year, and have never filled the ballast on the lift!

[Russ]

Why the need to make the boat heavier?

I was thinking of convenience. I leave the ballast in all the time. I don't see the need to dump it.

Envious of you guys with your boat on a lift in your backyard.

[SailingAbode]

Thanks for your feedback! Now that you mention it, it could have been the lift swinging back and forth as much as anything. My rickety pier is about 200' long and I was watching the boat rocking mostly from the kitchen window. I did at one point wonder if it should have been strapped to the lift, but that doesn't seem practical. It's a mute point currently because the lift broke after one use already. The guy who inspected it mentioned that it looked like it had barely been used and hadn't been used for a long time, so that there might be some issues related to that. When I went to put the boat back on one of the little wheels on the far side froze about two feet above the water and won't let the bow-end corner of the lift drop any further. I wasn't out that long, so I'm guessing it must have had some corrosion or something break loose inside. Anyway, for now the boat's tied to the side of the rickety pier awaiting repairs sometime next week. But I did discover a neat thing in the process! At low tide the water from my lift to my bulkhead is a little over knee deep. With rudders, centerboard and motor up I could walk the boat all the way to the bulkhead without touching bottom. Of course this makes me wonder why the creek I live on is named Deep Creek (off the Magothy River) when I can walk halfway across it.

If anybody in the area ever wants to stop by I'm the fourth pier past Fairwinds Marina, boat name "Janice Marie II". It's a 1996 rescue/project boat in progress so I'd love an opportunity to see how some things are supposed to be versus how they are. It's also a little more complicated than any of the other boats I've had previously so even after finding much useful information on this forum I'm still full of questions!

Happy sailing!