Hi Jon, Since you have the same cabin layup as my #38 M17 (previous thread) with the half-round stiffeners, you presumably have half-round stiffeners under the foredeck also. Yes? Mine does. No balsa anywhere on #38 and probably not on #44 either. Jerry posted in that prior thread that he did use half-round stiffeners in early boats, before the balsa salesman came around. I for one am quite happy with that, as my cabin & foredeck are plenty stiff & solid, and no core rot to worry about from penetrations that lose their bedding seal. My M17 came with a cowl vent installed in the foredeck also. No idea if that was OEM or put in later. Something like this: https://www.defender.com/product3.jsp?path=-1|6880|2290139|2290141&id=1816600 Apparently the first owner of my boat had it down in Baja for a time, so maybe the cowl vent was an addition for a bit more ventilation in the warm season there. To give a contrary to having anchor & chain weight at the bow be a problem - for those with larger/heavier outboards on the stern, it's a counter-balance. Or if you like to sit aft in the cockpit rather than forward. Less of an issue on a 17 than a 15 of course. Keith M can chime in as he has his anchor bow-roller mounted on his M17 as I recall, yes Keith? And a heftier anchor than average IIRC. cheers, John On 10/23/21 9:28 AM, Jon Barber wrote:
My M 17 Ol'44 came with a hawse pipe ( aka stovepipe) and other hardware on the foredeck to stow a danforth anchor. The navigation light is mounted on the foredeck, also, leaving precious little room to stand. As I rarely anchor, I dont need an anchor close at hand, and having fewer trip hazards is always desirable. I removed all anchoring hardware.
My solution for anchoring is to stow anchor and rode under the cockpit sole and rig a messenger line to the bow. The rode is passed thru a carabiner that can be hauled forward. This approach adds complexity to anchoring but the benefit is that you never leave the cockpit.
I do have a rather large hole in my foredeck. Jerry commented here that the early boats did not have balsa coring. Should I be able to see the coring in the deck where it was cut? Does anyone know when the use of balsa began?
Thanks, Jon Barber Monty17 Ol'44
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