BALAST

[signs]

I HAVE AN 18"SKIFF SLOOP WITH A CUDDY CABIN,WHICH HAS BEEN REMOVED SO THAT I CAN BUILD AN ENCLOSED CABIN, AND IN DOING SO I'VE INCREASED THE HEIGHT BY 16", WHICH MEANS I HAVE TO RAISE MY MAST BY THAT SAME AMOUNT ( I PLAN ON CUTTING MY MAST AT THE CABIN HEIGHT AND HINGING IT AT THAT POINT AND MAKING UP THE DIFFERENCE IN HEIGHT BY ADDING IT BETWEEN THERE AND THE KEEL)MY QUESTION IS WOULD I BEBEFIT BY ADDING ABOUT 350LBS OF LEAD ON THE KEEL (ON EACH SIDE OF THE C/B)IS THIS GOING TO MAKE A DIFFERENCE, OR WILL I NEED MORE? I HAVE NO BALAST IN HER NOW
ANY HELP WOULD BE GREATLY APPRECIATED

[Bob Cleek]

Well, putting a cabin on an 18' skiff is a good trick to begin with. Adding 18" of cabin structure to a boat that size isn't going to help her stability any, that's for sure. And, if you are going to try to step the mast on the cabin top, you will have to do some pretty fancy engineering to that cabin structure, which isn't going to make it any lighter at all. Adding ballast will only make the boat sit lower in the water, which I don't think you are going to want by the time you're finished building the Taj Mahal on top of her. It isn't going to do much for her stability, since she's flat bottomed and you can only get the weight down so low. It might give you a few extra seconds of moment before she turns turtle on ya, though.

You know, I'm probably being a little hard on you, but frankly, putting a cabin on a boat the size of yours isn't really going to add much at all to the boat's utility, save that it will have a cabin. Now, on the other hand, a boat like that, if you are looking for cabin space, is really best suited for a boom tent arrangement. Take a look at WoodenBoat back an issue or two. There's an article about a guy who built a great tent for his little daysailer and turned it into a very liveable pocket gunkholer.

Trust me, the last thing you want to do to a centerboard skiff is add weight above the waterline. Adding weight below the waterline won't offset it.

[JimD]

I'm just finishing up a popular 15 foot cabin overnighter design that seems to have a good track record for stability. But is was designed for a cabin in the first place. The hull has a good 'V' to it and the centre board is heavy steel plate for ballast, not internal ballast which won't be nearly as effective. My hunch also is that you have the wrong design to begin with to put a cabin on. The WB article about the skiff with the tent on it is a good one. Whatever keeps the rain off your head...