Don- If you sailed w/o the line, then that is what caused the board to go "bombs away". The pennant is not just for lifting the board; it carries the weight of the aft part of the board. Without it, the board drops until it hits the forward end of the slot, which gives only about an 8" lever arm between the two bearing points. In any kind of seas the board will hammer itself into oblivion and drop like a rock. The pennant Should allow only 15" of drop. We tied a knot place so the it stopped on the small hole in the partner. Careful, the knots have been known to migrate in use. Another thought on aluminum- for shaping, which is very important, you might try a power plane, set to remove only a 16th or 32nd or so. It's likely that won't work, but another possibility would be to get about a ¾ flat bottomed, fluted bit and a router and set it to only take off a bit each pass. The only alternative I can think of would be to rent a hi-speed grinder that takes 7X7/8 discs. Buy a hundred dollars worth of 36 grit discs and be ready to spend the better part of a weekend. If you try the router, get a bit made of high speed steel rather than carbide. A carbide bit will explode when used on aluminum. Have fun! ________________________________ From: Lawrence Winiarski via montgomery_boats <montgomery_boats@mailman.xmission.com> Sent: Saturday, February 1, 2025 3:08 PM To: For and about Montgomery Sailboats <montgomery_boats@mailman.xmission.com> Cc: Lawrence Winiarski <lawrence_winiarski@yahoo.com> Subject: M_Boats: Re: New to email list, looking for a replacement centerboard. Well, that sucks. If you really have no idea where you lost it, I think it's probably gone. I think you can look at this and see the basic shape or at least I think it's the basic shape. https://sailboatdata.com/sailboat/montgomery-17/ Aluminum is a nice option as it's heavier than wood or fiberglass and it's nice to have some weight down there. If it was me, I'd start by assessing my abilities to whether I was up to the task, then after I'd deluded myself I could do it I'd start by figuring a way that I could block the boat up a few feetin the air so I had enough room to get underneath it with the keel exposed and high enough that I could actually put the whole thing in from the bottom. I'm guessing that's actualpretty highlike maybe 3 feet. That's probably 1/2 the battle for someone like me. Then I'd make something out of cardboard,then scrap wood, then when I was sure I had the right shape then i'd think of what I wanted my final centerboard to be. But by then you'll know the exact shape and you can get it made in a nice warm shop then rush out in the cold to actually fit it. Anyway, you've got a big project. Good luck. Send pictures. On Saturday, February 1, 2025, 2:02:20 PM PST, donkuehne@hotmail.com <donkuehne@hotmail.com> wrote: Still hoping I may find actual dimensions, but measuring the trunk is where i'll head. Be interred in a price for a finished new or used one. But alas I am a wood worker and that is my back up plan. Considered aluminum too, and potentially some sandwich construction. Thanks for those comments. The average depth may be 40 ft but where I was, likely deeper. Light even in our crystal clear spirit lake only penetrates about 30 ft. And I really have no idea we're it actually came loose. I sailed likey several times without the rope. (It went first) So I thought I was ok till winter with it down. I started to notice horrible pointing. But it really wasn't till I got her out of the water that I knew what that bump really was. -Don On Jan 31, 2025 3:58 PM, Lawrence Winiarski via montgomery_boats <montgomery_boats@mailman.xmission.com> wrote: Underwater drones are getting cheaper too. Don't know much about them, but I think the future is very promising. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5fUIgP119H0 On Friday, January 31, 2025 at 03:44:22 PM PST, jerry montgomery <jmbn1@outlook.com> wrote: Woops! I think Lawrence is right; do a good look for it. If all fails, I think you could make a decent on out of aluminum plate. Double check this but I think the boards were 1 1/4". I don't think an accurate drawing of the board exists anymore, but you could determine the size by taking some close measurements of the trunk, using a yardstick. If you're a woodworker you could make one of wood, with a lead slug at the tip, then heavily glassing it, and bushing the pivot hole. Err on the side of too thin because you can always use bushings on both sides at the pivot. Another good way would be to make a pattern of wood, then have it cast in iron. Good luck! From: Lawrence Winiarski via montgomery_boats <montgomery_boats@mailman.xmission.com> Sent: Friday, January 31, 2025 3:05 PM To: montgomery_boats@mailman.xmission.com <montgomery_boats@mailman.xmission.com> Cc: Lawrence Winiarski <lawrence_winiarski@yahoo.com> Subject: M_Boats: Re: New to email list, looking for a replacement centerboard Sounds bad. Dumb question: What about the rope that you use to raise and lower it? Did that suddenly come loose too? If it was me, I'd exhaust all methods to find it at the bottom first. Spirit lake is deep, but not that deep. Maybe try and recover it. Google says around 40'. On Friday, January 31, 2025 at 12:23:50 PM PST, Don Kuehne <donkuehne@hotmail.com> wrote: Hello, I am the proud owner of a M15 on Spirit Lake, ID. It can get pretty gusty here and my "Penelope" can get rocked on the dock pretty aggressively. The centerboard front pin had worked its way loose (unknown at the time to me) and during a sail last season I notice a bump... then no centerboard. My board is lost in the deep and I am looking for a replacement. Does anyone know of a source or specs for the size, shape etc... To have a new one made? -Don