A couple of thoughts regarding ballast

Follow the money, a good point, and someone doing good...

So, here are a few numbers to play with;

• A cubic foot of water weighs 62 pounds
• A cubic foot of concrete weighs 150 pounds
• A cubic foot of iron weighs 491 pounds
• A cubic foot of lead weighs 709 pounds
• A cubic foot of gold weighs 1206 pounds

Like a lot of people I like the idea of water ballast. Whats not to like... its free, you can lose it when you dont want it around, and it works. Of course, theres a downside (theres always a downside to anything) in that it takes up a lot more room than most of us care to give up within the interior.

Case in point: Phil Bolgers take apart three piece schooner that Ive often considered building as a non-take-apart boat which has often been on my shortlist for the next Loose Moose. Of course replacing the water ballast with other ballast types would gain a lot more room...

That said, somehow the idea of a 47-foot boat has lost a lot of its allure for me but would still make a certain kind of sense due to its 1.5-foot draft and enough room and stowage to be able to work on rigging jobs and build self-steering gears/dinghies/surfboards as a nomadic shop/business model.

Listening to Bob Dylan covering Frank Sinatra

So it goes...

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Comment regarding Photos of a good flat bottomed skiff

Graham has written with a comment about leeboards: -

Nice pics. My life seems to be one long series of overdue jobs, so I know what a relief it is to be back on task!

The external chine logs I dont mind so much, but the leeboard?? I know there are some really good practical reasons for going down that path, and I know that Phil Bolger was a great advocate of them, but they take some getting used to.

Apart from the increased internal space, do you think you could just remind me what the benefits of a leeboard are; especially when used in conjunction with a flat bottomed hull like this one.

Well, Im not an expert on the subjuect, but the most obvious advantage of leeboards is exactly what Graham has pointed out - less clutter inside the part of the boat in which people want to sit. Now, having a centreboard case in there with you is not necessarily a bad thing. Ive found a case to be a great way to brace ones feet; to bundle people away from each other when sleeping; and to use as a sort of improvised set of hiking straps by hooking the soles of your feet under the upper external framing of the case while hiking out.

Another advantage of leeboards is that they are providing lateral plane from the surface of the water down to their tips, rather than from the bottom of the centreboard case to the tip. The problem there is that I suspect that the "end plate" effect of the bottom of the hull over the centreboard more than makes up for the increased effective area of the leeboard.

But despite all of that (including arguements about better hull strength without a centreboard slot), there is one overwhelming practical advantage of leeboards for a cruising dinghy, and that is avoiding the plague of having sand and shell-grit pumped up into the centreboard slot while the boat is pulled onto the beach with wavelets surrounding her. That is the reason why my centreboard designs have a positive method of forcing the centreboard down, rather than just relying on a block of ballasting lead in the board - a jambed board is a potentially serious problem, particularly when leaving a lee shore - you must be able to get the board down quickly, and the combination of sand and shel-grit inside a case is a serious problem. It is also a very good arguement in favour of a dagger board rather than a pivoting centreboard.

Ive been having an interesting discussion with a fellow in Maine about the effectivness of long, shallow keels. He sails a Phil Bolger Oldshoe and I occasionally sail a Bolger Micro - both of which have long, shallow keels. Both of us have been pleasantly surprised by just how effective these keels are - despite what the theorists will tell you. If you get the chance, read Arthur Ramsomes books in the Swallows and Amazons series (I read my first one at about eight years of age, and Im still reading the twelve-book series on a regular basis - they are that good), where he describes Swallow, a 14 ft clinker sailing dinghy with a shallow keel.

Here is me sailing along happily in my leeboard-equipped Bolger Nymph. The boat is on a run, with the boards raised, but I can assure you that they worked very well indeed!

This jpg shows my Whimbrel design (17ft x 6ft 9in), which incorporates leeboards for many of the above reasons. These plans are quite detailed, and although close to being finished, will still be a month or so. Too much work on my plate, and only one person to do the jobs!

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Regarding the mythical 500 a month cruising budget

In the "lest we forget" department, some scary reading, and taking dead, discarded materials and bringing them back to life...

Writing Boat Bits, Im often reminded that different folks have very varied experiences with boats, the sailing of such things, and cruising. That said, Im surprised at just how often tunnel vision becomes part of the mix.

For instance, the $500 dollar cruising budget...

Not too long ago I found myself on the receiving end of a reader rant that went on for about a dozen emails explaining to me how the $500 cruising budget was simply impossible. To prove his point he illustrated said emails with copious notes of how much he had to pay while cruising over a three year period. As it happens he was right because there is no way he could have cruised on $500 a month.

For starters, he had a newish 52-foot boat...

He didnt like to anchor so always chose marinas whenever possible...

Admittedly, not a very handy person, so most all maintenance and repairs were done by various contractors or marine businesses...

Loved to eat out and something of a food snob or so he said...

Had grandchildren (with more on the way) that he and his wife felt the need to visit on a regular basis...

So, yeah, not exactly a candidate for a $500/1000/1500/2000/2500/3000 monthly cruising budget and, in fact, told me he could not even imagine how someone could sail or cruise on less than he spent.

Im pretty sure the key word in all of that is "imagine" because to do something you really have to be able to see it in your minds eye before you can make it a reality.

As far as Im concerned there is zero wrong with the guys cruising budget or the way he chooses to cruise. He obviously has deep enough pockets to support that sort of lifestyle so all power to him. On the other hand, do I think he has a clue about cruising budgets for folks of, shall we say, shallower pockets or people who have simpler less expensive tastes? Well, the word clueless does jump to mind.

Which brings us to the same old same question...

Can you cruise comfortably on $500 a month and the answer is, more than likely, maybe not.

But, if you can imagine it with no rose colored glasses in the mix maybe you can...

Listening to a whole lot of John (who would have been 75 this year) Lennon covers

So it goes...

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