It took me a while to get around to it, but I finally decided to remove that tapered block of lead sitting on it's side in my bilge, the one with the small rusted eye bolt on it's side. All this time I thought it was securely glassed or epoxied to the bilge floor, but hel no it was just sitting there up against that rusty eye that goes who knows where. I just goosed it around with a crowbar till I could latch onto it with the main halyard and winch it out and onto the pier. I did not risk the rusty eye but rigged a line around it securely. Anyway I got about four hernias humping that lump down the dock and up to my truck. Good thing my bride was there to help me. And no wonder it never moved in the bilge - that little block must be 200 lbs. if it's an ounce.
To celebrate, we took the boat out under motor, and just like Bill predicted, removing that block livened up our baby noticably, and we found it very sensitive to weight shifts fore and aft, and probably to rail meat as well. We are racing the Adele M like madmen this season, and we are currently in second place in the Wednesday night series, Division B, which has raised more than a few eyebrows around the clubhouse. They are calling our boat a 41 year old strumpet. Imagine. Tomorrow we race again, and will see how the leadless hull performs.
ps: Thanks Bill for the racing tips. Ariels--OOH-Rah!
Here is a shot of the little bugger. It has an interesting three taper shape, almost like it could be lowered into the keel as ballast. My keel under the soleplate is shallow and smooth like Capt. Amos' boat, and I neither know nor care what is underneath. This little guy was laying on his side under the rear hatch.
It seems strange to say that a 5500 lb. boat acts twitchy without that lead, but it really does.
Last edited by Dan Maliszewski; 07-21-2005 at 05:05 PM.
Reason: reduce picture size
338's lead pig that came with the boat IS exactly like that one.
It fits in the bilge (as 338 knows it) right at the end of the encapsulated keel.
It fits right where you should have the bilge pump.
The encapsulated keel does end, tho in 338 the encapsulating frp did not cover the end of the lead very well. This was a good thing because it allowed the keel to drain most of the time into the 'sump'.
I think a a sump is necessary for this reason and to have a LOWEST point for the bilge pump hose. I would dig out whatever is in there to have the benefit a sump gives you and your boat. Which is to keep the boat and the laminate as dry as possible.
Otherwise you will aways have a sodden bilge and a keel cavity with 5 to 6 gallons of water in it.
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