Water ballast well mod, safe or not?

[Lucid]

Off the shelf the 26M has the gate valve on the stern for filling, emptying ballast and the air vent with the lever bung in the well under the v berth for vacuum release. The PO made a mod so he could tell from cockpit when the ballast was full.

Plastic pipe, one end silicones into air vent in the well, other end above water line near ceiling with a telltale hanging in front. During filling the air exiting the ballast tank flutters the telltale, once the telltale is still, he closed the stern dropgate.

My concern is if the gate valve leaks the air vent is open and no vacuum to retain the ballast possible to end up with a live load of half the ballast sloshing around and capsize. Perhaps this could be mitigated with a bung in the top end of the pipe.

The second part of the mod is another pipe out of the well that goes to an electric pump, then to a long hose that reaches back to the sink. Not sure which way the water flow is, into the ballast or out of the ballast. I'll call the PO and ask what it's for - possible bilge pump that empties into ballast. Or for topping up the ballast with sea water. Or maybe for draining the ballast into the sink.

M26 mods-13
M26 mods-15
M26 mods-14

[sailboatmike]

My X had much the same mod, pipe coming out of the ballast tank air inlet / outlet with a telltale.

I like you was concerned about allowing air in the ballast tank so I put a ball valve in the pipe to seal the air from getting into the tank, I still ose a bit of water over time but its much better than it was. I think the reason I still lose water is the seal on the gate valve may not be as good as it could be

[K9Kampers]

Water ballast fill mods really crack me up! It'll say props to y'all who've figured out the right combination of valves & hoses & stuff that allow you to tell when something is full from twelve feet away.

I'm old school, I know that on my boat, it usually takes from 7 to 10 minutes for the ballast to fill, I stick a finger in the hole and say 'yup, she's there', then plug it. In those 7 to 10 minutes, I'm doing down below boat stuff within arms reach of the ballast vent hole. What do y'all with ballast mods do with the minutes saved?!

For the OP's question, there is no standard for owner-rigged mods.

[sailboatmike]

Mine came with the mod and the old fill hole and ballast plug hole had been modified so there was no going back for me.

My fill normally takes less than 5 minutes, and what do I do with those minutes saved? I sail or motor down the channel, its 15 minutes from the launch ramp to the bay to sail, so I get a head start

[Lucid]

Water ballast fill mods really crack me up! It'll say props to y'all who've figured out the right combination of valves & hoses & stuff that allow you to tell when something is full from twelve feet away.

I'm old school, I know that on my boat, it usually takes from 7 to 10 minutes for the ballast to fill, I stick a finger in the hole and say 'yup, she's there', then plug it. In those 7 to 10 minutes, I'm doing down below boat stuff within arms reach of the ballast vent hole.

Are you at the dock while it's filling up? Or are you motoring out, with the missus helming? i thought the mod was so you didn't have to go below to check and leave the helm unattended motoring or adrift. We have a busy ramp, with a courtesy pier along side, so I could be filling while parking the car and trailer, but delaying too much and it'll be ramp rage.... I don't need the mod, but I also don't think I can undo it, except for cutting the hose off and jamming a bung into it. Not sure how it saves time really. And the hose has black gunk building up inside it.

To make it safer I'll look for a ball valve as well, I don't really trust the aft gate valve without the vacuum to contain water

[K9Kampers]

Are you at the dock while it's filling up? Or are you motoring out, with the missus helming? i thought the mod was so you didn't have to go below to check and leave the helm unattended motoring or adrift.

At dock, anchor, or adrift. The transom valve won't fill with forward motion of the boat, only drain. While efficiency at a busy ramp is key, if your boat isn't ready to leave the dock due to a safety issue, then the hot-head go-fast powerboater will just have to wait a few more minutes. That said, outside of a busy/congested waterway, tasks such as ballast-filling, mast raising, etc, can be done at anchor and/or adrift.

We have a busy ramp, with a courtesy pier along side, so I could be filling while parking the car and trailer, but delaying too much and it'll be ramp rage....

If you launch launch at a rage ramp, please rig a GoPro to catch the action, as YouTube is currently short of ramp rage/follies videos!!

[BOAT]

Venting mods for the ballast tank all have their disadvantages. I am just now on my 4th version of the forward vent. The reasons why people put in these vent mods are various - but it almost always has to do with using the motor.

A good example was my last trip back from Catalina I prepped the boat for a nice long day of sailing the day before while we were moored: sail cover off, ballast full and sealed, boards down - we were ready! then I woke up in the morning: - the sea was like glass and there was no wind!

This is where the ballast mods is handy: I just reached down and pulled the handle on the valve turn the switch on the helm to OPEN, pulled up the boards and put down the motor - we motored 5 miles - is was so smooth you can see the Chartplotter at 18.2 knots!

https://vimeo.com/227749454




So when I think there might be a whiff of air I stop the motor and wait to see if there is wind - when I stop moving the water starts to flood back into the tank - NO WIND! (Rats!) - so I just turn the motor back on and the water drains out and the speed slowly creeps back up to 21MPH - I stopped one more time to find wind after 20 miles but then i was almost back in Long Beach! We finally got wind right off the Los Angeles Breakwater - we made it back from Catalina in a little over 90 minutes - way too fast. I wanted to sail so we sailed around Los Angeles and Long Beach for a few hours to get our jollies. It's nice to go from motorboat to sailboat to motorboat to sailboat so fast without even leaving the helm - I love my vent mod, but I understand that for many it's a silly convenience - I agree, and yes, I am silly.

I am adding a middle inspection hole to the vent top I made because i find that when on the hook the ballast tends to slosh a little from the bow to aft because of the swells - the lapping of the water in the tank back and forth bothered my wife when we were sleeping in the aft berth ( ) Gotto do whatever it takes to keep the women happy so I added a hole so I could jam a plug down the hole when we are on a hook in swells. That keeps a small amount of water from flooding into the tub and allowing a slight movement of water in the ballast tank - Really - Roger's factory way is the best way: Put a plug directly in the hole for the best set up that will also be the quietest set up. So I added the mod so I could use a plug also if I want to. I can send a picture if anyone is interested but I think so many people here are pretty much annoyed with vent mods so I don't want to send up pictures no on is interested in.

Let me know,

I WOULD like to know if sloshing in the ballast tank is anything that bothers you when sleeping - can you hear it in the swells? I have wanted to ask you guys about that for years now.

[kurz]

Venting mods for the ballast tank all have their disadvantages.

I cant see any disadvantage of my ballast vent mod. If I want to close it I could put a plug in the vent in the achor locker.
As I have the ballast completely full LED I have all time good control of the tank.

[BOAT]

Venting mods for the ballast tank all have their disadvantages.

I cant see any disadvantage of my ballast vent mod. If I want to close it I could put a plug in the vent in the achor locker.
As I have the ballast completely full LED I have all time good control of the tank.

Does your ballast water slosh at night when your at anchor in swells?

[kurz]

Never heard any sound from the water ballast...

[Lucid]

Does your ballast water slosh at night when your at anchor in swells?

Maybe this is the reason for the pump on the second hose. Into the tank with the looooong hose on the other end, it could go out the hatch, over the side and into the drink to top up the tank to stop sloshing

[K9Kampers]

I WOULD like to know if sloshing in the ballast tank is anything that bothers you when sleeping - can you hear it in the swells? I have wanted to ask you guys about that for years now.

A properly filled ballast tank won't slosh, swells or not. I have no ballast slosh, nor do I have a ballast mod. Is ballast sloshing typical for those with ballast mods?

OTOH, sometimes when I am properly sloshed, I may have trouble sleeping...

[Québec 1]

Nine years with my 26M without the slosh. I close the valve when there is an inch of water in the well.

[BOAT]

Okay, so I would like to get a poll here of how many people have a vent mod - and if they also anchor or moor in any swell and if they get any ballast slosh.

Same for folks WITHOUT a ballast mod - I think there may be some merit in the theory that a vent mod might allow ballast slosh if the vent is not capped right at the hole in the ballast (?)

Should I start a poll? It might be helpful for those considering this mod?

[K9Kampers]