M_Boats: Lead Keel

I suppose the magnet test is accurate. However, I've not tried it. One thing that Frank Durant and I noticed when comparing his new M15 to my 1985 model that has steel ballast is that where my boat has a large bulge of ballast in the forward locker, his is flat in that area. At first we thought something was wrong with the new boat, but the obvious answer is that lead takes up less volume than steel. So my unscientific conclusion would reccomend you open the forward locker, If there's a bulge it's steel ballast and if it's flat it's lead. Rick Langer