How much ballast do I actually have???

[MedSailor]

I have a 1975 Formosa 41. When we were looking into buying here we got stats that looked like this:

Displacement: 32,000lb
Ballast: 8,000

I commented that I thought that a 1/4 ratio of ballast to displacement was a bit lean. So we did some web searching. Every spec sheet on every Formosa we found came up with different numbers for both ballast and displacement. Displacement was usually listed in the 28,000-32,000 range and ballast ranged from 3,800lbs (surely a mistake) to 12,000lbs.

This stressed me out greatly as I didn't want a super-tender vessel that might not self-right. But who knows where the numbers on the spec sheet really came from.

Now to add to the mystery when we hauled out I read the gauges on the travel-lift and it said (if I'm reading it right) 55,000lbs! That can't be right. If I can figure out how I'll post a picture of the travel-lift gauges.

So is there any way to find out how much I really weigh? What I really want to know is the ballast/displacement ratio. Any way to figure that out? Anyone have definitive stats from a book or online anywhere?

Thanks for the help!

MedSailor

(accidentally put this message in "gear and maintenance")

[Jeff_H]

It was not unusual for their to be big variations from boat to boat built in Taiwan (My mother owned two different companies that had boats built in the orient and imported to the US.) and Formosa's were known for big variations in ballasting from boat to boat with some using lead shot or cast lead and others using iron boiler punchings in concrete with varying ratios of concrete to iron.

I too have seen wild variations in ballasting and displacement quoted for the Formosa 41. Some literature for the Formosa 41's (which were also sold under a variety of names) did not publish ballast weights and some showed dangerously low ballast ratios. Talking to some owners on line I have been told they have published a ballast weight that included the topped up weight of all of the tanks which are located in the bilge and that number was bandied around.

Jeff

[CalebD]

The original figures for displacement and ballast that you gave (32K and 8K) yield the figure of 40,000 lbs. Think of all of the other stuff aboard a 41' boat though: tanks (fuel and water), masts and rigging, anchors, plumbing et, etc, etc. Then 55,000 lbs does not sound so outlandish unless it was in kilograms rather than pounds.
As for how much ballast you have, it sounds like you have a 1:4 ballast/displacement ratio if your initial figures are even close.
I would tend to believe the travel lift scale in terms of overall weight of the boat but that does not necessarily indicate how much of the weight is in the 'ballast'.
Sounds like a fun boat. Enjoy.

[pigslo]

Ballast is included in displacement.
pigslo

[Jeff_H]

For what it is worth, travelift numbers are notoriously inaccurate and also need to be adjusted for the lifting slings and hardware. 25% ballast ratio borders on ludicrously low, expecially on a high drag vessel where there is a tendancy and a need to carry more sail area longer.

Jeff

[Sailormann]

How much ballast do I actually have???

Kinda depends on how much you and the wife weigh doesn't it ????