Water Ballast

[Richard Lisch]

Having launched my new M a couple of weeks ago for the first time I quickly found out myselfe that launching or retrieving the boat in under 50 minutes is not very realistic, considering my set-up.
Now I found a slip in a marina close by where I will leave her, depending on my spare time schedule, for weeks at a time.
I wonder if I should leave the ballast tank full when in the slip as wind speeds in our area are averaging 12 to 18 kts almost ervery day during the afternoons and most lighter boats get tossed around quite a bit.
Thanks for any advice.

[Frank C]

Either way is fine. Some who like to keep the ballast tank full like to hold the grungies at bay by pouring a quart of bleach thru the vent hole, or dropping in a swimming pool tablet.

[Dimitri-2000X-Tampa]

For months at a time, I keep my boat in a slip that is only mildly protected from the wind although well protected from waves. The way the Mac sails around in the slip when the wind kicks up, I think it has less shock loading on the cleats with the ballast empty. Also, that keeps anything from growing in the tank.