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Lead weight


ac88926

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Hey guys, i recently got some lead wheel weights that total around 300 pounds to go under the seats up front. I have them in army style bags right now but wanted to get feedback from others who have used lead. What do you put your lead in? Ive heard of bank bags to duffle bags. Any suggestions?

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I'm not sure if this was the safest thing to do but it worked great.

I got together with some buddies and we used a old BBQ, some cheap bread pans, wore respirators and melted the lead weights into bricks. Worked out awesome, the only thing i wished I did was put handles into them but lead is so soft you could thread a bolt into it after the fact if you wanted to mount a handle on there.

PS: We junked the BBQ and bread pans after this lead adventure.

-Paul

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I'm not sure if this was the safest thing to do but it worked great.

I got together with some buddies and we used a old BBQ, some cheap bread pans, wore respirators and melted the lead weights into bricks. Worked out awesome, the only thing i wished I did was put handles into them but lead is so soft you could thread a bolt into it after the fact if you wanted to mount a handle on there.

PS: We junked the BBQ and bread pans after this lead adventure.

-Paul

How much beer did that take, Paul?

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I'm not sure if this was the safest thing to do but it worked great.

I got together with some buddies and we used a old BBQ, some cheap bread pans, wore respirators and melted the lead weights into bricks. Worked out awesome, the only thing i wished I did was put handles into them but lead is so soft you could thread a bolt into it after the fact if you wanted to mount a handle on there.

PS: We junked the BBQ and bread pans after this lead adventure.

-Paul

We did the same thing. Plus we carpeted the bricks with indoor/outdoor carpet & Liquid Nails afterwards. This made them not slide around on the carpet inside the boat.

Besides lead, we've also used "pig iron". It's big slabs of steel usually welded inside of ships for ballast. Cheap & easy for those of you who live near a ship yard (like Seattle). Two 4"x4"x2' long pieces were over 125 lbs each. I wrapped them in thick plastic & duct tape. They never showed any signs of rust in the 5 or 6 yrs I had them in the boat.

I let about 600 lbs of lead & steel weight go with my last boat. I wish I'd kept it now. :Doh:

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Only bad thing about lead or any other metal is that if you swamp your boat, down she goes, but fat sacks etc using water for ballast won't sink you more, water doesn't weigh anything in water.

Edited by crom
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Only bad thing about lead or any other metal is that if you swamp your boat, down she goes, but fat sacks etc using water for ballast won't sink youmore, water doesn't weigh anything in water.

Technically this is true. But realistically your not going to sink a boat with 600 lbs of lead in it. And the bottom line, if my boat sinks, I don't care if it's just to the waterline or 100' down, the insurance company can have it. I know 2 guys who have swamped their boats & the things don't do well after a few weeks..... electronics & steering are the first to go.

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  • 3 weeks later...

Does anyone have some words of wisdom regarding towing the boat with the extra weight?

I'm not worried about fuel efficiency-- I'm worried about safety.

I've been thinking about trying to get 400 pounds or so of some type of metal under my back seat ('97 SS LX). I don't tow with much extra weight in the boat-- a couple boards, two small amps, two tower speakers, built-in ice chest full of beverages/ice, and a full tank of gas. That's about it.

Would an additional 400 pounds on the trailer be dangerous?

How much would be too much?

I'm just trying to get a feel for what other people have done.

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I used to tow the MC with about 600 lbs of lead & steel in it without any trailer issues. I had a 205 with a tandem axle trailer.

But realistically it is a loose load though. Their not really secured in any way, just sitting under a seat cushion. So if there was an accident, and the boat went thru something crazy, it could fling those lead bricks around pretty good, causing problems all around you. Whistling.gif

Edited by Bill_AirJunky
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I have pop bags and I always put them on the floor over the axles while towing just so that weight is right above the axles. I don't think you'll have any issues with that little bit of extra weight in the boat while towing. Heck, it's only the body weight of 2 dudes.

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