The oft discussed outboard extra ballast revealed

[ebb]

If I might venture a guess:
Hopefully DFO laid some frp over the lead he put in there to make it more convenient to pump water out from that low point in the boat.

If that is the case, and the alteration was not serious - like filling the spaces around the lead with concrete or god forbid plastic or 5200 - then removal could be relatively direct.

Mike could advise you on this.

If I was faced with the problem, I would think how to break the encapsulating skin. Couldn't work with a chisel down in the sump. I might get an old stanley chisel, take the handle off and weld a stout rod to it, something you can cut to shorten if too long to hammer. Start chiseling at the corners, it could be a piece of cake.

To chisel frp you need a very sharp edge. You grind a sharp rough edge on a wheel as often as it dulls, no need to dress the edge. A 1" chisel might be the handiest. You've got to find out what is in the space between the lead and the hull! Hopefully it's water.

After you've chiseled the skin away:
To get the lead out that has had the rings cut off, you might get the purchase you need to lift them by drilling a hole or two in the lead of the correct size to turn in a lag bolt or two. Or a large eye bolt. And MIKE them out of that sump!

(It IS possible to get a small rightangle grinder down in there with a flat cutting disk or a small 40 grit wheel made of pieces. These make short work of frp but shoots out glass and dust into every corner of you and the boat. Getting your face and neck and lungs down into that would be daunting! Maybe later after the lead is out you would use the tool to clean up the hull, but the mess it makes can be depressing. So you think you'll find all the glass dust?)


If the lead is somehow PERMANENTLY glued in, and all avenues of removal have been explored, there is one extreme method which may turn out to be fairly simple. That is to cut it out from the side!!!

[Mike Goodwin]

Amos,

Do you have the access hatch under the steps/sink?

The lead is about 2' down from there , so maybe a foot or 10" below the aft end of the bilge as you describe it . I can get you a measurement from a known point to where the drop should be
I have my sump back there and down there and it takes a hell of a lot of water to fill it up.

Commander 105 has be filled and/or glassed over too .

I have a monel water tank under the floor boards and dont want bilge water near it if I can help it .

[c_amos]

Mike,

When I look into that access hatch, the small square one just aft of the sink, I see a fiberglass blige.

The bottom of mine is about 6-8" deep, and I thought that was all that there was. Looking at other boats, I learned I was really supposed to have
the couple feet deep sump you speak of.

My boat does not have that sump.

At first I panicked, I flashed to visions of #350, and the concrete

But then I got to thinking about having read this thread of yours, and the lead you removed.

See, I have got two lead pigs, secured by boards under the sole. I thought those were all there were.

Now, that you have confirmed that you took these two larger lead blocks out of that sump, I think I understand what was done.

I think that some where in #226's past (it has lived there in Hampton Roads with you it's whole life until now) someone glassed the lead into the sump secure them, and...... I don't know, maybe prevent them from breaking loose in a roll over???

I don't know yet what I am going to do about this, (if anything). The deep sump would be nice to have should I mount a tank below the sole as you have.

Sure wish I knew more about how the job was done, or even exactly why.

[Mike Goodwin]

Did you get 226 up in Hampton or York River Yacht Haven?
Who was the former owners?

[c_amos]

Herb lived in Hayes, VA just across the James River from Yorktown.

He bought the boat from a man who (if I understand correctly) bought the boat from a charity (sea scouts?).

The boats linage appears to be;

Me

Herb Tucker: Great guy. Replaced the combing boards, and some of the deck core. Painted the topsides and addressed the maintenance issues identified as problem areas in the manual. He also added some nice upgrades like the boards that span the center of the cabin and turn it into a large bunk.

Unknown short-term investor: sold boat to Herb, believed to have bought boat from a charity auction and painted cabin and deck in an attempt to 'spruce it up'. This person does not appear to have owned the boat for long.

Original owner: Herb met this man, and spoke to him about the boat. He apparently was a member of a local Yacht club and raced the boat in regattas. There might have been a few Ariel’s purchased at around the same time, and I do not know if they would have been out of Hampton or the other side of the bridge.

I would place my bet on this owner as the one who had done this modification, or had it done. The condition of the boat shows it was well maintained, and the work was well done (much more consistent with the earlier malignance then with that of "Unknown short-term investor".

I know Herb was moving shortly after he sold me the boat, but I will try to contact him to get more information.

[commanderpete]

I gotta ask--why take them out?

I remember seeing a rusty ring down in my bilge, glass all under it. Must be them pigs.

Who are they hurtin?

[Bill]

The "rusty rings" in your bilge are connected to the boat's "external ballast" in the keel. The "pigs" are/were loose blocks of lead just sitting in the bilge. About 200 lbs worth to compensate for the missing Atomic-4. If you have an inboard engine, no pigs. Oink, oink.

Removing the pigs makes the boat more "lively," which might not be comfortable for some. But, if you race . . .