Lead vs. Water Ballast
FBBB --
Pippo's assertion is correct. Assuming the same center of mass, an
equal mass of lead or water will function the same in ballasting a
boat. But as I said before, I think the "same center of mass" part is
a red herring.
Lead is a lot denser than water. Assuming the lead and water as both
placed as low as they can be, respectively, the centers of mass of
the two will be very different. Set up a few scenarios and it quickly
becomes apparent that this difference is not trivial. In nearly all
scenarios, the denser the ballast, the more effective a given mass
(cases where this is not true involve bizzare hull shapes and/or
ballast placements.) In some scenarios, a smaller mass of lead will
be more effective than a much larger mass of water.
Of course water does have some advantages; it's cheap, and you don't
have to drag it from place to place with your boat. Lastly, it can
only pull you boat down so far into the water. These advantages
aren't trivial either. ;-)
YIBB,
David
CRUMBLING EMPIRE PRODUCTIONS
134 W.26th St. 12th Floor
New York, NY 10001
(212) 243-1636
Pippo's assertion is correct. Assuming the same center of mass, an
equal mass of lead or water will function the same in ballasting a
boat. But as I said before, I think the "same center of mass" part is
a red herring.
Lead is a lot denser than water. Assuming the lead and water as both
placed as low as they can be, respectively, the centers of mass of
the two will be very different. Set up a few scenarios and it quickly
becomes apparent that this difference is not trivial. In nearly all
scenarios, the denser the ballast, the more effective a given mass
(cases where this is not true involve bizzare hull shapes and/or
ballast placements.) In some scenarios, a smaller mass of lead will
be more effective than a much larger mass of water.
Of course water does have some advantages; it's cheap, and you don't
have to drag it from place to place with your boat. Lastly, it can
only pull you boat down so far into the water. These advantages
aren't trivial either. ;-)
YIBB,
David
CRUMBLING EMPIRE PRODUCTIONS
134 W.26th St. 12th Floor
New York, NY 10001
(212) 243-1636