Atlantic with the Alerte, I took out several tons of her lead ballast and substituted the same bulk of iron, the specific gravity of which is to that of lead as seven to eleven. On both these occasions my action was severely criticised by the wiseacres who hang about the shipbuilding yards; but after we had been at sea for some weeks my companions had all come round to my way of thinking.
While on the subject of ballast I may point out here that it should be stowed as snugly as possible; it should not be placed in the ends of a boat, but should be concentrated amidships, so that the vessel's bow and stern are kept buoyant, and rise readily to the seas. If the ballast is not moulded to fit to the vessel's framework, care must be taken that the pigs of iron or lead rest on the ship's timbers and not on her planking, otherwise the pressure from within will loosen the vessel's skin and render her leaky. Stow the ballast so that an open passage is left along either side of the keelson through which the bilge-water may run freely. For the same reason the limber-holes in the ship's floor timbers must be always kept clear. It is well to have a small chain rove through the limber-holes, and by occasionally drawing this backwards and forwards obstructions are removed and the water flows readily to the pump-well. The pump should be of simple construction, so that it can easily be repaired with the appliances on board. The pump-well should have a little hatch over it, so that one
