[Paddlewise] Ballast - securing it.

Mike Daly suggests fixing the D rings by first stitching them to a square of
hypalon or cordura which is then glued to the hull - this should certainly
work fine.

I couldn't obtain either of those materials so made do with a scrap piece of
untreated artists' canvas (you can buy a small piece of it in any craft or
artist supply store). I mounted my D rings on 8 inch lengths of webbing,
salvaged from an abandoned back-pack. I had these stitched onto a piece of
canvas about 8 inches by 10, using about 4 inches of the webbing to anchor
it securely, leaving the D ring dangling on the other 4 inches of the
webbing. Opposite them I stitched another two, much longer, pieces of
webbing, each with a male and female strip of Velcro towards the free end.
Next the canvas square is glued to the hull (the material soaked up lots of
heavy-duty rubber cement and seems very firmly anchored); the gallon
container of ballast sits between the straps, each velcro'd strap is brought
over the container and through its opposing D ring (the 4 inches of webbing
makes it easy to grab this, even when reaching inside a day hatch) then
pulled tight, folded back on itself and the Velcro pieces "mated".  Cost was
very modest and it works just fine - I can install or remove the ballast in
seconds.

As for PeterO's question regarding ballast affecting a boat's handling in
following seas, at the risk of straying way out of my area of expertise, I'd
guess that although 20 lbs properly placed behind the paddler can and will
affect side-to-side trim, its effect on fore-and-aft trim would be at best a
modest reduction in the bow's tendency to pearl.

Keith Rodgers
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