Close the transom gate valve by pushing down on the handle. Make sure the valve is closed tight, otherwise water will be sucked out by the forward motion of the boat and all ballast will be lost, making the boat capsizable.

MAKE SURE THE VALVE AND VENT ARE SEALED:

While you are sailing and the boat is tipped, check the air vent to make sure there are no leaks. The more the boat leans over, the more pressure will be on the vent, making a leak more likely. Watch It closely.

It is possible to test the watertightness of the transom gate valve by pulling the boat out of the water with the tank full and valve closed. Check to see if it leaks. Do this frequently. Preferably every time you sail the boat.

Avoid opening the vent hole in choppy water or when the boat is leaning, because the water can surge around in the tank and spill out into the boat. The only time the valve and vent hole should be open is when you are emptying or filling, the tank, or when the boat is out of the water. Do not leave the valve and vent hole open and unattended.

PREVENTION OF ALGAE IN THE BALLAST TANK:

If you leave the ballast tank full of water for long periods, drop in a few swimming pool chlorine tablets to prevent a bad case of algae. Be cautious when handling the chlorine tablets. Follow the directions on the chlorine tablet container very carefully. Don't put chlorine in the galley water tank. Don't leave water in the tank in freezing weather. Damage could result.

RETURNING THE BOAT TO ITS TRAILER

Simply drive the boat onto its trailer. Try to steer the nose into the "V" on the front of the trailer. Leave the outboard running to hold the boat against the rubber "V" pad, and go forward to secure the nose to the trailer.

Before pulling the boat out of the water, winch the nose to the trailer to prevent the boat from sliding backward off of the trailer. Make sure the boat is centered on the trailer.

If you pull the boat out of the water and find that the nose of the boat is not quite in its rubber pad, drive the car and trailer forward at low speed and tap the brakes, The boat will easily slide into the rubber block. This saves having to overload the winch and line to move the boat. Don't go too fast or make a real hard stop, or the boat may end up in or on your car. Carefully store and secure all lines and mast support wires to avoid entanglement in the trailer wheels while towing.

EMPTYING THE BALLAST TANK

This section describes emptying the tank when the boat is being pulled out of the water at a launch ramp. Emptying the tank when the boat is still in the water is described near the end of these instructions in the Powering section.

Remove the water tank vent plug inside the boat. Pull the boat slowly out of the water, and the water ballast will begin to drain out of the boat and back into the ocean. As the boat comes out of the water, the water level in the tank will be higher than the water level surrounding the boat. The water in the tank will try to seek the level of the surrounding water, and the tank will drain.

If the ramp is steep, and the air vent is open, the nose of the boat may be higher than the vent hole in the top of the tank, and some water may spill into the boat from inside the tank. This can be remedied by pulling the boat out slowly, or by keeping the valve and air vent closed until the boat and trailer reach level ground at the top of the ramp. This is the time to check the gate valve seal. If the ramp is steep or slippery, or if your car is feeble, It may not be able to pull the boat and the 800 lbs. of water up the ramp. If so, move forward just a small amount and wait for some water to drain. Then move forward some more, and let more water drain. Keep inching forward until the water is gone. In this manner, you will never have to pull out the entire 800 lbs. in one swoop.

Do not try to tow the boat with water In the tank. The trailer was not designed to carry the extra 800 lb load. Trailering with the water ballast in the tank will overload the trailer and probably your car. When trailering, leave the valve open so all the water can slosh out. There is no sense in carrying around unnecessary water.