Looking to build my second and third U.S. One Meter this winter. Wondering what weight ballast people are using. I sail on the Chesapeake Bay, Virginia in 5 to 15 knots of wind. I used 5.3 pounds on my first boat. Seems on the heavy side. Your input would be greatly helpful.
You may also like to post your question on the US1M Yahoo Group at http://groups.yahoo.com/group/us1mrcsailing/
It’s particularly active right now with a great discussion about design.
Muzza
I highly reccomend the following ballast from www.gbmy.com
Item #626 3 lbs 12 oz, U S One Meter Long $25.00
it is a derivative of some of the new IOM bulb designs. Long and skinny. increased surface area, but smaller profile. There is a convincing argument that this is a net win at the speeds we are traveling through the water. There are several of them on boats in my club, and they appear to be very fast.
-Todd
What boat(s) are you building? Each hull has been designed to float on it’s waterline at a given net displacement. If you put a smaller amount of weight on the boat, it will float too high and the waterline will get shorter. you should buid the boat to whatever displacement the designer designed it to.
- Will
Will Gorgen
Thanks for the advice on the 3lbs 12oz long. That?s what I was thinking
Two years ago I built a SCEPTER designed by Bob Debow. Good boat. This time it?s my own design. Kind of a hacked up mish mosh of every thing. I enjoy building them so if it does not work out I can always build another one.
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Will,
Though I understand exactly what you are saying. . . and that for most purposes, it is the best advice for novice sailors and builders, it does NOT always hold true. There is a mistress US one meter in our club that is being sailed down at 5.25 lbs and kicking @#$%! I believe the designed displacement for that boat is 6.5+ pounds.
My current design was DESIGNED for 5.75 pounds, but can sail comfortably from 5.5 to 6.0 pounds.
Also, since the net displacement is what matters, if Muzza has a particularly light boat, he can tolerate greater amounts of ballast in the keel bulb, or. . . vice versa.
-Todd