Concrete for craypot ballast?
Hi All,
Not sure if this is a stupid question or not, but can you use concrete as ballast for craypots? Have had a search online but found no reference to it. I know it wouldnt be as dense as steel but would the smell/feel of it deter crays?
The reason why, is I was having a think about putting together a few pots from some timber I have at home and the B store on the cheap. Paddle them out in my kayak at the end of the week and pick them up Mon/Tues. As distance is obviously a limiting factor this would mean they're in relatively close and accessable by boats, so if some thieving bugger decided to take them it wouldnt piss me off as much as if Id shelled out for pots and run around getting annodes etc. Was planning on pouring a mini concrete slab and cable tying/wiring it to the pot.
Cheers,
Lenny
Rob H
Posts: 5810
Date Joined: 18/01/12
may find that fresh concrete
may find that fresh concrete will deter them, but over time it neutralizes.
Better just go to the scrap yard and buy a few pieces of scrap steel for couple of bucks?
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ranmar850
Posts: 2702
Date Joined: 12/08/12
Really not dense enough
To get a bit heavy enought to ballast the pot a bit, it will fill the pot. It has been tried before. The classic find on a beach up here used to be one of those plastic pots weighted with a housebrick, take off in the slightest surge. Concrete is more dense than brick, of course, but I'd just be getting a piece of scrap steel, as suggested.
You mentioned making some all-wooden (wooden-bottomed) pots for this exercise? They really need some serious ballast compared to steel bottoms. Once soaked up, they might feel heavy to handle out of the water, but back in the water, they almost float. For pro users, you use at least double the steel ballast as a minimum compared to steel bottomed. The relative few who insisted on using them seriously over the edge during the whites run would have three ballast plates. Soaked up with waterlogged wood, they are deckie killers, 70Kg or more EACH. Double-ballasted steel bottoms, which hold bottom much better, will weigh no more than 60kg, and most blokes just used a single ballast in them, Steel-framed steel bottomed were even better. Just do a dive next to a wooden bottomed pot, even well ballasted, during some swell and be shocked at how much they move. Then compare to a steel bottom. Or pull a wooden bottom by hand, then pull a steel bottom. Same deal, light in the water, heavy out of it, which is a double negative.
len85
Posts: 23
Date Joined: 05/04/13
Thanks guys
Thanks for the advice guys, knew there must have been a pretty good reason.
And Im not too keen on carrying around a 70kg pot either!
meglodon
Posts: 5981
Date Joined: 17/06/10
Engine fly wheel
If you can't get any railway plates you may be able to pick up engine fly wheels from a wreckers. They are quite heavy.
Dale
Posts: 7930
Date Joined: 13/09/05
Yep, I've used them before, they work well.
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Westy74
Posts: 225
Date Joined: 23/11/13
Lenny. The railway plates
Lenny. The railway plates are on gumtree mate. From $5.