Hi Lucid
Getting back to your original post about whether your PO modification is safe or not….
Personally I think that half of it is OK and half is NOT OK.
Tank Vent:
The larger diameter line which is serving as your “Remote Ballast Vent” is fine as far as functionality as long as the black rubber stoppers do silicone are SOLIDLY adhered to the vent hole that was drilled into the Ballast Tank. Personally I’d give it a good hard yank and see if it pops out ( as I suspect it very well might ). It it does it would be better to find out now on the trailer or slip than when heeled over in pounding waves with a 30 knot wind while navigating a rock strewn narrow passage and a brewing storm at your back ….
You definitely DON’T want it to come loose as you could very well empty a good portion of your water ballast into your bilge space while creating aconsiderable air space in your water ballast tank which will not only slosh but also lessen your righting moment on the next tact ….
(Water in the vent line itself isn’t an issue though.)
There is also the integrity of the galley drain rubber plug silicone sealed to the Water Ballast Tank. I’d suggest that you also give it a good yank to ensure it stays in place for the safety reasons mentioned earlier.
It is something a properly adjusted expanding lever plug prevents.
Galley Drain:
The dumping of any grey water into fresh water or near shore coastal waters is prohibited in the CURRENT US and Canadian Maritime Environmental Regulations regardless of whatever configuration that the vessel was manufactured as. I don’t know of any particular State or Province that allows for legal exemption from that requirement. As a Galley sink drain material would very likely contain soap and food particulates it falls under the category of Grey Water per my local USCG representative. (Hence why we capped off the factory drain ports for the galley and head sinks).
To be able to dump your galley sink drainage into your Water Ballast Tank one would need to not fully fill the Water Ballast Tank to leave space for the Grey Water one would be attempting to fill it with.
THAT from a safety perspective is a BAD idea when either using you MacGregor as a sailboat or as a power boat. There is no means to monitor liquid level and an inadequately filled Water Ballast Tank can be a dangerous condition.
The subsequent dumping of the Grey Water contaminated Ballast Water either underway or at removal of your vessel constitutes a violation of the Environmental Maritime Regulations and could subject you to fines and penalities should an enforcement agency decide to do so….
Personally I’d suggest that one would be best removing and plugging the Galley Sink Drain aspect into the Water Ballast Tank. We all love our CLEAN waterways and wouldn’t want to be the contributing cause of contamination because of deliberate laziness. There is plenty of space within the factory galley or bench locker to place a simple removable collection container.
It’s one of those things where one should just do the right thing for everyone and get rid of that Galley Sink Drain. It was a Bad Idea
from the get go.
Best Regards,
Over Easy
out and up the ramp (2005), I forgot to open the stern valve. When I did, the ballast emptied, and emptied, and emptied onto the ramp. An old salt (I guess that’s me now) came over and told me straight forward, “That’s too much water for a boat that new to have taken on!”
from the get go.
