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I've read with great interest the "Daydreams on Design" article from Craig Wagner on #77 issue. He is talking about a very interesting wish list for an emerging trailerable sailboat market, targeted at singlehand or to accomodate a couple for week-ends. I understand the interest for a water ballast on a trailerable sailboat, but is it really a solution for the future ??? Such sailboat is primarily targeted as freshwater or coastal navigation. Water ballast may potentially be banned from many freshwater areas and lakes simply because it is practically impossible to sanitize a waterballast between lakes, so it can carry unwanted and invasive algea, mussels, and even some fish. Blue-green algea, cyanobacterias, zebra mussels, asian carp, and many others are not trivial threats.

It is proven that commercial oceanic boats have water ballast that already caused lots of environmental damages. I'm concerned about the idea that any sailboat with water ballast has more chances to spread pest from one lake to another. Consequently, it has more chances to be banned from trailering between lakes, so the weight reduction is potentially a liability more than an advantage.

I would like someone knowledgeable to comment this question in a future issue of the magazine

For now, I'm happy with my Sandpiper 565, but I wished it had more interior space and did remain rugged and beacheable (fully retractable keel).

I can express a little knowledge and some common sense. First let me state I am building a boat with water ballast. So this topic is a concern for me. Also what is a concern for me is the spread of invasive species. I live in the Midwest where this issue is in the forefront. We are talking of Billion dollar industries which are threated because of invasive species. Commercial and recreational fishing industries,power plants, water treatment plants are all affected by invasive species. This effects the great lakes also inland lakes of the Midwest.

The problem of spreading these species is mostly a modern one. We have both the means and the ability to easily spread these organisms. I have lived long enough to have some hindsight in this matter. Years ago boats on any body of water stayed there as a general rule. Now I larger number of boats are easily transported from any body of water they want to go. This can be from a few miles to hundreds of miles.

The prevention of the spread by recreational boaters is twofold education, awareness of the problems then prevention by the boater. Now prevention isn't as easy as some times put forth by existing literature. Lets look at the typical boat trailer there are hundred a places on a trailer that all kinds of critters could be lodged along with invasive weeds. It probably wouldn't be a problem if the trailer went in the water in one lake and then waited a week before it went to another body of water. How ever that often isn't the case.
Boats can be cleaned off much easier if there are wash stations then again this is often not the case. A lot of fishing boats have live wells in which they can put fish or fish bait(minnows)in. These can be cause of spreading invasive species especially if they are not drained and sanitized between bodies of water.

Now we get to sailboats with water ballast. In most cases any problems with water ballast can easily solved. All it takes is common household breach. A cap fill per gallon of water will kill any thing.......If you drink water from a municipal water system this may be part of the system that prevents you from drinking bugs.

So a law or ordinance preventing water ballast is what I call a feel good law you pass some thing but it does not solve the problem, not even a little, in fact it delays facing the problem. It is a complex problem one that the boating industry should really take a lead in. It's their bread and butter.

Peter E wrote:I can express a little knowledge and some common sense. First let me state I am building a boat with water ballast. So this topic is a concern for me. (...)
So a law or ordinance preventing water ballast is what I call a feel good law you pass some thing but it does not solve the problem, not even a little, in fact it delays facing the problem. It is a complex problem one that the boating industry should really take a lead in. It's their bread and butter.

I fully agree with you that water ballast alone is not the only factor for spreading nautical pest, but public perception drives politicians, not science. Sanitizing a water ballast with chlorinated water or else is probably possible, but it will certainly increase the cost and the time required to have access to certain lakes in the near future, as paranoïa spreads faster than science.

The very nature of my Sandpiper 565 19 feet sailboat is to be easy to trailer wherever I want. Water ballast would be cheaper to build than comparable weight lead ballast, it performs very well when sailing and it saves fuel when trailering, etc. It is a great idea. Even if it is possible to sanitize water ballast, is it going to be accepted by politicians and the various interest "experts" they will argue with ?

My point is not to discourage anybody about water ballast on trailerable sailboats. I only want to share my concerns about the fact water ballast is proven to contribute to a global environmental problem... consequently, it is a little bold to present it as an ideal concept (in the article) ... but maybe, as you explain, trailering boats IS the problem to start with !!! Just kidding !

I to am concerned about water ballast and invasive species. Frankly I have been surprised more has not been made of this. Yes live bait wells, and the nooks and crannies on trailers are a major issue, but if they are why wouldn't the water ballast tank be an issue. I can only imagine that it would be awful hard to completely disinfect an entire tank, I would suspect tanks are rarely 100% full making the tops of the tank very hard to reach with chlorine. Plus there is no way of inspecting the tank like you can do with a bait well or a trailer. I have been meaning to pose this question/concern to a State Regulator but frankly since I don't have a boat with water ballast it hasn't been a priority for me.

Dave

regulation is going to be a challenge.

remember, that if the rules/laws are changed that there are no more boats with ballast tanks sold, all the boats that are now privately owned would be exempted. the reason for the exemption is simple ... there are thousands and thousands of water ballasted boats out there; such as the MacGregor 26. (and think of the number of fishin' boats with live wells.)

also, speaking of problems, are boats with daggerboards and centerboards. these designs, v. 'boats with tanks or wells', can be dried out ... but not easily inspected.

there is also the water in the bilges of power boats (i'm always a bit shocked how much water comes out of a power boat when their drain plugs are removed after retrieval). these spaces can be dried, but cannot be easily inspected.

bleaching fiberglass, or metal, tanks and bilges must be done carefully. to much bleach and the tank/bilge will be damaged.

in the long term the hope is there will be a viable 'sanitation' solution. right now there is 'steaming' the hull, 'bleaching' tanks/wells, and dry-out quarantine. the latter does not 'go over well' if boat owners are told they cannot use their craft for many months. i have already discussed the possible dangers using bleach. steaming a hull can also cause damage to 'plastic' boats.

i also feel the visual inspection system used to check craft entering and leaving bodies of water isn't really effective. it is, IMO, window dressing. these 'critters' at some life stages are microscopic and cannot be seen with a human inspectors' eyes.

there are also lakes that inspect boats before and after launching. my home lake 'locks off' the launch ramps when no staff are available (launching is 830A to 530P 7-days a week during the boating season). many lakes don't 'lock' the ramp when the inspectors are not there ... meaning anyone can launch at any time (ie, with no inspection). the former is the best practice. the latter is done, i'm guessing, because of financial constraints and local resistance to 'locking a lake' after hours.

yes, all efforts are done with best intentions. much is done as window dressing to show that 'something is being done'; or 'using our fingers to

i believe good science, _true_ environmental focus, and some good engineering (ie, new boats being designed to be easily inspected and cleaned ... preferably by the owner) will find a solution. _but_ right now the 'migration' of these species will continue ... i just hope at a slowed pace.

Let me state a few things about water ballast. First to be effective the tank has to be completely full when used. There is what they call the free water effect. Simple stated if the tank isn't full it makes the sail boat unstable.

Now on my boat to fill the water ballast you have to take off a cover and then remove a plug the tank fills to water level but the tank is not full. So you have to add water until the tank is full. So access is fairly simple and so would be chlorinating It.

Not every Ballast tank is that accessible but running a plastic hose from the top of the tank to a place where beach can be added would not be rocket science. I believe those that are inaccessible have to have a vent tube to get rid of the air so it could serve double duty.

To me the most difficult part on a sail boat to sanitize would be a swing keel bunk. How do you get up in there to clean it ? In other word a Ballast tank is the easiest thing to clean compared to a trailer or the rest of the boat.

Peter E wrote:(...) To me the most difficult part on a sail boat to sanitize would be a swing keel bunk. How do you get up in there to clean it ? In other word a Ballast tank is the easiest thing to clean compared to a trailer or the rest of the boat.

From the comments received so far, I conclude that It will be nearly impossible to make any sort of manageable regulation that covers all angles without drastic restrictions to the access for trailer based boaters. I'm afraid it will end up that more and more lakes will become off limits for non residents trailer boaters. Water ballast may be just another challenge to face and another temptation for politicians to pass drastic measures.