Sailboat Refit: Ballast Tank Modification [E51] 

I’m always sad when the video ends

Love the way your wife asks relevant questions as you go. I'm learning a lot and find her questions spot on

I so look forward to seeing the progress each episode,I just hate it when it ends😊 Fair winds ⛵️

the balsa locations are hard points where high compressive loads are possible

These are some of the most inspiring videos on RU-vid. Your craft and dedication to this boat is stunning…we’re lucky to see the documentation process! Thank you

I love how they repurpose the glass fibre it’s good for the environment and it feels like the boats rewarding them back for their hard work. Fantastic rebuild one of the best on RU-vid by far.

You switched your American Flag!! Thank you!!! 🇺🇸

Thank you for asking him questions why he is doing things! I learned something each time you do.

I loved the vacuum pump to cat purr transition! And the way Matt makes vacuum bagging look easy.

Nice to see the balsa core was limited to the area under the winch. What an amazing boat your gonna have one heck of a home in the end. Great video thanks

The balsa is the correct construction in all compression loaded areas. Foam compresses easily even in sandwich construction, so properly designed boats will have wood cored areas where load items are, for example winches, turning blocks, deck organizers. You should consider this when building your cockpit combing where the winches are going, but you could use a more rot resistant wood like cedar or teak so you don't have this issue in the future. You should also drill some holes in other areas of the boat where there was deck hardware to ensure you don't have other hidden soft core. Love this project so glad to see an old warhorse being rescued and given a new life!

I crossed my fingers, it worked. I dig the reuse of materials. Classy build man. Keep it going.

You're beginning to rival The Sampson Boat Co, Acorn to Arabella, Ship Happens and the Brupeg Project! All compulsive viewing on RU-vid. Love it. My weekend's dose of creative viewing.

Would be awesome if the two of you contemplated a trip to the Annapolis boat show one of these years....

I am really impressed with your planning ahead and logical problem solving.

I was surprised at how wet the balsa was. Hopefully there is not a lot more to deal with. I also noticed and appreciated the vacuum pump - cat purring transition.😺😺. As always, I thoroughly enjoyed the whole video. Thanks.👍👍

when you are applying vaccuum to a laminated area, put some fleece between the peel off tissue and the vac plastic. This will absorb excessive resin and make the laminate lighter and stronger. Cheers

So much fun to watch you cut foam and glass sandwiches. Love this project.

Love watching the progress and your attention to detail in your composite work. Watch out when using vacuum to bond core or cured laminate/ hard point with filled epoxy. Air pockets tend to expand under vacuum when it has no place to go, leaving a larger voided area than if you were to just bond using a weighted caul on top. Also, using a dry chip brush to smooth out peel ply while laying it out works very well. Keep up the work👍

I was kind of shocked to see the lack of baffles in the original ballast tanks. When the boat pitched with tanks half full the weight slamming fore and aft (free surface effect) must have really tried its best to tear the boat apart. I'm sure that if you don't baffle your new tanks you won't be able to sleep on the new settee berths---.

Getting on great but the purring interlude was just the best 🙂🙂🙂

YOU do such good work !! WE so enjoy watching you work. Ten stars. This old man thanks you. Stay safe.

Wood fittings plates is common practice as it has better compression property and work much better with screws than foam . That said I would not use balsa ...

Really enjoy watching the rebuild! Thanks for sharing!

I really appreciate the questions and simple answers. Really enjoyable to understand more about what you are doing and how. Thanks Janneke for asking the questions many of us wonder about but don't ask! :)

The all composite-foam boat - love it. Its so much mushy balsa out there - where they have to do major jobs to fix it.

It was made to be a racing boat and it didn’t matter if a bit of water eventually made it into the balsa. Foam has poor compression strength. Balsa has great compression and sheer strength. For your cruiser, Coosa board is a good, current material for backing a windlass.

Hi Matt. I'm not sure why, but I was kind of surprised to see how clean the inside of the tanks were when you opened them up. Aside from the rodent poop. Anyway, Wednesday is quickly becoming my favorite day of the week. Thanks.

Sleep purring is so cute! I got a tabby that does it behind my recliner. 😍

I am always amazed at your craftsmanship, and the way you explain what your doing and what you're up to. I have learned so much from you on this Duracell project. But most of all I kw you will read this because I commented once before and you answered my concerns. It was when you were thinking on the helm with two wheels. You answered "There will be a toe rail". So thank you. Howard. Sailingcowboy

Wow, that’s incredible, and, a whole lotta space!

Balsa has high compression strength on it's end grain, if you examine the balsa you removed it should have the grain running vertical between the inner and outer skins, where the winch was is a high stress area, if it had been kept dry it would still be as strong as steel, foam would not take the stress on the skins that balsa can take when the bolts were tightened. All those wind farm turbines have balsa core blades on end grain. Also Boeing used balsa in the construction of control surfaces on 747's for quite a time.

oooofff..... My first boat was a 70's O'Day 25 and I had the same experience with balsa core under the mast step. Saw that moisture when you dug in to it and relived a bit of a nightmare. Nice you found foam quickly, as you probably know those O'Day's were balsa everywhere and leaked like crazy.

She is a beamy girl! That ads a lot of space!!! The rain is coming, get ready for wet finally

Great video folks! I was a little surprised you didn’t “butter” the edge of the foam with thickened epoxy rather than trying to force it down the crack.

You will probably find balsa core in any place where something is bolted down through the deck as it adds better support under the fiberglass than foam (less compression when under pressure load of bolts)

This is such a good channel guys... It's like a moment of calm in this crazy world. 15:09 - it's that "designing" look again...

Probably used balsa wood between the lamination under the winch so they can tighten the winch down really good with out squishing the phone core that would be very weak to deal with tight bolts for the winch going through it. You should put that back again.

You have probably thought about this, but electric halyard winches (your 2 forward ones) would be nice if you are shorthanded or tired. A big expense, but trying to manage this boat with only a few people will be a bear. Also highly recommend a gimboled nav table chair for rough conditions.

Nice progress! Keep rolling Duracell crew! 👍👍

Longer episode advocate here! Splendido!

Hey Matt, It was not uncommon in composite construction in the 80's/90's to cut away foam and replace it with balsa around high stress areas like winch supports and chain plates because of balsa's superior compressive and shear strength. So, you might want to check your chain plates and tangs for balsa to. You also might consider replacing the the balsa with solid fiberglass or a higher density foam, or maybe check with a naval architect to make sure you are replacing the balsa with suitable strength.

Fun video….message - if it needs to be cut out, pick up a sawzall and get into into it! No dallying! Looking forward to your next installment..Thanks, Andrew (40’ cat in Florida)

I’m really looking forward to seeing how the interior is going to be. Can’t wait til the next update.

So much work! Hats off to you and ppe on. 👍

Great work. Great to see your thought process being extracted by thoughtful questions. I would appreciate some insights on headroom in the main salon. At the moment it looks like it is going to huge.

Great job Matt.

Good explanation off the work and repair,

I really enjoyed this .. glad it was just a small spot... I think they use balsa plugs like that has to do with what was sitting on top of it a winch .. I wud imagine it's easier to replace balsa then whole bit of foam.. if crushed a bit or pulled out . Who knows. That's my hypothesis.. 🤔I love the water /ballast tank it's seems perfect. The Capt of a 92ft steel hulled schooner I worked on. Installed 2 big ballast the size of sofa's. I worked on the Chesapeake in summer an Florida in winter.. I taught him how to sail .. He called himself captain...cuz he bought the vessel..Still it was great fun...loved it!! A bad time in the water beats a good day on land...Looking for a sailboat now...🤞🏼✊🏼 on 🪵..... Amazing work guy's!!✌🏼💗😊❣️

Nice job on the deck repair! 👍👍

I don't sail or own a boat but look forward to updates from both Duracell and Tally Ho.

Have watched from the 1st episode. Really enjoy your vids

Making progress!!

As a retired boat builder, all winches should have thick bigger pads of marine ply to bed them on. Never balsa. But that is on boats under 30 ft, and made in polyester. Nice job of the repair .

As you suggest the Balsa Wood core could be the result of not having the funds or not being able to source foam. It could also be that since it was only at a winch they wanted to use Balsa for structural reasons.

Best RU-vid channel ever!!!

5:50 idea was probably to provide rigidity for the mast attachment.

I've just started watching this today....you guys are awesome! Such an incredible project. Love from nz

Thank you guys, from the deep Siberia, Russia

Ballast tanks; I would clearly keep those remaining volums as ballast tanks- they give more initial stability than the keel - so in a cruising perspective they will provide great comfort when you can limit the heel angle.

Wow, them’s some big ballast tanks you cut out. When we pulled apart old houses we’d always find odd repairs. Like anything it’s usually a case where it had to get fixed with whatever was available because waiting just wasn’t an option. I fondly remember a cat that was a loud knapper.

Balsa was used under winch mounting point because it is much more stronger in compression (and shear) than foam. Under this high load points you should something that could handle it. Epoxy infused balsa, plywood, coosa board... Someone here in the comments will surely know better than me.

Just tap the deck with a small hammer, normally it will sound with a clear sound but if compromised in any way the sound will be a dull thud. This is quicker and easier than digging around!

Thank you again for wonderful video interesting content technically also very interesting to watch for me. Made with love and attention. Smile on my face when i First order compressor Running followed by the cat snoring.

Nice touch when you rubbed cutting out the tanks off the list

I like your water ballast idea and how you explained it😀

Matt, sounds silly, but you are so courageous with a lot of what you do. Also you are a visionary being able to see an end result before you even start a project.

i wonder if the balsa is used below the winches for its compression, i know foam and honeycomb composites are used often in both aviation and nautical applications, i would expect foam to crush and stay crushed, that might then make the winch loosen, where balsa both dry and wet might keep its compression, obviously this won't transfer across into the foam area as you proved with the sample on deck PS. you mentioned a while back after closing off the small hatch on the foredeck, but need to open up a larger one, were you considering on reusing one of the two nice hatches you removed over the state room? might be nice to reuse what you have, Mike would be impressed i have dabbled with some fibreglass myself, and not had good results, but i take my hat off to you, you have done some epic remastering of the old boat, and i think i have learnt something very positive from the fibre glassing and vacuum bagging, thanks

You guys rock I keep watching... Cant afford to join square space as I'm on a Pension. but love what your doing.

More amazing progress! 👏👏💪💪

Nice job on the wet balsa. I would say that the leak was not all that long standing, because when balsa is saturated with fresh water for a while, mould and rot will grow which causes one of the most disgusting smells known to man! Best to have it out though. Keep up the good work.

Nice jobs done

Hey Matt, I'm sure you have already thought this through but, just to add my humble 2 cents; I hope you will be putting some type of liner/bladder in place for your water storage (assuming you are going to be drinking the water) to put a protective barrier between the hull and the water. You really don't want to ingest any of the chemicals that would leach from the synthetic materials in the hull. I'm loving following your progress each week, and please don't hesitate to make the episodes as long as you want. I find myself trying to watch each episode with a lower view count (and shorter time since released) every week, lol.

I bet you love that "duel resin despencer" you use, would be a real time saver

Awesome job, When you can , please explain a bit more of the vacuum process. 🙏 😊

great update 2x👍

More work."excellent news"

Great job Matt. I get tired just watching you work and there is a ton of work. Glad that you were able to find and repair that wet spot , and were able to start reworking the ballast tanks. The boat is a lot of work, but know that you will enjoy it when it is done and in the water. I know you will be using the boat for cruising, but I know you have already done your calculations for how much total ballast you need as you modify the boat. Keep up the great job and videos.

Been through the same thing with SailLife it's a big fix

Balsa is more compression resistant than foam of the same density. They could have used higher density foam but that would have increased the weight...

I know I would be afraid to remove something so integral to how the boat sails such as the ballast tanks. I get that you don't intend to race the boat. But have you calculated how far you can safely heel the boat over with the reduced ballast?

If in doubt dig it out.

I hope you’ll show us how you repairs the core sample spots?

The wonders of compressed tinfoil, tissue paper, and super-glue. Of course I work with RV's and campers, but you get the drift.

Brilliant!

holy cow, no baffles, must be filled FULL all the time.

Matt, some of the guys who helped build Duracell may still be around. I know that Davis Murray was one of those guys. He may still be around Newport or more likely in the Virgin Islands. He may be able to explain why you found balsa core in that section of the deck.

The walls of the balanced tanks greatly increased the strength of the yacht body. You need to compensate for the loss of the stiffness of the case.

Awsome as always 🍻🍻🍻🤘😎

Simple question, could you not have cut those bilges out a long time ago and reused that foam aore/laminant to build those bulkheads? Super amazing btw, loving every single episode.

Big tank no baffles, hole lota sloshing going on!

It would be interesting to know which microrganisms existed in the ballast tanks as it was a closed environment for years!

As a ex woodcore boat builder , those ballast tanks where a integral part of this boat . Are you not interfering with the "stiffness" of the hull design ? Always interested to learn more , although i sail a steel boat . 😏

Nice

Good reuse of materials

Maybe the wood was there to have a more solid core to bolt the winch into

I love these reconfiguration videos! How the final product will work is so interesting. With the reduced internal ballast, is it still your intention to lessen the draft? I always assumed you would create a more manageable, less athletic sail plan. Is that still the case?

Are you simply counteracting the lost ballast with a smaller sail plan? Does that mean a shorter easier to find mast? Will ballast or length be added to the keel? Will the lost ballast weight be made up for in cruising supplies to keep the waterline?

balsa behaves better in compression then foam right? so it might have been replaced in the spots to support whatever needed to be bolted down

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