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Lead in bow.

Is the lead there to balance out because the Perkins was heavier than designed for?
 
Supposedly. I honestly think that engineering back then wasn't good enough to know exactly how the boat would sit, and that the hull wasn't "designed" for a specific engine weight.
But certainly, once the first hull was in the water they decided they needed it.

Did the 383/4 have a different engine?
 
Sonata, M383, 1982 came with Perkins 4-108. My understanding was it was lighter than the Yanmar or whatever other engine was used. But Sonata has no evidence of lead to balance. She does sit bow high, even with her bow water tank full.
 
I think all but the first few 382's also had the Perkin. Mine had a Perkins, since repowered, and has the lead. What does bow high even mean? You can paint the boot stripe wherever you need it. If I had to guess, lead was added to get it to sit as it was drawn, so it "looks" right. But sailboats usually sail better with less weight in the bow.

With a windlass/chain and water tank, it is probably about the same weight in a 383/4. I had 30 gallons of diesel and 10 gallons of water in jerry cans near the bow, and it really hurt sailing performance and comfort. So, getting rid of that weight is a good thing.
 
Yes, less weight in the boats ends is definitely very beneficial. This is one reason I went with the hybrid, chain and line rode. Less weight.
Sonata's bow waterline sits a few inches hi of actual.
We have kept extra fuel and water jugs at the rail, forward end of the cabin house too.
M
 
The Yanmar 3QM30F weighs 630lbs. Only the first 100 or so boats have that engine. The Perkins is much lighter. According to Ted Brewer the lead in the bow was to balance the boats with the heavier engine.

Jim
 
I have hull #256, which had the lighter Perkins, and had the lead in the bow. I am pretty sure all the 382s have the extra lead.
 
jimcleary said:
The Yanmar 3QM30F weighs 630lbs. Only the first 100 or so boats have that engine. The Perkins is much lighter. According to Ted Brewer the lead in the bow was to balance the boats with the heavier engine.

Jim
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My god.... An iron big block Chevrolet, a 454 V8, weighs 590 lbs. If that isn't enough reason to avoid a Yanmar, I'm not sure what is.
 
We had the lead and the Yanmar in hull #41 382. Repowered with a Beta 38 and the boat sat nose down significantly. I took out the lead for the next season and it improved it considerably. I think between the engine and lead I removed around 600 lbs. I think it helped the sailing greatly, particularly tacking in light wind.
 
I bought my 1979 382 two years ago and was confused about the "blob" of resin in the bow. I thought it was probably ballast. However it makes my bow sit too low once I loaded 60 feet of 5/16 chain and anchor rode to the bow. I am a little nervous about chipping into that resin if it may be bonded to the hull in a significant way. I wonder if someone has done a similar removal?
 
I removed it just recently. There were 60 five pound ingots, totally 300 pounds. It took a long time and was at times physically challenging using a hammer and chisel. You should have no concerns about damaging the hull as long as you are using a hammer and chisel. I wouldn't use an air chisel. It was pretty hard to break through the resin cap, but removing ingots got easier and faster as I went. Like they just stacked them in there, then poured the resin on top.
 
I think if I remove mine, I may stack some of it in the bilge, just to add to the keel ballast. So much other needed work though, that would be very far down the list.....!
 
DGA said:
I think if I remove mine, I may stack some of it in the bilge, just to add to the keel ballast. So much other needed work though, that would be very far down the list.....!
Click to expand...
suggest you not put loose lead in the bilge. It could damage things moving around, especially in a knockdown. And that lead will be higher than the ballast anyway. I would trust Brewer's decision on ballast/dizplacement ratio.
 
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