Ballast/boyancy levelling for fishing boat resto project

[pigdaddy]

Hello everyone

New member here, inspired by Jay "friscoboater" and his cvx-18 rebuild http://forums.iboats.com/boat-resto...vx-18-complete-restoration-thread-585518.html

I am now in the pre-planning/paper design stage of my own project, am looking to completely gut a 4.5/5m boat for in/offshore fishing. Not hardcore 200nm out type stuff, just a few nm, maybe 100m or so depth from keel, give or take a bit. Is also going to be setup as a leisure boat as well. So if I want I can just launch it, head out, drift and relax.. and if wanted lob out a line

My question is, is what ballast if any should/do i need?. It'll be a bit deck heavy with fuel tank (custom around the 30 gallon mark, crank/house batteries, live/bait-well (about 20 gallon), Fridge/freezer/kill-keepbox, engine+emergency fuel reserve (6 gallon) + gear/wiring etc etc and say 3 max adults.

I'm working the deck design to put the fuel and 2x house batteries in the bow to help offset the lifting from the outboard (prob gonna look at 120 hp give or take and eventually trim tabs). livewell/fridge will sit amidships down the middle then at the stern will be engine, reserve fuel and crank battery/gear storage.

I'm going to be using aero marine on the bottom of the hull between/around the stringers but was wondering/thinking if I should leave a channel in the middle bow to stern as a bilge/ballast tank? The foam will be all around bottom of boat with extra at rear and set under gunwales in-case of capsize. But I want to keep her a good bit above the water line yet still stable and not hull slapping in a tiny bit of chop. It will only be at WOT going to/from locations or port otherwise just idle or low power cruise.

Any help and hints/tips advice would be great and much appreciated. Going to contact our water authorities to see if there's any build standards (I believe you have some in the US) that I have to adhere to.

Thanks again and I look forward to learning lots from all the great builds/projects found here!.

 

[cpenrose]

Re: Ballast/boyancy levelling for fishing boat resto project

Do you have pictures or any info on the boat you're restoring? Or are you looking for a boat that size? And where are you located? Just saying because where I'm from 300 ft deep is pretty far out for a 4.5 meter boat.

 

[pigdaddy]

Re: Ballast/boyancy levelling for fishing boat resto project

Do you have pictures or any info on the boat you're restoring? Or are you looking for a boat that size? And where are you located? Just saying because where I'm from 300 ft deep is pretty far out for a 4.5 meter boat.

Haven't sourced the hull yet but am looking. Yes boat size will be in that vicinity, I'll be sailing to conditions so if the wind/swells up I wont be out anymore than a few hundred meters unless in protected cove or something, or not out at all.

I'm in Australia

 

[jigngrub]

Re: Ballast/boyancy levelling for fishing boat resto project

You're expecting quite a lot with a 14.75'-16.5' boat with all of that stuff in it. I'd say maybe a 20 gal. fuel tank max with a 90 hp. motor max.

Let us know what you get when you get it and we'll be glad to help, but there's too many variables to trying to figure a hypothetical boat.

 

[cpenrose]

Re: Ballast/boyancy levelling for fishing boat resto project

I agree you're adding too much to that small of a boat. And do you mean it will be a sail boat when you say you'll be sailing to conditions? Is that the normal boat where you're at?

 

[pigdaddy]

Re: Ballast/boyancy levelling for fishing boat resto project

I agree you're adding too much to that small of a boat. And do you mean it will be a sail boat when you say you'll be sailing to conditions? Is that the normal boat where you're at?

No sorry I'll rephrase. If swell+winds is say 3M + 20kt then I aint going out. Sorry we have a term here "Drive to conditions" meaning much the same thing. If it's bad out your not gonna go nuts and race around, same with a boat.. if it's gale force winds and massive swells the boats staying home.

 

[GT1000000]

Re: Ballast/boyancy levelling for fishing boat resto project

Hi and welcome,
If you are looking to build something from scratch, I would highly recommend looking into some of the many kit boats available from places like Glen-L.
Most of the engineering has already been done and it will give you the satisfaction of building a quality boat from the ground up.
The other direction you should look into is finding a suitable hull, especially one that has been put out to pasture, which you may be able to obtain for close to nothing, that meets your intended needs and do a complete restoration on it, while designing into it the elements you desire.
In either case, you will get what you want with the least amount of money outlay, without the possibility of R&D/Trial and Error of designing your own craft, and the pride of saying "I built it"...
Best of luck and Have Fun!
GT1M

 

[pigdaddy]

Re: Ballast/boyancy levelling for fishing boat resto project

Hi and welcome,
If you are looking to build something from scratch, I would highly recommend looking into some of the many kit boats available from places like Glen-L.
Most of the engineering has already been done and it will give you the satisfaction of building a quality boat from the ground up.
The other direction you should look into is finding a suitable hull, especially one that has been put out to pasture, which you may be able to obtain for close to nothing, that meets your intended needs and do a complete restoration on it, while designing into it the elements you desire.
In either case, you will get what you want with the least amount of money outlay, without the possibility of R&D/Trial and Error of designing your own craft, and the pride of saying "I built it"...
Best of luck and Have Fun!
GT1M

Thanks

That's kind of what I'm doing. I know the hull-shape I'm going to source so I'm doing a lot of prelim paper planning first, once I'm happy with that as a kind of "backbone" plan then I will source the hull. Not going kit form, looking to do the same as Jay and do a complete gut-out and rebuild/customization.