Hello Randy and Tom. Yes, I had the same problem with my centerboard stop bolt. The material it threaded into in the keel had turned to mush. For lack of a better and easier option, I just drilled all the way through and put in a stainless steel bolt. Drill the hole oversize, then fill it with epoxy and drill the smaller hole through that to seal moisture out of the keel. Use a long enough bolt so the tang doesn't rest on the threaded part. You may have to cut off some extra beyond the nut and washer. I used a nylon bushing type lock nut. At the time I thought this would just be a temporary fix, but I've decided I like it that way. It really makes changing the centerboard pendant a lot easier, or dropping the centerboard for any reason. Larry Yake M17, #200 Tullamore On Tue, 7 Oct 2003 13:30:49 -0700 "Smith, Tom" <Tom.Smith@itron.com> writes: Larry Yake has run both the bolt that fixes the cb in place (well really, that's the way this bolt is configured, except there are recesses in the keel to accomodate the bolt head and nut), plus the bolt that serves to stop the cb tang, directly through the keel (correct me if I misrepresent you Larry). It certainly seems like a common sense thing to do to me. Any resulting disturbance to flow over the keel would in my mind be a minor problem compared to the gains in ease of installation/repair. If you get an M17 in a position to drop the cb into the cb trunk, you're way beyond knockdown. I've hear this is a concern in a Potter, but have never encountered this worry with an M17. It would be way down my list of things to lose sleep over... t Tom Smith & Jane Van Winkle Sandpoint, Idaho M15-345, Chukar M17-064, Unnamed -----Original Message----- From: Randy Wirth [mailto:randy@caffeibis.com] Sent: Tuesday, October 07, 2003 12:50 PM To: montgomery_boats@mailman.xmission.com Subject: M_Boats: Keel Stop Bolt Repair I have a 1974 17' Montgomery,"Fore Play", that I need to replace the keel boat on. I pulled the steel keel last spring and took it down to bare metal and recoated and reinstalled it with a new rope and fittings. I replaced the stainless stop bolt at that time but had it come lose last weekend after a big blow. When I dived overboard to reinsert and tighten it, there was nothing to thread into. I am trying to decide if I should drill completely through and put a longer bolt with washer and locknut or if I should try to epoxy in another nut within the keel housing. I would be greatful for any input. Randy .Bearlake,Utah P.S. Has anyone ever seen a need to retrofit a keel stop for when you have a knockdown and roll over to prevent the keel from slaming back into the slot and sinking the boat? I am not aware of this ever happening to a M-17 but I know that this provision has been made for other small pocket cruisers. This message was scanned for viruses!!