New Member Question Re: Centerboard on my M-17
I have a 1981 M-17 and the centerboard will not drop because it has rusted in place. After having taken it to two different marinas here in Michigan, with no luck from either of them on getting it down, I'm getting a little frustrated. One of them suggested contacting someone who owns a sandblaster. Does anyone have any advise? Thanks! Carol B
Carol, I have read on this site about some who have drilled a hole in the top of the centerboard well and used a metal bar and a heavy hammer to beat it down. I am sure others here have more direct knowledge. I doubt you personally will be involved with this freeing up of the cb, just keep in mind it is heavy and once released will slice down extremely fast! Good luck, Tom B M-17, #258 On Tue, Jul 30, 2013 at 8:52 AM, Carol Barber <carollynbarber@gmail.com>wrote:
I have a 1981 M-17 and the centerboard will not drop because it has rusted in place. After having taken it to two different marinas here in Michigan, with no luck from either of them on getting it down, I'm getting a little frustrated. One of them suggested contacting someone who owns a sandblaster. Does anyone have any advise?
Thanks! Carol B
Carol, I had the same problem with my 1977 M-17 last year. After several recommendations from folks on this mailing list, I took it to Hooper's Yachts in Afton , MN, from whom I bought it in 1999. They knew just what to do. They raised the boat off the trailer, got the board down, cleaned it up, coated it with epoxy, and applied bottom paint. It works fine now, and will probably outlast the skipper. You need to go to a yacht dealer who is familiar with M-17s. Hopefully other M-17 owners in your area will know who they are. Rich Makela M-17 #233 - Harmony -----Original Message----- From: montgomery_boats-bounces@mailman.xmission.com [mailto:montgomery_boats-bounces@mailman.xmission.com] On Behalf Of Carol Barber Sent: Tuesday, July 30, 2013 8:52 AM To: montgomery_boats@mailman.xmission.com Subject: M_Boats: New Member Question Re: Centerboard on my M-17 I have a 1981 M-17 and the centerboard will not drop because it has rusted in place. After having taken it to two different marinas here in Michigan, with no luck from either of them on getting it down, I'm getting a little frustrated. One of them suggested contacting someone who owns a sandblaster. Does anyone have any advise? Thanks! Carol B
Carol: what methods did the boat yards use in their attempt to get the board down? how long as the board been stuck? :: Dave Scobie ________________________________ From: Carol Barber <carollynbarber@gmail.com> Sent: Tuesday, July 30, 2013 7:52 AM I have a 1981 M-17 and the centerboard will not drop because it has rusted in place. After having taken it to two different marinas here in Michigan, with no luck from either of them on getting it down, I'm getting a little frustrated. One of them suggested contacting someone who owns a sandblaster. Does anyone have any advise? Thanks! Carol B
Hi Carol, As Rich suggests Hoopers has a great reputation for fixing this problem . But please be aware that the problem may not be just a rusty c/b mine when i got it out of the keel was perfect no rust at all. Water had gotten into the iron ballast within the keel cavity and it had rusted causing the c/b case to be pressed squeezed against the c/b at the same time the rusting was pushing the outer sides of keel out causing a visible bowing . to check for this just use a 12 in. ruler held upright against the keel you will see the bulge near the center , check both sides . Again Hoopers has the expertize to fix this problem but it's not cheap. But a lot of these boats are 40 yrs old and showing problems and need a knowledgeable person to check them out at the very least to assure that the c/b works properly. I'm wishing you well on this . happy sailing . doug h. ooFrom: Carol uBarber <carollynbarber@gmail.cost m> To:ry_boats@mailman.xmission.com Sent: Tuesday, July 30, 2013 8:52 AM Subject: M_Boats: New Member Question Re: Centerboard on my M-17 I have a 1981 M-17 and the centerboard will not drop because it has rusted in place. After having taken it to two different marinas here in Michigan, with no luck from either of them on getting it down, I'm getting a little frustrated. One of them suggested contacting someone who owns a sandblaster. Does anyone have any advise? Thanks! Carol B
Hi Carol, I have only my experience with a stuck M-23 board that had rusted so much that the scale on the outside of the board made it stuck about 1/4 of the way down. I drilled a hole in the board (later filled with epoxy) and bent a lot of steel rod pounding it down with a 5lb and 10lb sledge. As Sean mentions appropriate safety gear is appropriate (or in my case luck of not being in the way of a projectile rod). It was a long slow process that finally included ordering stainless steel rod that was strong enough to really hit hard. I did use a hand saw to try and remove some of the rust scale from the side of the board but I do not know that this really helped. Good luck and let us know how things proceed. Robbin On 7/30/2013 9:52 AM, Carol Barber wrote:
I have a 1981 M-17 and the centerboard will not drop because it has rusted in place. After having taken it to two different marinas here in Michigan, with no luck from either of them on getting it down, I'm getting a little frustrated. One of them suggested contacting someone who owns a sandblaster. Does anyone have any advise?
Thanks! Carol B
participants (6)
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Carol Barber -
Doug Hall -
Rich Makela -
Robbin Roddewig -
Thomas Buzzi -
W David Scobie