Ballast system for boats
View Patent ↗A hollow ballast tank contains within it a plurality of flexible bags for storing fluids such as fuel, freshwater and grey water. These fluids serve as functional ballast weight to complement the ballast weight provided by seawater which fills the remaining volume of the ballast tank upon being drawn into the tank through an intake pipe. Hoses run from each bag and emerge from a hatch in the upper surface of the ballast tank to service the boat. As fuel and freshwater are consumed, seawater is drawn into the ballast tank to compensate for the lost volume. Grey water may also be returned to a bag in the tank to serve as ballast weight.
1. An apparatus for maintaining a fluid ballast in the hull of a boat comprising:
a container within the hull for holding seawater ballast,
a plurality of flexible bags mounted in said container so that the volume of said plurality of flexible bags displaces a like volume of seawater ballast from said container so as to maintain a substantially constant volume of fluid ballast in said container,
wherein said ballast bags are adapted for holding useful fluids including potable water in a first ballast bag of said plurality of flexible bags, motor fuel in a second ballast bag of said plurality of flexible bags and re-captured grey water in a third ballast bag of said plurality of flexible bags,
pumping means for extracting said useful fluids from said first and second ballast bags for use in the boat, and return means for returning re-captured grey water re-captured from use in the boat to corresponding said third ballast bag, where said ballast bags are in fluid communication with said pumping means within the hull for extracting said useful fluids from corresponding said ballast bags and said return means for returning re-captured grey water to said corresponding said third ballast bag,
a means for displacing said like volume of sea water from said container so as to displace seawater from said seawater ballast to compensate for increasing volume of said grey water in said third ballast bag, and means for filling said container with said seawater ballast to compensate for said extracting of said useful fluids, thereby providing a substantially constant volume of fluid ballast including said seawater, said useful fluids and said re-captured waste fluids.
2. The apparatus of claim 1 further comprising a bladder mounted in said container and wherein said pumping means includes a means for inflating said bladder with a gas.
3. The apparatus of claim 2 wherein said gas is air and said means for inflating is a pressurized gas canister.
4. The apparatus of claim 2 wherein when said bladder and said flexible bags are substantially full, said container is substantially full of said fuel, said fresh water, said grey water and said gas.
5. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein said container is rigid.
6. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein said container is flexible.
7. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein said flexible bags are mounted closely adjacent one another, nested within said container.
8. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein when said flexible bags are substantially full, said container is more than one-half full of said fuel, said fresh water and said grey water.
9. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein said means for displacing said like volume of seawater and said means for filling said container with said seawater is a hollow conduit in fluid communication between said container and an exterior of the hull for free flow of seawater along said conduit into and out of said container.
10. A method for maintaining a fluid ballast in the hull of a boat comprising the steps of:
a) providing a container within the hull for holding seawater ballast,
b) providing a plurality of flexible bags mounted in said container so that the volume of said plurality of flexible bags displaces a like volume of seawater ballast from said container so as to maintain a substantially constant volume of fluid ballast in said container, wherein said ballast bags are adapted for holding useful fluids including providing for holding potable water in a first ballast bag of said plurality of flexible bags, motor fuel in a second ballast bag of said plurality of flexible bags, and re-captured grey water in a third ballast bag of said plurality of flexible bags,
c) providing pumping means for extracting said useful fluids from said first and second ballast bags for use in the boat, and return means for returning re-captured grey water re-captured from use in the boat to corresponding said third ballast bag, wherein said ballast bags are in fluid communication with said pumping means within the hull for extracting said useful fluids from corresponding said ballast bags and said return means for returning re-captured grey water to said corresponding said third ballast bag,
d) providing a means for displacing said like volume of sea water from said container so as to displace seawater from said seawater ballast to compensate for increasing volume of said grey water in said third ballast bag, and means for filling said container with said seawater ballast to compensate for said extracting of said useful fluids, thereby providing a substantially constant volume of fluid ballast including said seawater, said useful fluids and said re-captured waste fluids,
e) urging water from said first ballast bag by said pumping means for use in the boat,
f) re-capturing used water as grey water and returning said re-captured grey water to said third ballast bag by said return means,
g) urging fuel from said second ballast bag by said pumping means for use in the boat motor.
11. The method of claim 10 further comprising the step of providing a bladder mounted in said container and wherein said pumping means includes a means for inflating said bladder with a gas.
12. The method of claim 11 further comprising providing a pressurized gas canister as said means for inflating said bladder.
13. The method of claim 10 further comprising the step of mounting said flexible bags closely adjacent one another, nested within said container.