what is ballast?

Answer 1

Ballast in shipping terms, not railway, refers to weight added to a vessel that is in a light condition (free of cargo), to maintain stability. When loading, the ballast is discharged in proportion to the cargo taken aboard. In sailing days, stones were used, which is why port towns or cities have cobblestone streets, and buildings. In modern times, ships use seawater in segregated ballast tanks for this purpose. On making landfall, the ballast water is dicharged, and refilled before entering a harbor to avoid foreign marine life from entering our waterways ie zebra mussles.

Answer 2

It can be many different things on different vessels. Some ships take on water to sit lower and thus be more stable in the water. (this is usually a tanker ship. After they unload millions of gallons of oil, they are to light to be stable, the water ballast helps off-set this)

Sail boats are powered by the wind (Captain Obvious HERE)
Most land lubbers do not realize that a sail and mast attached to a regular boat will cause it to be tipped over when a strong wind blows. Sail boats have a keel or centerboard system that extends down into the water several feet. A sail boat may only sit 3 or 4 feet out of the water. Not counting mast height. However there is normally a Lead keel that extends 6 or 7 feet below the water. This is made of lead for "ballast". The length also gives lev erage against the force of the wind.

And wise sailors also know how to use human ballast. A sail boat heels to one side as it sails. This is why you often see people sitting alog the high side rail of a boat. They are being used as ballast. (they are also called rail meat)

Hope this helps mate.

Answer 3

Ballast may mean:

Track ballast, railway track-bed, on which sleepers and track is laid
Sailing ballast, ship's ballast, used to weight a ship down
Depleted uranium trim weights on airplanes.
Ballast tanks, a device used on submarines and other submersibles to control buoyancy
Ballast (electrical), used to stabilize the current flow in lamps
Construction aggregate, used as a building material and cement ingredient
Water ballast carried aboard an aircraft, for example in gliding to increase speed

Answer 4

Usually lead or pig iron loaded into the bilges (Under the floorboards and inside the bottom of the boat or ship) to keep the boat stable. Sometimes loaded more on one side than the other to compensate for a boat or ship not sitting level in the water due to machinery or heavy objects being fitted more on one side than another.

On larger ships (ie Tankers in particular) the ballast would be sea water pumped into the tanks that would normally carry fuel or oil as cargo, but when this has been unloaded the tanker would fill the tanks with sea water to keep her lower in the water and thus more stable.

Answer 5

ballast is counterweight, an Iron ore carrier on the great lakes may come to port to load iron ore from the mines. If it come to port empty it must carry a "ballast" to offset the weight it doesn't have, but which the ship was built to carry.
As the ship is being loaded with iron ore it will simultaneously dump the water ("ballast") it has in it's hull.

Answer 6

Ballast can be a number of things,the best i can think of now is the stone chippings under railway lines

Answer 7

BALLAST= heavy material placed in a ships hold to steady it; coarse stones as the base of a railway or road.

Answer 8

In sail boat is anything add wate, but moder boat haf alos electric resistor lites and ignitiin sometime on called Ballast Resistor, shorten to Ballast by electronics peeples.

Answer 9

ballast is where they fill up ballast tanks with water to give a ship/boat it's stability, on ships they can usually fill up the wing tanks or they can fill up one of the holds.

Answer 10

A weight placed in the bottom of a boat to enable the vessel to ride correctly in the water. An empty boat would bob a long on the surface, be difficult to steer, rather than cut through the water in a stable way.