Check the cockpit drain hoses and the thru hill tubing they attach to, especially if the boat may have spent time in salt water. I don't recall whether the drain configuration was the same on the early boats, but I found the tubing crumbling apart on my M17 (1980 vintage) and replaced them with new stainless steel tubing, glassing it in to the same exit points from the hull. The exit is below the waterline so a failure there will result in a good test of your bailing ability and the amount of positive flotation in your boat. On my M17 I had to wriggle in on the starboard quarter berth to be able to inspect the drain hose attachment to the through hull exits. Have a hose running water into the cockpit and you'll be able to see if the leak is there. I'd also feel along the tubing and visually check the condition as closely as possible. On Aug 1, 2018 05:34, "claritysailingadventures--- via montgomery_boats" < montgomery_boats@mailman.xmission.com> wrote: We've got an old 1974 M17 that I bought for a song (well, for the price of a decent guitar), and it's going to need a lot of work. Most of the work will be cosmetic, but when I got her she was full of water, and I'm wondering if all that water came in through the hatch and companionway, or if the hull/deck joint is susceptible to leaks. I'm not sure how the joint is constructed, or if I ought to pull and re-bed the toerails. Or if the boat will pop apart if I remove the toerails! Any thoughts about what I might want to look or watch out for before I put her in the water?