So....

I ended up with a boat that's been batted around Vancouver Island for a while, a real privilege to own and got a great deal... a Cape George 36 named Tantramar.

However, part of the deal was that she is under-ballasted. I've spoken with the owner who put the wheelhouse on the boat, and he received two of the lead plugs by the factory (bringing us up to 6000 and a bit odd pounds of lead), and the third section he finished with concrete. Taking up the space, and because the boat is a raised pilothouse (with a raised cockpit which exaggerates the heel a bit too...), there's a 100 gallon fuel tank just aft of my mast, about 2 feet below deck level... is this normal in factory finished Cape George's?

Some good friends were kind enough to tip me off on the ballast issue and we came into the deal with our eyes open. Todd Eucker and a builder from Sidney on Vancouver Island both told me they've worked on a few projects adding ballast to the normally ballasted 36's, and that this would be no problem.

Has anyone added ballast to their 36? I figure I'm somewhere between 1000-2500 pounds light, but my bobstay fitting is just below the water (living aboard with associated crap) and likewise the properly factory shaped rudder corner.

How much ballast did you add if so?

And Where? Less lead makes more difference down low, so 1000 lbs cast as a shoe on the bottom of my keel may be enough..

And how? Todd and Dean the two professional shipwrights recommended through bolting two cheeks on either side of the keel, down low, but I have some reservations about piercing the hull. Has anyone tried this?

My plan, and I've got the lead... is to cast a shoe in an I-beam and shape it the full width and length of the keel, maybe into three pieces and laminate fiberglass mat or roving over the pieces.

Does anyone have experience with this, or are we blazing new trails here?

I spoke with Cecil before the purchase as well, and he told me that the Cape George's being slack bilged all needed to be reefed early, the first in 12 knots in the main. That fits about right with us. but in 15 knots, even with a reef we'll bury the rail pretty easily.

How easy would it be for a guy to make the motion of the vessel too stiff by over ballasting? That's just as (if not more) uncomfortable as a tender boat, with a snappier motion and a shorter roll period. We're taking it easy and slow and just adding more lead in the sole and doing the calculation to correspond how much less we need to add to equate the same force at the bottom of the keel... which reminds me...

does anyone know the centre of gravity for a Cape George 36 (transverse, but longitudinal would be nice too so i can play with trim with some shiftable ballast...)

Boy, these sure are fun subjects to think about. This vessel is a real little ship, I love how she behaves on the west coast of Vancouver Island, we're planning a few forays next year to the 100 fathom drops to work up our crew and our boat. But adding ballast and affecting trim for performance and load bearing capacity, these are some pretty epic things to be considering!

Thank you all,

Tom

PS: has anyone encountered a scribed water line? the previous owner told me there was one, but I haven't found it under the bottom paint...