Lets not forget that the older pre 1987 M_15s had steel shot for ballast. While most of these boats are fine, a number of them had (over the years) water intrude into the keel and start rusting the steel shot. As the steel rusts, the keel swells up and squeezes the centerboard. All M_15 centerboards pre 1987 also were fiberglass with steel shot inside. These also could swell up over the years and get stuck in the up position. The weight of all these fiberglass/steel shot boards was close to 45 pounds. Never more than about 47 pounds. All the M_boats after 1987, both in the 15 and 17 have lead instead of steel for ballast material inside the keel and inside the 45 pound centerboard. I doubt that Tom has dirt holding the board up. More likely the board, keel trunk or both has swelled up and is now stuck. Same for you Jim. Once you get the board out it has to be made thinner so it won't be sticky. (sand smooth and carefully remove some of the material on the fat part). We use nothing but pure lead. No rust, no swelling. Fair winds Bob (949) 489-8227 Robert Eeg bobeeg@earthlink.net Why Wait? Move to EarthLink.
Bob: Thanks for the response and advice. With all the emails I have received in the last two days, I tend to agree with you that it is probably not the salt corrosion unless there is a leak and the cb has swelled. I will figure a way to jack her off the trailer enough to get some leverage on the cb and see if I can pull it down enough to make an assessment. Thanks again. Tom Kestrel #145
Maybe I had a special centerboard in my '82 M-15. "Cause unless I'm getting senile, when I refinished it, the CB contained a steel plate. At least as far back as I ground it down-- which was a few inches from the leading edge. 45 lbs? Maybe. But then, everything seems to be heavier at my age. Bob Olson M-15 Sequel On Nov 3, 2005, at 5:53 PM, Robert Eeg wrote:
Lets not forget that the older pre 1987 M_15s had steel shot for ballast. While most of these boats are fine, a number of them had (over the years) water intrude into the keel and start rusting the steel shot. As the steel rusts, the keel swells up and squeezes the centerboard. All M_15 centerboards pre 1987 also were fiberglass with steel shot inside. These also could swell up over the years and get stuck in the up position. The weight of all these fiberglass/steel shot boards was close to 45 pounds. Never more than about 47 pounds. All the M_boats after 1987, both in the 15 and 17 have lead instead of steel for ballast material inside the keel and inside the 45 pound centerboard.
I doubt that Tom has dirt holding the board up. More likely the board, keel trunk or both has swelled up and is now stuck. Same for you Jim. Once you get the board out it has to be made thinner so it won't be sticky. (sand smooth and carefully remove some of the material on the fat part).
We use nothing but pure lead. No rust, no swelling.
Fair winds Bob (949) 489-8227
Robert Eeg bobeeg@earthlink.net Why Wait? Move to EarthLink. _______________________________________________ http://mailman.xmission.com/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/montgomery_boats
Howdy, All: This is a follow-up to stuck cb. My M-15 #175 - Kestrel, was built around 1981 so it apparently has steel for ballast (checked with magnet). She has spent most of her life in salt water until now (fresh water only). I believe some seepage caused the cb to stick. Long story short, after consulting my ancient mariner manual for appropriate "salty language" aka cuss words, I finally got it out today with WD40 and working it down. I saw no obvious swelling on the cb or in the trunk. I reviewed the photos of the M-23 owner in Lake Havasue who provided very detailed photos of removing/replacing his ballast by cutting through the trunk. I cut into the port side of the trunk from the outside. Using a Dremel, I cut about 1/4 inch through the Fglass and saw something shinny. I cut several inches laterally and vertically and still saw the metal so I stopped. ??Question?? Were these trunks sheathed with aluminum before the ballast was put in? I don't think I was cutting into washer punches because I only drilled in 1/4 inch. The cb had no bulges so I cut an inspection port 6" x 6" about 8 inches below the pivot hole. About 2 tablespoons of liquid came out. The ballast appears to have been sealed in something like epoxy. No shot was loose. The water that came out was black but no obvious trace of rust. If there is rusting farther down in the cb towards its lower end, one would have to cut the whole cb open to locate any internal corrosion. I sanded about 1/8th inch of old bottom paint and the gel coating down to the fiberglass on the cb. This thinned it down to where it retracts like it should. Could the cb swell in a somewhat uniform manner (there were no obvious bulges anywhere on it)? Does anyone have the dimensions of a cb? Where can I purchase a replacement cb? Thanks for all the useful tips on rigging, maintenance, etc. It really comes in handy Tom Park City, UT
participants (3)
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Bob Olson -
Robert Eeg -
Tom Hauser