1986 starwind ballast

[mischief2]

I am thinking of purchasing a 1986 starwind 19 from a friend. He mentioned the boat is great but also said that it goes down easy in gusty winds. I checked the bilge area and there does not appear to be any weighted ballast i.e. the keel space is open except the housing for the center board. The original specs for the boat indicate a 394lb ballast...i don't see where that would be. Can anyone help here...was there lead ballast that was possibly removed?

[souljour2000]

Well..how much does the swing keel weigh?..or is it a fixed keel? In most of these boats the ballast is all swing keel or fixed keel under the boat.

[mischief2]

It's a 2 'shoal draft keel with a center board that swings down from inside it, but there is no weight in the center board.

[jkimberly]

Two years ago I had a 1986 Wellcraft Starwind as my first sailboat. Sold it and bought something bigger but while I had the Starwind, I went through EVERYTHING on her.

The keel is about 6 feet long and about a foot or so wide and houses the center board. The board, as has been mentioned, doesn't have a great deal of weight to it but the keel itself is almost all lead. Try rapping it with your knuckles! When I had mine, I also found formed lead ingots placed in the bilge around the centerboard trunk - I was never sure that these came with the boat or if they were added leter by a PO to increase the ballast.

No matter how much ballast you have or add, the 19 is a "tippy" boat and is sensitive to wind and waves. I always had the feeling that in anything over 20knots wind speed, she could go right over. It was actually a lot of fun to stand her up on her side, playing the main sheet and tiller! BFS all the way!

If everything else is in good shape, I wouldn't worry too much about the ballast weight. Put a couple of people in her and have them shift as needed.

john

[mischief2]

thanks....appreciate your input