Bill, I just painted the bottom of my 1972 M17 with 4 coats of Interlux E2000 barrier coat and three coats of cuprus oxyde bottom paint. Griselda is a deep keel model but the principal is the same. I notched the top of a pair of 2x6 boards to fit under the toe rail/deck flange and put short pieces of 2x6 on the ground under the vertical braces. I cut the vertical braces two inches too long and set them at an angle so I could use a sledge hammer to knock the support bases inward and raise the boat slightly. I then lowered and removed the trailer bunk boards on that side to get to the hull. I repeated the procedure for the other side. I then replaced the bunk boards and jacked them as high as possible to raise the keel off it's support to allow just enough room for a skinny foam roller to paint the bottom of the keel. It may be possible on your trailer to remove the keel support board to give more room. I am getting ready to bottom paint a Seaward Fox 20 that I just bought. For that one, I will be using scafolding on either side of the boat with 6x6 timbers across the top of the scaffolds. I will then attach 4 come-alongs to canvas straps under the hull and lift the boat off the trailer for painting. I will be able to set the boat back down and move the straps to get to the area covered by the origonal strap position. I used this method several years ago to do another boat and it worked great. As soon as I finish painting the topsides of Griselda, (the M17), she will be for sale. Unfortunately, the cove behind my house is just not deep enough for the 40 inch draft. The depth of the rudder makes even a keel/cb Monty unsuitable for my sailing area but the Seaward Fox has a 20 inch deep wing keel and shallow draft balanced rudder. My other sailing area that I trailer to is the Texas Gulf coast bays which also require a shoal draft boat so I will regretfully give up the great windward performance of Griselda for shoal draft and easier trailering. Life is full of choices. Whitebeard

Date: Tue, 8 Jun 2010 10:32:46 -0400 From: billwick@gmail.com To: montgomery_boats@mailman.xmission.com Subject: M_Boats: Bottom painting on trailer

Hello all,

Can anyone offer any trick or tips on SAFELY bottom painting an M17 while on the trailer? I am thinking of bracing one side at a time and lowering the bunk board brackets. May not be able to get to the bottom of the keel or the CB slot.

Thanks,

Bill M17 Makin' Time _______________________________________________ http://mailman.xmission.com/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/montgomery_boats

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