chris: in the steel ballast M15s there is a 'hump' forward of the bulkhead that seperates the 'v-berth locker' (this is actually the location of the forward flotation foam ... which i'm guessing is long gone on your 15) and the porta-potti well. this is present as the steel needed to ballast the boat is to large (volume) to fit within the skeg keel. the very late 80s and newer M15s don't have the 'hump' as lead takes up less volume by weight and all the ballast will 'fit' in the skeg keel. jerry has also stated the hump forward help counter-balance the passenger weight in the cockpit. if you see cracking and rust water has entered the steel ballast which is rusting. from your boat's 'life experience' this is not a surprise. see this picture for a 'normal' hump of a steel ballast m15 (from my last Mboat, #288) - http://s57.photobucket.com/albums/g203/spankmeairlines/M15number288/?action=... if you look closely you can see the steel punches under the 'cover layers' of mat. the black box is for a group 24 battery. the white blocks are a few of the flotation foam 'bits'.
1. Is it rusting metal that I see? could be ... care to share a picture by way of photobucket or other similar www-site?
2. What can I do about it? well ... if/when the centerboard slot swells see what was required on capt. jim's PELICAN - http://picasaweb.google.com/jascopacific/M15KeelRepair#
3. Should there be any openings into that locker? perhaps for water to get out? or to the bilge? the only 'entry & exit' by design for the locker is the hatch under the v-berth cushions. the hatch came from jerry screwed in place. dave scobie M17 #375 - SWEET PEA visit SWEET PEA's www-site - http://www.m17-375.webs.com
--- On Sat, 8/1/09, Chris Smith <chris.r.smith@gmail.com> wrote: So I was gearing up for my trip to Superior today and thought I'd give my M15 a good once over. I looked in the bow locker (which I almost never use) and noticed that there was a swollen bit of the hull about 5 inches from the aft edge of the locker. Not only was it a bit wet in the locker, but the swollen bit (about 5 inches across, running laterally) had pushed up what appeared to be a fiberglass patch pretty significantly, cracking it open and exposing what looked to be rusting metal. Upon further inspection, there were some holes at the joint where the aft locker wall meets the hull - no rusty metal there, but it was unclear if they were supposed to be there as they were irregularly shaped.. Seeing as the boat was salvage from the bottom of the ocean in TX, I figure salt water got in there and is slowly destroying whatever in between the layers of fiberglass. I'm going to put off the trip to take the boat out and see if water is actively getting in there and how. My questions are these: 1. Is it rusting metal that I see? 2. What can I do about it? 3. Should there be any openings into that locker? perhaps for water to get out? or to the bilge? I had my brother shine a light up into the keel to see if it was open to that, but didn't see any light. The hull seems sound - I've been sailing it for years with no problem, and have patched anything remotely like a crack from the outside, so it's a bit of a mystery to me how water is getting in there. Thanks for the help/advice!