On Jun 5, 2005, at 9:09 PM, Craig F. Honshell wrote:
Rachel, How did your blister repairs end up cosmetically? Is your former M17 still sailing? Thanks, Craig
Well, I got it to the completely dried out and ground out stage, then began the filling and sanding process (with the Interlux underwater two-part filling compound - can't remember the number, but it's light blue). That was the one time I would love to have had a smooth-hulled boat, as it was hard to do the lapstrakes well. At any rate, at that point my life took a turn and I had a chance to go long-distance cruising on a friend's boat, so I sold the Monty as I didn't have a good place to store it while I was gone. A fellow in the Seattle area bought it (I believe he used to post here very occasionally), finished the job and then sailed it. Or at least I think he did. I was only on the Internet spottily while I was off cruising, but I got the idea that he bought another M-17, and maybe combined parts - or maybe just trailers or motors. At any rate, I believe both boats still exist :-) I learned a lot of boat-repair skills on that boat as it really quite neglected. In addition to the blister issues, I re-cored large parts of the deck and cockpit sole, re-worked the core around the chainplates, repaired the mast step where the original core had compressed, sanded and varnished all the wood (it was bare, grey, and grooved deeply enough that I didn't think there was enough original wood left to withstand the bare treatment anymore - otherwise I'm a fan of bare teak), and removed every bit of hardware in order to overdrill and fill with epoxy (lots of damp core around the fasteners, but I was able to catch many of them before the dampness spread). I also buffed out the extremely-oxidized topsides and deck. It was quite a project! Now I don't know why I'm considering *another* project boat! I guess I just can't let these lessons go to waste ;-) And I hate to see a good boat go to seed. Okay, long answer to a short question. Actually, the way most Montys are used, I bet deck-core moisture issues would be a lot more likely than hull blisters. The epoxy/re-bedding part of the project really wasn't that bad; then after that you have no more core worries when the bedding wears out the next time (inevitable) - you just rebed. --- Rachel