help with ballast

Myself, I prefer heavier ballast (2 kgs) and then I had to cut tip of the keel bulb by Dremel fine disc saw and filled the bulb with melted lead. This way it is possible to put lead weight up to 2,3 kgs there. Using extra thin saw to open the fiberglass keel bulb - it is very easy to put it back with intersection bolt and glue. If you decide to do the same way - do the casting in 4-5 steps, the halves outer surfase always cooled. I used simple way - putting halves into glass of cold water. No sign neithe on fibeglass nor on nice glossy black finish.

  There is almost no sign of cut on the surface after assembly. It is easy alltogether and not much time eating (1 hour approx). Whatever broken lead you can get from plumber scrap and melt it easily. I did this small quantity even in my home kitchen - windows wide open (lead fumes are poisonous you might know). For melting used mason cup trowel. Comfortable handles, safer clean way, no damage, burns.

 

I bought a Phantom sailboat. Following instructions, I purchased lead fishing round sinkers size 0 (standardised to approx 9.5 mm diameter and 4 gr each). I measured on my kitchen scale 1.3 kg, and just managed to squeeze all of them through the single round 10 mm hole ond tha balast bulb. I even managed to add 6 more, as I think a bit more ballast should have a positive effect. Planning to seal all that with epoxy.

 

The key is in the size of these lead pieces. Sinkers size 0 are just right. You may do well with size 00 (smaller, about 2 gr each). Size 1 are too big. No melting lead (a messy job, poisonous fumes).