Lonely Jelly
The Ballast Story
Has anyone got any definitive hard evidence, rather than the usual anecdotal, to back up the claim that vinyl was used as ballast on US merchant navy ships? I've heard it so many times and I really want to believe it, but I've never seen any substantial evidence to make me believe it.
Cliff Pilchard
I used to collect 60's & 70's US comics and the story was that they used tonnes of back copies for ballast. They also used Ming vases and Chippendale furniture. Whatever you collect, there's always a story going about someone that misused the things you love best.
That said, it may be true, I don't know. I'm just saying.
Ugly Custard
was speaking with an old u.k. dealer a while back about this and he claims that he knew a few dealers who hit Tilbury docks more than once back in the day...Originally Posted by ladyboygrimsby
Lonely Jelly
Somewhere, somebody posted a photograph of this. I never believed it until I saw this picture. But where?
Ugly Custard
I'll probe "old u.k. dealer" next time we speak....maybe he can provide some concrete evidence...
he was describing desirable vinyl with water damaged sleeves and labels....
Lonely Jelly
my uncle had a civil service pass so we went on liverpool docks lookin for this so called vinyl ballast and didnt find a thing...this was 15-20 years ago, rumours were rife then i guess..
i had seen multiple copies of stuff that had water damage and that got me thinkin...
Lonely Jelly
I've been told by a couple of people that the punch holes in some Northern Soul 45s in particular were put in by the distributors as an identification mark for discontinued stock. Nothing to do with wiring bundles of records together for ballast, as the old legend goes, as I'd always half believed. I still like the ballast story though.
So, no, nothing to help you at all.
Last edited by peretti; 15-06-2006 at 10:31 AM.
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