Download a copy of the Paddling Partner ballast system review originally published in Sea Kayaker Magazine. 

Cargo inside a kayak tends to make it more stable, especially
if the weight is placed low in the hull and isn’t free to move
when the kayak heels. When you pack for a weekend trip or longer,
your kayak will have quite a different and more secure feel
than it does while empty. If you want a bit of that feeling for day
paddling you don’t have to pack a heavy load of gear; you can get
additional stability by adding ballast to the kayak.
Balance Solutions has devised a ballast system that can be
installed without altering the kayak. Its base, a thick band of
fairly stiff plastic, bends into the hull and locks in place when
its ends are trimmed to butt against the underside of the deck.
A rubber pad helps locate the base on the hull’s centerline. The
ballast consists of 9 ½ pounds of BBs contained in a sturdy plastic
bottle that is secured flat against the center of the base.
It took me a half hour to do the first installation, placing the
Paddling Partner in the day compartment of a kayak with a
beam of 23 inches. There was no clear indication of the keel
centerline so I used the flexible ruler supplied with the kit to
make a center mark. I then used the ruler to get the trim length
for the base mount. The instructions said to round up to the
next longer mark. I did that, but then had to trim to my original
measurement. I can understand cutting long rather than short,
but the stuff is tough to saw. I used a fairly sharp keyhole saw
and that did the job, but it was like sawing though oak. I made
the subsequent trimming cuts with the serrated edge of a sharp
rescue knife. That also did the job though I was wary of the
damage I could do to myself with one slip of the blade. The saw
is safer.

Getting the base placed in the kayak was an ordeal. It had to
be curled into a circle to get it though the 7 ¾-inch hatch opening.
I had just enough room to get both arms in. Then the ends
have to be uncurled and tucked into the corners of the deck.
Having a recessed deck fitting and a rudder line housing in the
way made getting the ends home especially tricky, but they
eventually popped into place. It was awkward work and made
for some language I reserve for special occasions.
For the second installation I placed a second Paddling
Partner in a 21 ½-inch wide kayak without a day compartment.
(Because the base is trimmed to a particular length to
fit to a particular kayak, it cannot be used in different boats.)
The aft hatch opening was 17 inches from the cockpit bulkhead
where the ballast would be placed, but the opening was large
enough to see and work through. There was a slightly radiused
crease along the keel so it was easy to establish a rough
centerline. I measured for the base mount and got it right the
first time. It was easy to get the mount curled up, in position
on the center post and then locked in place. I was finished in
17 minutes and kept a civil tongue.
If I had cut the base too short, it would not have kept the
ballast securely in place. The efficacy and safety of the device
depend upon a successful installation. Ballast Solutions
emphasizes that if the system isn’t secure in your boat you can
return it for a refund of the purchase price.
I filled the ballast bottle with 12,000 BBs (they’re sold in
containers of 6,000), screwed the cap on and secured it to the
base with the threaded plastic pin. After both installations I
flipped each kayak upside down and shook it as hard as I could.
The weighted canister bounced away from the keel only very
slightly and seemed sufficiently well locked in place.
I took both boats out for trials, switching from unballasted
to ballasted and back to gauge the difference. I wobbled, edged
and rolled the kayaks to gauge their stability. It took a couple of
minutes to get out of the cockpit, open the hatch and place or
remove the ballast, and that made the difference hard to detect.
The effect of the Paddling Partner that was easiest to sense was
the advantage it gave me in rolling on my off side.
On another outing I did a second set of trials with just the
narrower kayak. I had a partner standing in the water placing
and removing the ballast through the open hatch to make it
easier to feel the change in the stability as I rocked and edged.
With the ballast in place the rocking was slower and the boat felt less twitchy. On edge it was steadier.
The difference was noticeable but subtle.
I had my partner, a novice paddler, give
the boat a try while I put the ballast in
and out. His assessment was the same as
mine, a noticeable but subtle improvement
in stability.
To check on the effect of additional
ballast, I put a 10-pound, shot-filled exercise
belt on the cockpit floor centerline.
It made the same incremental change,
slowing the rocking and firming up the
secondary stability.
For a more objective measure of the
difference the Paddling Partner makes, I
ran computer-generated stability curves
for both of the boats that I had fitted with
it. The computer program showed the
addition of the ballast increased the stability
(righting moment) of the 21 ½-inch
wide kayak by 12 percent near the peak
of the stability curve and of the 23-inch
wide kayak by 16 percent.
In The Complete Book of Sea Kayaking,
Derek Hutchinson writes of using ballast
to make a kayak a more steady platform
for shooting movie footage. A pair of
straps secured on the hull of his kayak
held on the centerline a bottle filled with
scrap lead: “I found the effect of all this
quite remarkable. Although I could still
lean my kayak right over on its side to
perform the various strokes, the weight…
was constantly trying to bring the kayak
upright again.” Hutchinson notes the
ballast may weigh 20 to 30 pounds, two
to three times the weight of the Paddling
Partner. The effect of the Paddling Partner
would increase with additional weight
that lead could provide, but the manufacturer
cautions against putting more
than the recommended 9 ½ pounds into
the canister.
A bit of ballast can help you with
rolling, give you a steadier feel in rough
water and make a high-strung kayak
a bit more comfortable for leisurely
pursuits. The Paddling Partner does
increase stability and steady a twitchy
kayak. For me the effect was subtle. To
see if a bit of ballast would make a
welcome difference in your day paddling,
you could put an equivalent weight in
your kayak and secure it with foam or a
sleeping-bag-filled dry bag. If about 10
pounds of ballast does the trick, the
Paddling Partner can provide a way to
keep that ballast well secured when
you’re on the water and make it easy to
remove when you come ashore.