Tom, Sean Mulligan performed this type of surgery on his M-23 "Dauntless". He used to have a great site that profiled the whole process. I'm sure he will respond and give you as much information as you need. Good Luck with the project!! Skip -----Original Message----- From: Thomas Buzzi <thomaspbuzzi@gmail.com> To: montgomery_boats <montgomery_boats@mailman.xmission.com> Sent: Thu, Feb 7, 2013 9:05 pm Subject: M_Boats: Montgomery 17 steel ballast replacement. Anybody figure out how to replace the steel stampings with lead in the centerboard trunk once the steel has expanded from corrosion and pinched the centerboard tight? Were the steel pellets bedded with anything or just dumped into the cavity? Thanks for any ideas about this. Tom Buzzi M17, 258,"Social Security"