As a former M-17 owner, I check in from time to time to see what's up. I saw the discussion about mast base plates and thought I might share my experience when refurbishing my boat. I had a couple of upright lead blocks and wanted to go to rope halyards, so I decided to make a plate from 1/4" aluminum plate. I cut and polished holes in the mast for running internal halyards and rigged the turning blocks and deck organizers to lead the halyards to the cockpit. Illustrations are better than words, and my photos are still online at https://picasaweb.google.com/113465139588242289574/M17. Look at the ones of the cabintop to see the plate rigging. I got the plate from Duckworks and countersunk the holes for the machine screws underneath the plate. I bedded everything with 3M 4200. I would invest in the Dwyer plate if I sailed in saltwater, but for my use this seemed adequate (and cheaper, and I had some parts). It is good to hear about all your activities and adventures - this is a great list!