Do you ever remove the ballast bags?

[That Guy]

I'm wondering if anyone removes their ballast bags, frequently or even annually.

With my last boat I'd remove them after every long trip as part of my clean up/dry out process, and put them back in the boat a few days later along with everything else I removed once the boat fully dried out.

I'm wondering if anyone does this with their own boat, and the frequency. We'll be keeping this boat out of state so I won't be able to do as I've done before to let the boat dry out before just throwing the cover on and leaving it for weeks on end, so I want to do what I can to minimize moisture/etc in the boat while sitting in a storage unit with the cover on for weeks possibly after just being used.

[Stazi]

Every end of season I take them out


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[gregski]

We don't take them completely out but we lift them up enough to dry out underneath. It gets pretty slimy otherwise.

[DFTR Josh]

I always take them out to drain completely and dry them out. Just sucks when getting to the lake and not having your ballast, LOL

[Rakkasan]

On our LSV I'd open the playpens and lay the bags out the back while they were still connected. If stored in the garage it would be left with all doors open to include the engine compartment for several days until everything was dry then it would get buttoned back up.

If stored at the lake I'd leave the sacks in and just put the cover on.

[JoelFett]

I take them out monthly, when I take the boat out. Take em out, let em drain, wash n wax boat, let it sit for 3 days, then back together and into the water freshly waxed and cleaned.

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[twkoehn]

I wipe all my seat off, take them out and sit them outside the boat to dry. Like Rakkasan, I open the rear lockers and engine compartment and hang my rear locker bags over the back of the boat without unhooking them. Then I start some high velocity fans inside the boat which I have plugged into a timer. The fans run for 24 hours and shut off which is enough time to completely dry the interior. This setup has worked really we for me.

[russellsmojo]

I never take out during summer. I lift them up to let air underneath them. My goal is to take boat again so soon they won't have time to dry out!!


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[parrothd]

I never take out during summer. I lift them up to let air underneath them. My goal is to take boat again so soon they won't have time to dry out!!


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Just when the boat is stored for winter, and that's mainly to prevent animal damage..Lol..

[KG's Supra24]

I never take out during summer. I lift them up to let air underneath them. My goal is to take boat again so soon they won't have time to dry out!!


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I'm on his schedule [emoji4]

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[Prospersigman]

Plus Russell doesn't keep boats long enough to worry about the lockers getting slimy or anything...

[russellsmojo]

Great point! One last thing on moisture. I keep one of those damp rid tubs in the boat while in storage.

If you are getting smells I would bet it's carpet and not under bags.


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[sivs1]

I take them out as part of winterizing but also will take them out a couple times during the season, all depends on moisture levels and if there is a concern with mold.

[kaneboats]

Since I replaced the carpet in the lockers I don't take them out as much. Kind of roll them up a bit and let air get through. I have a small blower I use to move air around and it's usually about 100 deg. F in my garage so everything dries out in a day.

[jmvotto]

I never take out during summer. I lift them up to let air underneath them. My goal is to take boat again so soon they won't have time to dry out!!


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